Star One
Victims of the Modern Age

THE REVIEW

 "Star One" is nothing more than one of the many projects of the great Arjen Lucassen, where the Dutchman has opted for the experimentation of darker and heavier elements, as well as sci-fi themes, starting from the previous album, "Space Metal".

As can be easily deduced from the title, the music of the album expresses Arjen's resentment towards the current state of the society we live in, which manifests notably in the rebellious streak, so to speak, that runs through the lyrics. What transpires from them are the insults inflicted by time, accompanied by the ecological breakdown from which Mother Nature suffers and all those pretensions that will inevitably lead the human race towards decline (ok, knocking on wood is fine!).
In musical terms, it seems that the basic intention was to maintain a distinctly heavy sound throughout the album. In this regard, the excellent performance of Ed Warby (Ayreon, Hail of Bullets, Gorefest) stands out in terms of precision and mastery concerning the percussion, followed closely by the truly excellent keyboardist Joost “Lul” van den Broek (Ayreon, ex-After Forever), besides the fact that each track is brilliantly mixed with Hammond organs and all those effects already present in the previous album that have earned the project the appellation "Space Metal", as heard from the creator's own words. Meanwhile, it will be noted how Lucassen preferred not to make extensive display of his guitar skills, limiting himself to the execution of accompanying riffs, at least as far as the first album is concerned; thus demonstrating that he can also step aside (he probably does not suffer from the same protagonism issues as the talented Tobias Sammet).

With regard to the vocal aspect, Lucassen has called upon Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever, Revamp) for the higher ranges; Damien Wilson (Threshold) for clean voice sections; Russell Allen (Symphony X) for destructive power, and Dan Swäno (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath) for deep and gloomy growl. In the track "Closer To The Stars", Tony Martin stands out, who would certainly have deserved more visibility given his fame, besides the fact that I would have loved to hear him duet with Allen. His performance, moreover, is truly goosebump-inducing.
"Cassandra Complex" remains one of the few tracks that deviates from the harsh schemes perpetrated by the album regarding its bombastic pace, presenting a livelier melody, tending towards AOR, yet still anchored to robust riffs; although tempo changes to provide space for less violent sections are nevertheless recurrent in both albums in good prog tradition. Precisely in the second CD, it will be noted how the riffs take the lead, yet without disrupting the trend heard so far.

In conclusion, the album is highly recommended to all those who have even minimal familiarity with Lucassen's discography, but also for those who, having traveled on the notes of Transatlantic, now wish to venture into this space odyssey, and I don't even want to leave out a note of merit towards the booklet's artwork, which, among post-apocalyptic scenarios and crows perched on a beam emerging in the middle of the ocean, does nothing but perfectly transfigure the concept. There will come a day when a mediocre album will come out of Arjen Lucassen's hands... but today is not that day.