Ayreon
Into The Electric Castle

Arjen Anthony Lucassen. This is the name of the genius. Few have managed to resurrect the "rock opera" genre like Lucassen, even revamping it for modern times with this "metal opera," although the Progressive Metal label is quite limiting for an album like "Into The Electric Castle," as it contains influences from various genres, such as folk, '70s progressive rock, electronic music (dictated by the massive use of synths), classic heavy metal, for example. Even on a conceptual level, the creation of such a well-set imaginary world that reflects so well in the music is a feat achieved by few. We find influences from Tolkien, ancient mythology from various cultures, science fiction, inspiration from B-movies, and much more. Not to mention the atmospheres: epic moments, medieval-like moments, baroque moments, acoustic moments, more introspective moments, all fused in a multiform cauldron overflowing with original ideas.

A mysterious voice calls eight characters taken from different eras of history, specifically eras of turmoil. Their mission is to reach the Electric Castle, overcoming all the difficulties and trials that occur along their way, and discover what is hidden inside. All make hypotheses about this strange place, which the voice indicates as "a place beyond space and time": the Scottish Highlander thinks it's hell, the Indian woman from India a spiritual journey, the knight the Island of Avalon where the Holy Grail is kept, the ancient Roman the Elysian Fields, the Barbarian a cursed place, the hippie an imaginary and fantastic flight in space created by the joints he's smoked, while the Ancient Egyptian believes it is the afterlife, namely the hall of Isis and Osiris. The man from the future reflects on the diversity among the types of space and time traversed. The eight arrive at the decision tree, where the voice forces them to decide who among them should die. The barbarian speaks of his glory, a reason for optimism that encourages everyone to continue, except the Highlander, who says he has lost his honor and does not want to continue the journey. He fought for principles and carried their bloodied banners, buried the dead, even children, plundered crops and scattered ashes over the fields: he has lost his honor. So, while all the others joyfully enter the tunnel of light, he collapses to the ground and slowly dies. The seven then reach the rainbow bridge, "so strong, yet so fragile," as the mysterious voice states. Here the Roman and the knight indulge in thoughts of lost loves. The journey continues smoothly to the garden of emotions, in the presence of the castle, whose bastions rise gloriously, as if to counter the insignificant dimensions of humans, overwhelmed by such majesty. The hippie awakens from his trip, full of joy for his cosmic dream that seems to have come true. The Roman and the Barbarian argue over who will take on the role of mission leader inside the castle, while the man from the future urges them to stay united. The Indian and the Egyptian allude to an emotion, a strange feeling that hovers in the garden. The Egyptian, listening to this premonition, gets lost within the garden's labyrinths, victim of the enchantment of this place, and, dying, asks to be buried in the Valley of the Queens. Finally, the six reach the castle: they enter the great hall, where the Barbarian and the knight must face horrible ghosts and demons. Meanwhile, the hippie, the man from the future, the Roman, and the Indian, climb to the top of the Tower of Hope. The Indian is overwhelmed by the stormy wind and swept away, while Death makes its voice heard. Reunited again, the five reach the mirror, where each must confront their own despair and past, striving to emerge intact from the confrontation with themselves. With difficulty, the spell of the magic mirror is broken. The man from the future reflects on the sad fate of humanity, victim of its unstoppable technology and science, which will slowly decree its end. The five find themselves before two gates: one golden, the other rusted, one opening onto the chasm leading to death, the other to salvation. It is up to them to decide which of the two gates leads the right way. The barbarian arrogantly claims that the right choice is the golden gate and, crossing it, falls into the abyss, dying. The mysterious voice reveals its identity: it is a supernatural and eternal being that calls itself "of the stars," indeed named "Forever Of The Stars." It reveals that it was its lineage that created humans and populated planet Earth, as a sort of experiment. The purpose was to study human emotions and the dangerous passions that its lineage had long lost. It claims to be tired and far from home: the experiment is therefore concluded, the gate opens, the circle closes. Each one, returned to their time, engages in some reflections: the hippie claims it was the most marvelous of trips; the man from the future is unsure if it all really happened, given that his memory was implanted by a computer; the Roman claims the experience helped him find himself, while the knight thinks he found the Holy Grail within himself.

A great number of guest musicians are used in this album, while Arjen Lucassen, a multi-instrumentalist (playing all the guitars, bass, mandolin, mellotron, and minimoog), relies for the entire album on drummer Ed Warby, who temporarily constitutes the only fixed base of the "band." For the various parts of synthesizer, piano, and organ, he avails himself of the help of a slew of keyboardists: Rene Markelbach, Ton Scherpenzeel, Robby Valentyne, Roland Bakker, and Clive Nolan. There are also many singers, one for every character in the story: they are Fish (ex-Marillion, the Highlander), Sharon den Adel (from Within Temptation, the Indian woman from India), Damian Wilson (ex-Rick Wakeman, from Threshold and Landmarq, the medieval knight), Edwin Balogh (ex-Omega, the ancient Roman), Anneke van Giersbergen (from The Gathering, the Ancient Egyptian), Jay van Feggelen (ex-Bodine, the Barbarian), Arjen Lucassen himself (the hippie), Edward Reekers (ex-Kayak, the man from the future), Robert Westerholt and Gorge Oosthoek (respectively from Testament and Orphanage, the voices of Death) and Peter Daltrey (ex-Kaleidoscope, narrator voice).

After the introductory narrated intro ("Welcome To The New Dimension"), there is the first real song, "Isis And Osiris", with the magical mandolin, a great performance by Fish and majestic synth solos. The sitar interlude is also beautiful, giving that extra touch to perfect this wonderful suite. The second suite is "Amazing Flight", wonderfully arranged, especially beautiful in the finale, where the grandiose Thijs Van Leer of Focus intervenes with his magical flute, creating atmospheres of rare beauty. "Time Beyond Time" is a more melodic and introspective piece. "The Decision's Tree" is one of the most beautiful pieces of the album, with the usual monumental Fish declaiming with his deliberately marked Scottish accent, among the chorally sung refrains. Wonderful too is "Tunnel Of Light", with its simple arpeggio and another well-constructed sung part. "Rainbow Bridge" is a nice piece where various genres blend, such as acoustic and hard rock. "Garden Of Emotions" is a very varied song, where the most prominent voices (the Barbarian and the ancient Roman) can be heard. An absolute gem is undoubtedly "Valley Of The Queens", with a voice that melts the heart poignantly, the synthesizer sweet as the flute and an arrangement that gives chills. "Castle Hall" is another nice energetic piece, sometimes more metal, with excellent riffs. "Tower of Hope" also features a lot of synthesizer and the choirs intertwine well with the big guitars. "Cosmic Fusion" even presents a growl part, while in "Mirror Maze" we find more visionary atmospheres, with choruses on acoustic guitar that even remind of Crosby, Stills & Nash. "Evil Devolution" is a quieter track, with violin and cello parts. "The Two Gates" is another masterful track, where Edwin Balogh sings divinely. After the narrated interlude with the vocoder in "Forever Of The Stars", there is the finale "Another Time, Another Space". It is a finale that, like all great rock operas of such magnificence, leaves one puzzled, not so much for the music, but for the contents. Still, two CDs packed with excellent music.

1998. Into The Electric Castle: album of the year, in my opinion! What more can I say, other than that it's an absurdly beautiful album, that you either love it or hate it, that it's a worthy work of the great masters, that it's an album with a thousand facets, that it's an unrepeatable stroke of genius? This is perhaps one of the most extraordinary fruits of the '90s. There are few weak moments (perhaps just the excessive presence of narrated parts, but, as they say, everything "adds to the soup") and it inexorably aims for perfection, all sealed with a wonderful cover. Not even "The Human Equation," although good, will manage to bring itself to the stratospheric level on which "Into The Electric Castle" stands, the true magnum opus of Ayreon by the legendary Arjen Lucassen.