Guilt Machine
On This Perfect Day

Are Ayreon at the end of the line? It seems so: the saga of the fictional world created by Arjen Anthony Lucassen apparently concludes with the collection Timeline, which contains an eloquent unreleased track, Epilogue: The Memory Remains, that narrates the end of the human world and the "Forever", supernatural beings who would have seeded the human race. For this song, recorded especially for the best of, Lucassen relies on his new discovery, the Belgian from Gent, Jasper Steverlinck, a great singer who vaguely reminds of Freddy Mercury at times, but with a very personal touch. Discovered thanks to a fan who sent him an email pointing out the alternative rock band Arid, where Steverlinck was singing, Arjen immediately found the right connection with him, and together they decided to start yet another side-project, or maybe something more definitive, but that's yet to be seen given the peculiar nature of the eclectic Lucassen.

The nature of the project Guilt Machine is very different from the usual: no longer a multitude of guests, but an almost stable lineup, which includes, in addition to the two already mentioned, the talented drummer Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree) and the great Swedish guitarist Lori Linstruth, Lucassen's partner and manager, who had already played with him in Stream Of Passion and in 01011001. Also in terms of lyrics, the words are no longer the product of Lucassen but of Linstruth who managed to put on paper the themes desired by Arjen, totally different from Ayreon. In Guilt Machine, there is indeed a departure from the usual sci-fi themes, in search of the "destructive psychology of guilt and rejection, as well as the darkest form of secrets, those we hide from ourselves", as Lucassen himself stated.

What results from such a revolution? First of all, a general darkening of the music, which gives rise to very heavy atmospheres, something that gives the six long compositions excessive heaviness (like in the opener "Twisted Coil"). Personally, I am convinced, beyond the excellent premises, vocal qualities etc., that Jasper Steverlinck's singing does not align much with what is the musical world of Arjen Lucassen and his various projects. In fact, his vocal contribution, oriented towards alternative, sometimes leads to rather weak performances (as in "Green And Cream" or "Leland Street"). The music is also very different from the usual Ayreon style, with fewer space rock synthesizers supported by rock guitars and less use of particular instruments like flutes and mandolins, except for the violin parts by Ben Mathot ("Season Of Denial" or "Over"). The keyboards are almost solely used for background and support parts.

Good musical moments are there, but they need to be searched for scattered here and there in the album, like in the concluding "Perfection?". Lori Linstruth on guitar is extraordinary, throughout the album she offers impeccable performances with her characteristic use of wah and tremolo, while Arjen is always ultra-professional both in the search for sounds and in playing rhythm guitar, in addition to his peculiar way of playing bass, which is heard a bit less, perhaps deliberately mixed at lower volumes.

"On This Perfect Day" is not an album that overall manages to communicate much to me, quite below expectations. The premises of the trailer visible on YouTube before the release of this work, in my humble opinion, seemed destined to lead to a much more substantial album.