Ayreon
The Human Equation

THE REVIEW

A terrible accident… a hospital bed… a man… his closest friend, his wife, his father, and all the internal emotions… the confrontation with himself… fear, suffering, love, agony, anger, pride, reason, and passion… an intense journey begins, lasting twenty days in the mind of a man in a coma, fighting between life and death, with all his thoughts and sensations overlapping in his mind like thoughts of his wife (whom he never treated with the attention she deserved) and his father (who always considered him a failure).

The music ranges from rock to metal with folk, gothic influences (and sometimes even dark) and occasionally symphonic insertions and instruments like flutes or cellos. The exceptional interpreter of the protagonist of this extraordinary concept is James LaBrie whom we hear performing with melodic parts filled with pathos, with only a few occasional great high notes. Besides LaBrie, we find the presence (as interpreters of the various internal voices) of Devin Townsend, Akerfeldt from Opeth, Devon Graves leader of Dead Soul Tribe, Mike Baker from Shadow Gallery, and the almost operatic voice of Eric Clayton from Saviour Machine. Among the less famous, it's noteworthy the presence of Magnus Ekwall (The Quill) equipped with a versatile voice that doesn't fall short compared to the other performers. For the music, it's noteworthy the presence of a magnificent solo, in Day 16, by the great keyboardist Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep and the contributions of the many instrumentalists that enrich Lucassen's work, produced in an exemplary manner with truly splendid arrangements and orchestrations in every song.

This is the latest product of the mind of multi-instrumentalist Anthony Arjen Lucassen (on the scene for more than 20 years, first with Vengeance and then with this project: Ayreon), and his best creation which surpasses Into The Electric Castle in terms of expressed concepts (now less sci-fi and closer to human reality and without the spoken parts that in the long run can become tiring), the progressive parts abound and the choirs (I assure you, every time I get goosebumps) approach perfection. Personally, I find it hard to think that Arjen can surpass the immense quality of this double album, but the mind of a music genius has infinite resources, so who can tell?

Ultimately, one of the best (for me, the best) progressive metal albums of 2004 (and also the last 5/6 years) and certainly among the top in history. Almost a must-buy for prog lovers, and highly recommended to all rock music lovers in general.