NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Ayreon

Ayreon (pronunciation (help· info)) is a project by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Progressive metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music which blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that sound similar to a classical symphony. ... Folk metal is a diverse collection of music, encompassing a wide variety of different styles and approaches. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... InsideOut Music and its American counterpart, InsideOut Music America are record labels specialising in the progressive rock and progressive metal genres. ... Century Media Records is an independant metal record label with offices in the USA, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. ... SPV GmbH is an independant German record label founded in 1984 as a german distributor of Roadrunner Records. ... Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born April 3, 1960, Hilversum) is a composer and musician from the Netherlands and is most widely known for his albums released under the name Ayreon. ... Edward R. Warby (born: 7 March 1968) was born and raised in Rotterdam. ... This is a list os the many musicians that have taken part of Ayreon through the years. ... Image File history File links Pronunciation-Ayreon. ... Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born April 3, 1960, Hilversum) is a composer and musician from the Netherlands and is most widely known for his albums released under the name Ayreon. ...

Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica to form what some call a completely new style of music. The majority of Ayreon's albums are dubbed "rock operas" due to the fact that the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, each represented by a unique vocalist. Heavy metal is a form of rock music characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Folk song redirects here. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... Electronica refers to a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; but unlike electronic dance music, is not specifically focused on the dance floor. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ...

Ayreon's music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music (guitars, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, electric organs) mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music (i.e. mandolins, violins, violas, celli, flutes, sitars and didgeridoo). Lucassen writes the music and the lyrics, sings and plays instruments on all of the Ayreon albums, alongside many guest musicians. Arjen has said he will keep making Ayreon music until the day he loses loves for music or until the day he dies.^[1] The classical guitar typically has nylon strings. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ... Classic Hammond B-3 organ. ... This article is about the musical instrument. ... For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel). ... Alternate uses: Viola (disambiguation) The viola is a stringed musical instrument which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass. ... This article is about the stringed musical instrument. ... For other uses, see Flute (disambiguation). ... Diagram of some sitar parts. ... A didgeridoo. ...

History

The first Ayreon CD, released in 1995, is The Final Experiment, with a mixture of science fiction and medieval themes. The album features thirteen singers and seven instrumentalists, most of them Dutch. The Final Experiment is often mentioned as one of the first metal operas and a reviver of the rock opera genre. The album was originally titled Ayreon: The Final Experiment, with the artist listed as Arjen Lucassen, but upon re-release, the title was changed to The Final Experiment, and the artist was changed to Ayreon. CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit ÄŒeskÃ© DrÃ¡hy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers DatorfÃ¶rening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s... See also: 1995 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1995 Record labels established in 1995 January 1 - Debut album Sixteen Stone by Bush hits #4 on the Billboard 200 a post grunge success January 18 - Jerry Garcia wrecks his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California. ... The Final Experiment is an Ayreon album released in 1995. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... The Final Experiment is an Ayreon album released in 1995. ...

Actual Fantasy from 1996 is the only Ayreon album without a continuous story. With its individual fantasy stories, it can still be considered a concept album, though. There are only three singers and three instrumentalists on Actual Fantasy. Themes inspired by songs on this album can be found on later Ayreon releases, particularly the two Universal Migrator albums. Actual Fantasy is an Ayreon album released in 1996. ... See also: 1996 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1996 Record labels established in 1996 January - two teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, aged 18 and 16 respectively, murdered Bassetts parents and younger brother in McCleary. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ...

The double album Into the Electric Castle followed in 1998. The album features eight singers, each playing a role of a single character, and eleven instrumentalists. Arjen has stated that he wanted this particular album to be a more flight-and-fancy-free record, or "pure escapism" than the previous albums' more serious tones, and portrayed his characters in more of a B-Movie light. The album was a huge success and is widely regarded as Ayreon's best album. A double album is an audio album of sufficient length that two units of the medium in which it is sold (especially records and compact discs) are necessary to contain the entirety of it. ... Into The Electric Castle is an Ayreon album released in 1998 by Transmission Records and re-released in 2004 by InsideOut Music. ... See also: 1998 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1998 Record labels established in 1998 // 1998 - The single Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls sets a new hot 100 airplay record, 18 weeks at number one. ...

The twin Universal Migrator albums were released in 2000. The first album, The Dream Sequencer consists of soft, atmospheric progressive rock, whereas the second album, Flight of the Migrator, consists of a more heavy metal theme. Both of the albums feature around ten singers supported by many instrumentalists. One of the more notable guests was Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, who made an appearance on the Flight of the Migrator album. See also: 2000 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2000 Record labels established in 2000 // John Tavener is knighted in the New Years Honours List. ... For the record producer in the Saturday Night Live skit, see More Cowbell. ... Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in the East End of London. ...

Shortly following Universal Migrator came Ayreonauts Only, an album generally meant to be only for diehard fans of Ayreon. The album itself was the second to not follow a specific storyline; it instead contained alternate versions (With different vocalists or instrumentalists) of existing songs, or the original demos used when recording them. In addition, it contained a preview of Arjen's then-upcoming project, Ambeon. It is the only Ayreon album not to see re-release on InsideOut. Ayreonauts Only is an Ayreon album released in 2001. ... Ambeon is one of the many projects of Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. ...

In 2004 came The Human Equation. As on Into the Electric Castle, there are several singers, each playing their own role. With The Human Equation, Ayreon turned away from the usual science fiction and fantasy themes with a seemingly semi-normal psychological theme. See also: 2004 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2004 Record labels established in 2004 2000s in music. ... The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released under the name Ayreon. ... {redirect|Psychological science|the journal|Psychological Science (journal)}} Not to be confused with Phycology. ...

Starting in 2004, after changing from Transmission Records to InsideOut, Arjen began rereleasing his Ayreon catalog on the new label, with enhancements ranging from basic (The Universal Migrator, issued as a two-disc set instead of two separate albums) to drastic (Actual Fantasy, "Revisited" with completely re-recorded drums, bass, synth and flute). In 2005, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Ayreon, The Final Experiment was reissued with a bonus semi-acoustic disc. See also: 2004 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2004 Record labels established in 2004 2000s in music. ... See also: 2005 in heavy metal music 2005 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2005 Record labels established in 2005 Albums released in 2005 January 1 - In most of Europe, copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier, including...

At the end of September 2006, when Arjen's new studio was finished, he began making a new album entitled 01011001, which was released on January 25th, 2008. 01011001 is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassens long-running Ayreon project. ...

On March 19th, 2008, Arjen announced a new Ayreon EP named Elected to be released in the end of April. The EP will feature two tracks from 01011001, one from The Human Equation and an Alice Cooper cover (Elected), with vocals by Arjen and Tobias Sammet. ^[2] Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans five decades. ... Tobias Sammet, born November 21, 1977 in Fulda, Germany is the vocalist and primary songwriter of the German Power Metal band Edguy, as well as the creator of the metal opera Avantasia and a member of the metal project Final Chapter. ...

Concept

Ayreon's concept is a continuous one, with loose connections between each of the albums. The Final Experiment alluded to the events that led to The Universal Migrator albums (during the course of events in the specified album, the man using The Dream Sequencer faces the minstrel Ayreon's return). The inlay booklet of the Universal Migrator double-album alludes to Into the Electric Castle, with the castle being shown in the same page with the song "Out of the White Hole," specifically the portion titled "Planet Y", home planet to the alien "Forever", who is mentioned at the end of the song ("Forever...remember Forever..."). Also, Arjen's notes at the beginning mention the possibility of the character using the Dream Sequencer being the Futureman. The Final Experiment is an Ayreon album released in 1995. ... Into The Electric Castle is an Ayreon album released in 1998 by Transmission Records and re-released in 2004 by InsideOut Music. ...

So far, there seems to be little to no proof about the connection of Into the Electric Castle to The Human Equation; except for the very final section of Day Twenty: Confrontation, where Forever of the Stars uses The Dream Sequencer to launch "The Human Equation Program". Coupled with the Time Telepathy experiment, Ayreon's return and Planet Y, it can be said that Forever of the Stars' experiment was due to it receiving Ayreon's message, but not being able to understand which part of the history went wrong. Afterwards, however, the experiment sways and turns into a quest to understand emotions itself. Into The Electric Castle is an Ayreon album released in 1998 by Transmission Records and re-released in 2004 by InsideOut Music. ... The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released under the name Ayreon. ...

01011001 concerns Forever and Planet Y, as well as setting the stage for The Final Experiment.

Discography

Albums

The Final Experiment is an Ayreon album released in 1995. ... Actual Fantasy is an Ayreon album released in 1996. ... Into The Electric Castle is an Ayreon album released in 1998 by Transmission Records and re-released in 2004 by InsideOut Music. ... The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released under the name Ayreon. ... 01011001 is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassens long-running Ayreon project. ...

Singles/EPs

Sail Away to Avalon is the first single by Ayreon, released on 1995, from their album The Final Experiment. ... The Stranger From Within is the second single by Ayreon, released on 1996, from their album Actual Fantasy. ... Alternate cover Acoustic version Temple of the Cat is the third single by Ayreon, released on 2000, from their album Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer. ... For the 3 Doors Down song, see Loser (3 Doors Down song). ... Come Back to Me is the sixth single by Ayreon, released on 2005, from their album The Human Equation. ...

Compilations

Contents

History

Concept

Discography

Albums

Singles/EPs

Compilations

See also

References

External links