Then my mind - I am from time eternal once again be carried away to a critique ... Tracklist: CD1: Day One: Vigil Day Two: Isolation Day Three: Pain Day Four: Mystery Day Five: Voices Day Six: Childhood Day Seven: Hope Day Eight: School Day Nine: Playground Day Ten: Memories Day Eleven: Love CD2: Day Twelve: Trauma Day Thirteen: Sign Day Fourteen: Pride Day Fifteen: Betrayal Day Sixteen: Loser Day Seventeen: Accident? Day Eighteen: Realization Day Nineteen: Disclosure Day Twenty: Confrontation DVD: - 45 minute "Behind the Scenes" (very informative, but also funny) - 3 minute "Concept" + Outtakes (rarely laughed!) - Ayreon story - Drums (Ed Warby) - Video for "Love" - Teaser for "THE" Singer: "Me" - James LaBrie "His Wife" - Marcela Bovio "His Best Friend" - Arjen Anthony Lucassen "Fear" -Mikael Aekerfield "Reason" - Eric Clayton "Love" - Heather Findlay "Passion" - Irene Jansen "Pride" - Magnus Ekwall "Pain" - Devon Graves "Rage" - Devin Townsend Instruments: A unüberschauberes Potpourrie - various guitars, synths, keys, Hammond, didgeridoo, flutes, cellos, violins - I certainly have heard no bagpipes! Arjen Anthony Lucassen has released "The Human Equation" in my opinion, his best-ever output - "Into The Electric Castle" included! On the "Do" page is the first elaborate story concept: A successful businessman accident in broad daylight on totally free road with his car and falls - despite low physical injury in a coma. His wife and his best friend persevere beside his bed and try their way to escort him back. So far, so banal, one might now think. In fact, the concept initially seems more demanding than the abstruse fantasy sci-fi stories of "ITEC" and "Universal Migrator" - but such as open "Into The Electric Castle" it is less travel but more the level of emotional conflict, which makes the story interesting. "On himself thrown back" and "trapped in" we find the man in his own subconscious back where he is confronted with the various positive and negative emotions and the memories of his life .... What follows is a work-up of the past and a clash of different feelings at the end of the question to the awakening of the sleeping person is ... I do not want to reveal too much, so I will not speak here about the memories and the end itself. For musical: The album is divided into twenty songs that everyone representing a day of the coma and are under a certain motto - often the memories of the man, sometimes the thought of his wife and the friend, sometimes his emotions. The individual singers who embody the various characters and emotions: "Me," the man himself is represented by Dream Theater James LaBrie, of the best vocal performance offereth on this album that I've ever heard of him. Above all, his soft, warm and full voice dominates - so I liked him, but he also often an opportunity again to strike high notes, which he manages very well here. Charismatic and sovereign performance - Compliment! Opeth's Mikael Aekerfield may as "Fear" ran. Its use for me was first partially somewhat unfamiliar, but quickly revised. He sings simply awesome, with its warm, voting has become melancholy - and also "fear" he can with his growls that were, however, used very sparingly to impart excellent. Its performance is as good as Opeth - the environment, however, completely different. (On the DVD he proves itself also as a human being with an extra ordinary humor!) Devon Graves is likely to be many as a singer of Dead Soul Tribe and Psychotic Waltz a term. So far, I shone the brilliance of this singer a little, although I thought it was good. That has changed with this album. He embodies "Pain" and is one of the most dominant voices of the album - sometimes fragile, sometimes painful, sometimes full force. The falls a places not to, because his voice is so variable that sometimes you do not notice that this exceptional singer is again ... Great! Irene Jansen as "Passion" offers is a very good performance and "hangs completely pure" - as the just heard for the "passion". The only power singer makes a very good figure and exceeds their performance in Star One and Gary Hughes. Mike Baker of Shadow Gallery has as gewaltätiger "Father" a single appearance in the song "Day Sixteen: Loser". Its performance is mainly in a uncommon transparency and serenity - he's just extremely cool! Arjen Lucassen himself plays the role of "Best Friend" and honestly - he's not a special singer. Nevertheless - he has something completely unique in his voice and sets, as did every singer on this album, its completely own accents. By the way: In addition to his performance as a "hippie" in "Amazing Flight in Space" (ITEC) he has never sounded better. About Devin Townsend I have to say that hardly. He is the true anger, the hatred, the anger ... ruthless, brutal he tears with his voice hurricane equal gashes - truly impressive. The only downer: He is represented only 3 songs - but these are all highlights. (But: What's "Motion personified alpha" ???) Among the singers who were previously unknown to me: Heather Findlay of Mostly Autumn is truly incarnate, pure "love" (no sex!). She's an angel and finished with her charismatic, smooth voice so some song and is - for the character "Me" as well as the handset itself - against all the pain, the fear, the anger into a true haven. I guess I'm going to Mostly Autumn antesten ... (Besides, it is probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen!) Magnus Ekwall as Pride is a Power-singer of the old school - and an (almost!) Full replacement for Russell Allen. For those who do not know Russel: This is pretty much the greatest compliment that I can make a singer. Volume, charisma, art - everything is just right, and it meets very well the pathos of pride. His tribe band The Quill I'll probably retest times ... Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine is Reason - also one of the most dominant voices of the album. His deep, dramatic, opereske voice chasing one again and again shiver down the spine. What can I say? The man is like a deep well. Did I mention that I will Saviour Machine antesten times? Last Wife - the wife of the sick. It is sung by the previously unknown Marcela Bovio from Mexico. Mir is a mystery how they could remain hidden until Arjen discovered it. I would watch them in about the singing team (and also stylistically and from the colors of her voice wise) in the same league as Annekke van Giersbergen. In her grief unite, love and even shot erotic when she takes forceful or almost breathy micro at hand. Huge compliment. What else? The voices are all absolutely unique and excellently chosen for their respective characters. The rollers act them without exception as tailored to the body. But their true power they unfold - and here Riesenlob to Arjen - in dialogue with the other. Unlike "Universal Migrator" Arjen has the concept of dialogue and the "adversarial singing" again excavated and refined compared to "Into The Electric Castle". This makes this board to vocally in their bandwidth best album that I know. I save the superlatives: He who has ears, let him hear! With so much enthusiasm about the singer, the song should not be forgotten. Retrieved from "moderately complex" [insulation, Pain, Trauma, Voices, Confrontation] (about the level of Spock's Beard 10-Minütern, more complex songs of Threshold are a comparison) via "dreamy ballad" (Sign) and absolutely turned [ Loser !!] up "to the point rocking" [eg Pride, Accident] is here again the full range of "Symphonic Space folk psych-prog Classic hippie metal rock". Here Arjen knows how otherwise almost only Steven Wilson or the guys from Threshold in their really good songs to create catchy tunes that can no longer get out of your head - the tunes are great class without being too pushy or banal (except perhaps "Hope", but even then I'm not sure - also are's degrees times 3 minutes). The variability that create the compositions already is encouraged by the instrumentation. Besides the typical Ayreon Trade Marks (warm-spacey analogue synths, crashing, classical guitars, a lot of folk by acoustic and Flute) also amplified classical instruments (and even a didgeridoo!) Time to be used, what the album adds some new dimensions of sound without forgetting that it is Ayreon. Arjen itself has a few inspired moment on lead guitar in the best "Castle Hall style", and for hearty keys solos provide Joost van den Broek, Oliver Wakemann, Martin Orford and Ken Hensley (terrific Hammond solo in "Loser") , On drums are AYREON veteran Ed Warby an extremely solid performance - he plays variable, never intrusive, and anything but boring ... again my reference to "Loser". With regard to the quality of the songs, I want to note the following: The highlights are best Ayreon classics of their respective shock, and there are some of them represented. Here are the bombastic orchestral "Isolation", which in Leadriff on Mission: Impossible reminiscent "Pain" and "Sign" as a ballad (! However, a certain Klau in "Valley of the Queens") and the crazy "Loser" (yes , again) called!. Even better: That's a pretty arbitrary choice! Just as well could there "Mystery", "Voices", "Childhood", "trauma", "Accident" or "" can be, and also "Confrontation Love" keeps the level (even though I feel it is overproduced, which I now am got used). And Lucassen-typical low-lights in addition to the high-lights? The there were always so well this time? Yes and no. As a "really banal", "cheesy" or simply "good night" I feel not a single song - well, maybe "Hope", but even that does not fall so heavily out. The so-called. "Low Lights" are this time so wonderfully inserted in's overall concept and are so skillfully concealed by the magnificent singing that they already not falling barely up and the nerves. BRAVO! Is there anything to say something? Perhaps this beautiful and absolutely consistent Artwork (Jef Bertels won for AYREON about the status of Roger Dean or Storm Thorgerson; for scenic interior design cared Mattias Norén), the tops once again just about everything and with the best artwork, the sight of which I so far was able to enjoy absolutely can measure? Perhaps the absolutely worth seeing, funny and informative bonus DVD? Maybe that I say after about 20 Hördurchläufen that will withstand wear and tear this album probably better than any other Lucassen album? If I'll still be put at the end of, I know that. Or maybe that Arjen has imho delivered with this album his masterpiece? "Electric Castle" has long been my king in this field. But now it is - after the publication of "The Human Equation": The king is dead (! Why should not man it still listening) - long live the King. I quote here the times Advertising: "Buy, march, march" Conclusion: Arjen has accomplished the feat to repeat itself, without repeating themselves. Which means: The album is unmistakably AYREON but sets many new impulses and standards in our own sound cosmos. It has all the strengths of previous Ayreon albums, and most of the same weaknesses were consistently eradicated. In view of the joy that my this album has now been made, but before the existence of the "Test of Time" (which I am confident - the already "Electric Castle" passed, and I think this album for more) I forgive for the aesthetic oeuvre (in the Deluxe Edition) "The Human Equation": 5 Stars! (Differentiated: 13/15 points) Thanks. PS: This text was intended to be a nicth Rezi, but is nevertheless a grown - if one sweeps the music, the thoughts already running times with ...
