1. Day One: Vigil 2. Day Two: Isolation 3. Day Three: Pain 4. Day Four: Mystery 5. Day Five: Voices 6. Day Six: Childhood 7. ,Day Seven: Hope 8. Day Eight: School 9. Day Nine: Playground 10. Day Ten: Memories 11. Day Eleven: Love
Disc 2
1. Day Twelve: Trauma 2. Day Thirteen: Sign 3. Day Fourteen: Pride 4. Day Fifteen: Betrayal 5. Day Sixteen: Loser 6. Day Seventeen: Accident? 7. Day Eighteen: Realization 8. Day Nineteen: Disclosure 9. Day Twenty: Confrontation
The Human Equation has become my favorite CD. The first time I listened to the album as a whole, I did not really listen to the lyrics much; only the music all together. The music stood out quite well as some excellent, groovy tunes. From the heavy guitar riffs and drum beats, to the folk flute and didgeridoo, to the extreme range of light and powerful vocalists; this album has it all. The second time I listened to this album as a whole, I sat on my couch, pulled out the booklet and read along with the lyrics. It punched my experience up so much, that it instantly became my favorite CD.
The story is beautiful; it has all the elements of feelings and experiences one can have throughout his or her life. It is bassed around "Me", whom lies in a coma due to a car accident. "Me" has had some harsh memories lying deep within, and has to work through those feelings, emotions, fears, and memories before he can wake out of his coma. In the mean time, "Best Friend" and "Wife" are sitting by his side, waiting every step of the way, and trying to help figure out a way to bring "Me" out of a coma. The entire story takes place in twenty days, and each song is each individual day. As you go through the story, you can be reminded of times in your own life that have meant somewhat the same to you as "Me" feels in this album. And it all comes to an incredible, powerful ending. The song list is as follows:
CD One
Day One: Vigil
Day Two: Isolation
Day Three: Pain
Day Four: Mystery
Day Five: Voices
Day Six: Childhood
Day Seven: Hope (one of two Singles on the album)
Day Eight: School
Day Nine: Playground
Day Ten: Memories
Day Eleven: Love (the second Single on the album)
CD Two
Day Twelve: Trauma
Day Thirteen: Sign
Day Fourteen: Pride
Day Fifteen: Betrayal
Day Sixteen: Loser
Day Seventeen: Accident?
Day Eighteen: Realization
Day Nineteen: Disclosure
Day Twenty: Confrontation
"Me" is played by James LaBrie of Dream Theater. His performance is as powerful as anything he has ever done, and is certainly worth picking up this album for alone.
"Best Friend" is played by Arjen Luccassen himself, the mastermind behind Ayreon. He plays the guitars, the bass guitars, and some keyboards and synthesizers (and The Hammond) himself. His performance is very unique, and I have come to enjoy his "foreign" (that is to say foreign to me, personally) accent and approach.
"Wife" is played by the incredible Marcela Bovio; an unknown vocalist until this album came out. She is easily among the best singers on this album, and as such had started a separate project (known as Stream Of Passion) with Arjen Luccassen. She is as beautiful raw as any on this album, and delivers an amazing performance.
The other characters and feelings are performed by the following people:
"Father": Mike Baker (of Shadow Gallery) - Where his performance is short on this album, it's ultimate in defining his character within the story.
"Fear": Mikael Åkerfeldt (of Opeth) - If you are familiar with Mikael, or Opeth, you should know that he has a fantastic singing voice (as opposed to his fantastic grunt approach). It is as good on this album as his Damnation album of Opeth.
"Pride": Magnus Ekwall (of The Quill) - A true Rock singer; a powerhouse.
"Reason": Eric Clayton (of Saviour Machine) - An incredible presence, and a perfect match for the concept known as reason.
"Passion": Irene Jansen - Yet another powerhouse vocalist (only this time, female) that had been undiscovered until this album.
"Agony": Devon Graves (of Deadsoul Tribe) - A very unique vocalist, and really captures Agony. A fantastic find for Arjen.
"Rage": Devin Townsend (of Devin Townshend!) - A legend. You will see Arjen talk about Devin on the Bonus DVD of this album, and it's really quite interesting how Devin did not even record his parts in Arjen's studio. Devin delivers an amazing presence.
"Love": Heather Findlay (of Mostly Autumn) - A beautiful voice. She was the perfect match for Love, and really makes you appreciate the emotion through her performance.
This album is worth every penny, and should definitely be purchased (as the Limited Edition with the Bonus DVD) by any Progressive Rock fan, fan of Ayreon, fan of Dream Theater, or any person interested in an amazing performance (however, it helps to enjoy heavy drums and any of the musicians listed previously).
If you have expressed interest in Ayreon or this album, just go ahead and buy it. It is well worth it!
Also note that this was my first look into Ayreon; my first Ayreon album.
AN EXCELLENT EPIC WORK Submitted on: 2007-03-10
Since I'd discovered A. Lucassen works, I think is the best epic concept album. It's just all I want to hear nowadays, five stars to Ayreon, five stars to Arjen!!!!.
Perhaps the best rock opera ever. Submitted on: 2006-04-21
I'm the kind of person that hates musicals, figure skating, home decoration shows, and rock opera's (eg. Meatloaf). While I knew most of the vocalists on this recording, I was hesitant to pick up because of my aversion to rock opera's. Needless to say I was not only impressed by this recording, I was truly amazed by it.
All the vocalists used are great and really fit their parts. Even if you don't pay attention to the roles each singer portrays, the trading off of multiple vocalists within a song works very well and seldom sounds cheesy.
A few vocalists really steal the show; namely Devin Townsend, Mikael ?kerfeldt, Irene Jansen, and Marcela Bovio. Those that know Devin Townsend's music know his trademark screams and they fit his part to a tee since he portrays the emotion of rage. Mikael ?kerfeldt from Opeth has a great singing voice (when he uses it) and offers a few of his trademark grunts (death metal vocals). While that form of singing prevents me from enjoying Opeth, it actually fits his parts well and are used very sparingly to great effect (coming off like some kind of demented god figure). At times his voice is quite operatic with amazing depth, especially on Day Twelve: Trauma. Irene Jansen has an extremely powerful voice, evident in the song Day Eleven: Love. Marcela Bovio is a newly discovered singer that Arjen Lucassen found in a talent competition. She has an amazingly emotive voice and is featured on his latest project.
The music has parts that are prog-metal, art rock, and prog-folk. The prog-folk sections sound an awful lot like classic Jethro Tull. The prog-metal sections vaguely sound like typical Dream Theater. The instrumentation is excellent, never sounding strained or forced into musical styles they can't reproduce. That's one of the reasons I actually like this rock opera, the music is always high quality and provides a great deal of variety. Interestingly, Day Three: Pain has a simple guitar part that sounds a lot like one of the themes from James Bond.
All in all, this is an excellent progressive recording. The music is atmospheric, heavy, and folksy all at once. The vocal performances are amazing and the overall presentation is incredible. This recording truly deserves all the accolades that it garners. I would highly recommend this to any prog fan; it truly is a masterpiece on so many levels. Shell out a few extra bucks for the special edition with the DVD. The making of documentary is actually quite interesting.
Amazing... AbsoFlippin Amazing Submitted on: 2006-02-02
I've always found that going into Mediaplay can be dangerous. We went in to look at guitars and came out with the name of a band that played absolutely brill music. A few weeks and $30 later I had "the Human Equation" in my hot little hand. It. Is. AWESOME! Arjen combines all the best elements of so many different kinds of music into this brilliant Rock Opera masterpiece. I watched the DVD and was further astounded at how flippin' tall Arjen is. He makes me proud to share a Duth heritage with him.
The track "Hope", for me, is a very moving and uplifting song. All at once it gives me (ironically) hope and makes me think about all the friends I have lost over the years.
Arjen has created something that will unfortunately be overlooked by bloody mainstream America. It is sad that we concentrate so much on glitz and glamour and sex and ignore bands that actually have talent. BUY THIS CD! You won't regret it! in fact, I DEFY YOU to dislike this album!
A Stunning Masterpiece! Submitted on: 2005-12-01
Since "The Human Equation" has been so widely praised, on Amazon and elsewhere, I don't feel the need to "convince" anyone to buy it-- The reviews below do this quite well! My review is for people that already own "THE", and are interested in a song-by-song analysis, with a focus on compositional elements.
SKT
Certainly one of the most interesting releases I've heard of late is the 6th Ayreon album titled "The Human Equation". Ayreon is full-blown progressive rock and orchestral in sound, with a huge arsenal of guitars, mandolins, analog synthesizers, melotrons, hammond organ, as well as string instruments (vn, vc), flutes, recorders, bassoon (!), even the Australian folk instrument, the didgeridoo. Likewise the style of the music is extremely varied, usually within the same song, going from hard rock to folk, country and classical, sometimes in very unpredictable ways. But what really makes the album unique is the stunning array of 11 singers, each one powerful and compelling (especially the three women).
Ayreon albums are the brainchild of one person, Dutch rock musician Arjen Lucassen, who writes all the music and most of the lyrics, plays all the guitars, bass, and most of the keyboards, and even sings, and does most of the mixing and post-production! He is a composer in the truest sense of the word, spending up to 2 years writing before ever going into the studio, and the fact that he has assembled such a stellar cast (including many who don't normally "guest" on other albums) says a lot for his status in the industry and the quality of his music. His albums are not just albums or even "concept" albums, but rock operas, with characters and a story line. In this case, the story concerns a man in a coma, with his best friend and wife at his side. The real drama, however, plays out in the man's head-- Various emotions become "characters" in the story as he relives seminal episodes in his life, and we discover the circumstances that led up to his "accident". It's a fascinating concept-- Not your typical rock album, that's for sure!
Some things to listen for along the way:
CD1-
Track1-- Intro to album. Gorgeous harmony for Wife: "Why are you so concerned" Too short! I want to hear more!
Tr 2-- Full blown progressive rock number with many characters and huge arsenal of colors. Exciting instrumental interludes (phenomenal Synth solo). Refrain (Passion:"Can't you feel it burn") more intensely orchestrated with each new appearance. Also verses radically reorch, depending on the character (compare Me: "I can't move", to Love: "Close your eyes")
Tr 3 "Pain"-- Appropriately gloomy, but with a wonderful ray of hope (Love: "I can't accept this")
Tr 4-- Totally inspired use of the slide guitar, especially highlighting more gorgeous harmony for the Wife ("Do you think he's seen it?"). Also stunning a-capella reorch of verse towards end. One of my favorites!
Tr 5-- Lydian guitar and mandolin intro. Nice writing for violin and cello. Middle section (Reason: "Who are these voices", Love: "They sound familiar") great!
Tr 7-- Happy go lucky, Beach Boys like. Great harmonies (Best friend: "So much to see"). Abrupt change to "harder" orch at end, when lyrics get more serious (Me: "There's no way out").
Tr 10-- Just plain gorgeous, and very moving. Beginning sounds like intro, but actually is the same musical material as verse proper (Best Friend and Pride: "Do you remember that time"). Another re-orch of the verse at end (Passion: "Can you see her light").
Tr 11-- Incredible inspiration to end CD 1. Irresistable, swinging 6/8 rhythm, obscured by mandolin intro, then "corrected" by drum entrance. Wonderful harmony throughout, esp. bVII, IV, I progression in verse, and rich harmony in refrain (Passion: "Do it right"). Surprise new section (Agony: "Remember your father"), yet another re-orch of the verse (Fear: "You're afraid she might turn you down"), wonderful vocal counterpoint after that (Me: "Friday night"), and INCREDIBLE ending-- I call it Climax by Subtraction!!
CD 2-
Track 12-- At begining., wisps of virtually every song from CD 1 fly by. Listen real close, or you'll miss it! Yet another amazing transformation of musical material (compare Fear: "We won't let you go" to Passion: "She won't let you go"). Synth end recalls very beginning of track.
Tr 13-- Beautiful acoustic number, especially welcome after heavy, dark rock of tr 12. Again, gorgeous new music for Wife ("Can you feel me touch"). Another new section later (Wife: "Can you see") with very unusual orch. of string Pizzicato, perhaps indicating the "teardrops" in the lyrics.
Tr 15-- Wagnerian majesty in the refrain (Reason: "This memory burns inside"), which is more gloriously orch. with each new appearance. Wonderful instrumental interlude, almost Bach Toccata-like.
Tr 16-- One of the more brutal songs, especially lyrically, but has amazing Hammond solo in middle by rock legend Ken Hensley (phenomenal drumming by Ed Warby in this section as well).
Tr 17-- gorgeous Pink Floyd-esque inspiration at critical point in the story. Missing beats in verse, haunting "off stage" women's chorus (Wife: "Did you see me smile"), and great bass line during refrain (Agony: "Love left you") all highlights. And, yet another verse reorch (Agony: "Your memory begins to clear").
Tr 18-- Mostly instrumental. Flute "cadenza" at begining actually states main musical material of song. Folksy style recalls inst. track on CD 1 (#9). Fugal section explores virtually his entire arsenal of instruments, sometimes in bizarre combinations.
Tr 19-- Another gorgeous song, with more lydian tendencies. Surprise C# minor at middle section (Wife: " My sweet love"), with leaping string arpeggios. The instrumental section recalls tr 18.
Tr 20-- The climax of the entire album, both lyrically and musically. Large ABA form--- outer "A" sections fittingly use a passacaglia, recalling climactic sections of many classical works (Purcell-- Dido & Aeneas, Brahms-- Symph #4, Britten-- Turn of the Screw & Peter Grimes come to mind). "B" sec. begins with huge surprise harmonically (Agony: "Welcome to reality"), and many more harm surprises after that. Final "A" section builds to huge climax before the surprise ending puts a new twist on the whole story.
That does it! Sorry for the "cliff-notes" approach, but hopefully I got my points across. I look forward to your comments-- (...)respond on the Amazon website.
![Ayreon - Human Equation [Limited Edition] [Bonus DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61QVCN9Q2PL.jpg)
A Masterpiece