The Human Equation by Ayreon
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:45 pm
I'm going to recommend this album to everyone, though it will be appreciated in a musical sense most by those who have very eclectic tastes spanning from folk music right through to heavy metal. The production is top notch, and there are more musical ideas in each of most of the songs than are usually found on whole albums of mainstream genres. It's so musically dense that it could take several listens to really appreciate everything that's going on. Of course, headphones are preferable for picking up every nuance.
Thematically it is a rock opera with most of the characters being personified emotions. A man in a coma must come to terms with Fear, Love, Reason, Pride, Rage, Agony, and Passion as his Wife and Best Friend sit vigil for 20 days. Each day is a song.
There's a lot going on in this story, and it is potentially triggering for anyone that can relate to any of the themes. It's an intense, sometimes bleak, but ultimately triumphant journey of a lost soul finding redemption. It's a little cheesy in parts, but overall it really packs an emotional punch, which is why I'm recommending it here. I've seen people comment that the album was life-changing for them, and while that seems a bit much, I can see how that could be the case. For myself, I just find it very interesting and very entertaining. Excellent music in a range of styles focusing on emotions? How can you top that?
The whole thing is best treated like a movie, to be experienced all at once with full attention, and preferably with lyrics available to clarify which of the many characters is singing what.
The album was released in 2004, and later this year (Sept 18-20, 2015) it will be performed on stage with most of the same vocalists reprising their roles: http://shadowfreaks.com/thetheaterequation/
Listen here:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=codSKV_0NrQ (50:50)
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7FfaJr4sHQ (51:35)
The lyrics are in those videos, but more readable (though maybe with a few errors) lyrics can be found here:
http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/ayreon ... ation.html
And of course, you can buy it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001YNK70/
Artist's web site: http://www.arjenlucassen.com/content/
- B
Thematically it is a rock opera with most of the characters being personified emotions. A man in a coma must come to terms with Fear, Love, Reason, Pride, Rage, Agony, and Passion as his Wife and Best Friend sit vigil for 20 days. Each day is a song.
There's a lot going on in this story, and it is potentially triggering for anyone that can relate to any of the themes. It's an intense, sometimes bleak, but ultimately triumphant journey of a lost soul finding redemption. It's a little cheesy in parts, but overall it really packs an emotional punch, which is why I'm recommending it here. I've seen people comment that the album was life-changing for them, and while that seems a bit much, I can see how that could be the case. For myself, I just find it very interesting and very entertaining. Excellent music in a range of styles focusing on emotions? How can you top that?
The whole thing is best treated like a movie, to be experienced all at once with full attention, and preferably with lyrics available to clarify which of the many characters is singing what.
The album was released in 2004, and later this year (Sept 18-20, 2015) it will be performed on stage with most of the same vocalists reprising their roles: http://shadowfreaks.com/thetheaterequation/
Listen here:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=codSKV_0NrQ (50:50)
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7FfaJr4sHQ (51:35)
The lyrics are in those videos, but more readable (though maybe with a few errors) lyrics can be found here:
http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/ayreon ... ation.html
And of course, you can buy it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001YNK70/
Artist's web site: http://www.arjenlucassen.com/content/
- B