Release Date: 2008-01-28, Audio CD, Inside-Out Records
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Disc 1 Age Of Shadows/ We Are Forever Comatose Liquid Eternity Connect The Dots Beneath ... more
The Waves/Face The Facts/ But A Memory../ World Without Walls/ Reality Bleeds Newborn Race/ The Incentive/ The Vision/ The Procedure/ Another Life/ Newborn Race/ Th...
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Advantages: Inventive mix of styles, great use of multiple vocalists. Disadvantages: Overlong, borderline masturbatory instrumental passages.
The double disc 'Into the Electric Castle: A Space Opera' is the third release from multi-talented Dutch prog enthusiast Arjen Anthony Lucassen, but essentially the second (after 1995's 'The Final Experiment') to be of any note. Like its predecessor, 'Into the Electric Castle' is difficult to pin down to a specific style, but is mostly a blend of progressive rock, progressive metal and psychedelic rock in the form of a rock opera (though Lucassen opts for the somewhat meaningless term 'Space Opera'). The diverse cast of characters are all performed by famous rock vocalists from across Europe, although Fish from Marillion is the only truly well-known one here outside of metal circles. Later Ayreon releases upped the ante somewhat to draft in the vocalists from Dream Theater, Opeth and Iron Maiden.
This multi-vocal effect is great ...
Advantages: A great modern metal opera. Disadvantages: The concept and lyrics themselves are far from riveting.
I was a little wary in approaching Andy Kuntz's rock opera solo project, as the rather naffly poetic lyrics and daydream subject matter (not to mention the silly long title) smelled malodorously like a cheap Ayreon knock-off gone even more pansy. Thus, I was very pleasantly surprised indeed to discover a pleasant and highly enjoyable fusion of prog rock and metal, no doubt inspired by Arjen Lucassen and many others, instead of a large slab of festering cheese about a magical toyland and things. Though admittedly, that does come into it a bit.
Kuntz's voice (yes his name sounds a bit like a rude word, let's all grow up can we?) excels here even more than in his more well-known prog metal band Vanden Plas, his expressive and exciting wail perfectly capturing the rock opera feel, without rising too high to put off those unaccustomed to ...
Frankingsteins 24.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Abydos - Abydos
Advantages: Innovative Australian prog metal. Disadvantages: Disappointingly repetitive and American.
. The Bio Approach
3. Rampant Micro Life
4. Warring Tribes - Eventual Demise
5. Single Sided
6. Surreality
7. New Beginning
8. Tide In, Mind Out
9. Eclectic
10. Escape from the Black Hole
The first song is possibly the most effective of the lot, opening with the infamous didgeridoo amidst a variety of natural instruments that are often difficult to distinguish or discern from the atmospheric keyboards. This opener demonstrates all of the band's strengths and signature traits, and winds slowly from pleasant, almost ambient passages to intense guitar-led sections that bear a passing resemblance to Gustav Holst's oft-quoted 'Mars, the Bringer of War.' It's here that the Evolution Trilogy kicks in, taking the listener on an epic fifteen-minute journey across the lifespan of the Earth in a style reminiscent of Ayreon without the glam. These ...
The days of the rock opera are far from dead and gone--that is, if Ayreon has anything to say about it, and they do. 1011001 is a two-disc magnum opus that tells the story of Planet Y and the ongoing battle for the triumph of humanism over the forces of technological destruction. The product of the expansive musical imagination of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, 1011001 brings on a host of guest musicians, all the while conjuring the days of classic progressive rock with its lush, complex musical tapestry. This two-disc set is also available as a bonus edition with a DVD that includes a movie, a behind-the-scenes "making of," demos, and more.
Album Reviews
Record Collector (magazine) (p.86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Telling tales of aeons, Lucassen enlists a galaxy of prog/rock/metal stars, yet Disco One is a comparatively understated grower, rather than a sonic assault."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Age Of Shadows/We Are Forever
2.
Comatose
3.
Liquid Eternity
4.
Connect The Dots
5.
Beneath The Waves (Beneath the waves/Face the facts/But a memory/World without walls/Reality bleeds)
6.
Newborn Race (The incentive/The vision/The procedure/Another life/Newborn race/The conclusion)
7.
Ride The Comet
8.
Web Of Lies
Titles on disc 2
1.
Fifth Extinction (Glimmer of hope/World of tomorrow dreams/Collision course/From the ashes/Glimmer of hope (reprise))
2.
Waking Dreams
3.
Truth Is In Here
4.
Unnatural Selection
5.
River Of Time
6.
E=mc2
7.
Sixth Extinction (Echoes on the wind/Radioactive grave/2085/To the planet of red/Spirit on the wind/Complete the circle)
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31/01/2008
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