Ayreon
The Theory Of Everything

Arjen Anthony Lucassen has already blessed the world with at least one absolute masterpiece (The Human Equation) and a couple of excellent albums (Into The Electric Castle and 01011001), not to mention the fact that there has never been a truly bland work in his discography, even beyond the Ayreon project.

Thus, the anticipation regarding this new The Theory of Everything was at its peak when it was announced to be released a year later, with perfect punctuality: a cast of respectable instrumentalists (with a prevalence of keyboardists) and a group of vocalists limited in quantity compared to the standards of recent albums but certainly not in quality. The concept deviates from the plot of previous albums and distances itself from all recurring figures that have been in place so far, dealing with a young prodigy (The Prodigy, played by Tommy Karevik, phenomenal vocalist of Seventh Wonder and then of Kamelot) and the complex narrative threads that connect him to his father (The Father, played by the excellent yet underrated Michael Mills, the greatest revelation of the album), the rival (The Rival, Marco Hietala), the teacher (The Teacher, JB), the psychiatrist (The Psychiatrist, played by none other than John Wetton), a girl (The Girl, whose voice is provided by our own Sara Squadrani), and the mother (The Mother, another great Italian such as Cristina Scabbia). Notable, of course, as various artists are mentioned, is also the performance of multi-instrumentalist Lucassen (this time particularly focused on keyboards) and the ever-amazing Ed Warby on drums, a now-consolidated duo at the base of this dazzling project. The usual fantastic arrangements need not even be mentioned!

The theme shifts from the science fiction of previous albums to being more centered on the psychology of the characters, bringing this album conceptually closer to The Human Equation. And this is the title that seems to be directly cited several times in some sound and lyrical choices, but never redundantly, proving that this is an album that undoubtedly feels like Ayreon but also offers something new, especially in terms of structure. Indeed, this aspect of the album is quite unusual: four suites exceeding twenty minutes each, structured in an average of ten movements each, coinciding with the track division of the double album, for a total of forty-two tracks (a number that also refers to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, certainly not by chance). The duration of individual "tracks" is thus quite limited, with several pieces under a minute and rarely longer than three. Given the relatively small participation of vocalists, it is understandable that Arjen thought of inserting more instrumental sections than he was used to, with several uniquely instrumental movements and compressed dialogic sections between the various protagonists. This is also due to the continuous variability in sound, atmosphere, and theme of the suites, which present themselves as an extremely eclectic collage of very diverse music at its maximum. This creates a mosaic effect that brings forth Lucassen's most varied and likely richest work from a sonic perspective, but also generates a certain sense of haste in certain moments particularly, with many ideas merely sketched and never too deeply explored. Which can be a good thing as the offering becomes vast, but at times perhaps too frantic and, in some cases, not fluid and natural enough. Sonically, total eclecticism reigns, with atmospheres that are indeed predominantly heavy but also often electronic (in some cases reaching peaks of Ayreon’s career in this field), to pirate-like melodies and ethnic instrumentation, folk-like sequences like never before, fairy-tale orchestrations, and music worthy of a Hollywood soundtrack.

Among the highlights, Progressive Waves from the first suite could be noted, offering what might be Arjen's most memorable instrumental section enriched with two keyboard legends, Keith Emerson and Jordan Rudess (although, truth be told, in my opinion, Emerson's solo is one of the rare and biggest slips of the album that even echoes of self-plagiarism from The Old Castle from the album Pictures at an Exhibition and wasn't cut by Arjen only out of respect for the historic keyboardist, now coming to the end of his days of decency, it seems). Then, the very short Surface Tension from the second suite is unforgettable, helped by Rick Wakeman reaffirming his superiority. Then, from the third phase of the album (which is my favorite), at least the perfect Side Effects must be remembered, with one of the most touching vocal interpretations of recent years by Wetton, Mills, and Karevik. Finally, the last suite contains a gem like The Parting, with brilliant rhythmic cells, a noteworthy performance by Scabbia and Mills (especially the latter, reaching stratospheric heights with remarkable high notes) and a sensational guitar solo by Steve Hackett. But it would be criminal not to mention pieces like the three title tracks, or Love & Envy, with its atmospheres reminiscent of Day Seventeen: Accident, The Consultation, The Rival's Dilemma, Fluctuations, Transformation, Collision, with the most evident electronic influences of Ayreon's career, or the synthetic paradise of Frequency Modulation, the cinematic orchestrations of String Theory, the female vocal intertwining on the acoustic texture of Mirror of Dreams, the emotional dialogues of The Visitation, the frenzy of The Breakthrough, or the pathos of The Uncertainty Principle, just to name the pieces widely above average. The remaining others, except for a couple of very short interludes like The Argument 1, A Reason to Live, and The Argument 2 (inserted presumably to reach the numerologically significant quota of 42), suffer from the only flaw of not being totally perfect, for one reason or another... but they remain generally excellent tracks.

Listening to The Theory of Everything, you can ensure a cinematic memory immersion in the art of a man who seems to never stop having something to offer, among music with great evocative depth and rich with freshness and energy, set in an unexpected structure and enriched by vocal performances of exceptional level obtained thanks to a few but excellent vocalists recruited this time by Arjen, as well as the contribution of historical instrumentalists who deserve much respect even just for the legend contained within their name. We are faced with one of the most interesting concept albums ever and one of the most successful albums in recent years. Arjen Anthony Lucassen, once again, does not disappoint, with meticulously crafted music, an engaging plot, and exceptional taste!

92/100

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