Thanks so much for your interesting and positive comments, Doug, much appreciated! You sure know your business, hats off. Many of my listeners referred me to your reaction video. And... you certainly know how to give a compliment... better than Andrew Lloyd Webber, wow! JC Superstar is my biggest inspiration... so I'm not worthy. And yes, Lennon is never far :-) Thanks again and please keep up the good work!

@Doug.Helvering

3 жыл бұрын

I’m pleased to meet you. Congrats on your music success!

@talaniel

3 жыл бұрын

Hehe, yes, I knew that Arjen will like that compliment and that he will not consider himself worthy! Mr. Lucassen, you're a great musician!

@Metal_Auditor

3 жыл бұрын

@@Doug.Helvering you should pin this comment.

@avarast

3 жыл бұрын

@@talaniel Arjen sees everything !

@TheDondoran

3 жыл бұрын

Today, my brother recommended a song for me. "Leland Street" by Guilt Machine. And I was SO disappointed because I've gotten him to listen to Ayreon on many occasions, and he loves the theatricality and composition. And he didn't think I knew about Guilt Machine. I am so sad. Once I pointed it out, he immediately understood. But it is too late. He is not my brother anymore. Love you, friends!

New Wave Of British Heavy Metal - NWOBHM

@jimmyggs91

3 жыл бұрын

Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Saxon, Mötorhead, Venom, just to mention a few examples of NWOBHM bands.

@RealRuler2112

3 жыл бұрын

LOL - just hit that part of the video & came to the comments to define NWOBHM for him. =) Pronounced nu-eh-bum.

@TheCyberMantis

3 жыл бұрын

Poor Doug.... he has a lot of catching-up to do. ;-)

@iceddevil2005

3 жыл бұрын

I recommend documentary " headbanger journey" - very good stuff describing heavy metal music

@adamclark6756

3 жыл бұрын

@@iceddevil2005 Metal Evolution is another good documentary too, it traces the origins and then goes into all the sub-divisions of metal.

James LaBrie (Dream Theater) Tommy Karevik (Kamelot) Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me) Simone Simons (Epica) Nils K. Rue (Pagans Mind) Tobias Sammet (Edguy and Avantasia) Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian, also know as the Masters of the Crowds) Mike Mills (Toehider) Russell Allen (Symphony X) Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) Floor Jansen (Nightwish) Next Ayreon Song could be either The eye of Ra or Everybody Dies Both awesome songs, with lots of cool stuff to talk about

@ruudkeijzer9106

3 жыл бұрын

Live performance of everybody dies is a great idea!

@picolete

3 жыл бұрын

Hansi also from Demons & Wizards

@KelbenArunsun

3 жыл бұрын

@@picolete Demons and Wizards is a Colabproject with John Schaffer from Iced Earth... but that guy stormed the capital.. so i wouldnt reccommend them ^^

@gnupungo

3 жыл бұрын

Tommy Karevik is also the singer for Seventh Wonder :)

@scorpiusbalthazar4327

2 жыл бұрын

The Eye of Ra is a Star One album, not Ayreon.

I Still consider "Into The Electric Castle" as a definitive Masterpiece.

@Barthzord

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely my favorite Ayreon album. Would love to see Doug react to Amazing Flight!

@TheCyberMantis

3 жыл бұрын

That is about the time I discovered them. Over 20 years ago.

@matthewdigiordano1476

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely their best album to listen to as am album. Live concert is phenomenal too.

@Visionoir

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed. In the years after he has been repeating himself all over, with same chord progressions and formulas

@bcbitchkkv

3 жыл бұрын

Theory of Everything (pure art, a modern symphony in 4 parts, with synths - masterpiece) 01011001 (absolute hit parade, and a handful of 8+ min songs!) Into the Electric Castle (classic, the definitive Ayreon sound & album) The Human Equation (the lyrical & conceptual masterpiece) The Source (great recap of everything Ayreon has to offer)

Next Ayreon song could be Everybody Dies. It's awesome!

@kiwitron

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! Live version from Ayreon Universe!!!

@jaeoskyldig

3 жыл бұрын

And Into the Black Hole

@willowb518

3 жыл бұрын

Please not, its always these two Ayreon Songs they react to. Garden of Emotions Twisted Coil Amazing Flight Druids turn to stone

@someonesusingmyname

3 жыл бұрын

Was going to suggest this.

@deeduffjr

3 жыл бұрын

AMAZING live performance!

Fun fact, the binary part sung by Michael Mills translated into text says: trustTH1

@randalljones4370

3 жыл бұрын

Lols !! gonna dereference a null pointer if he makes that word wider.

@69Tiburoncito

3 жыл бұрын

True

@Brunillion

3 жыл бұрын

The name TH1 is a “tribute” to Mike’s band ToeHider

@69Tiburoncito

3 жыл бұрын

@@Brunillion In Toehider we trust. Mike/Michael Mills is also an amazing multi instrumentalist (very very good guitar player and a good Keyboard Player).

@572Btriode

3 жыл бұрын

It's in the good, old fashioned ASCII.

Next: Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence (he has to know Hansi a bit more haha)

@jimz6850

3 жыл бұрын

Hansi can read the ingredients on a cereal box and the fans would sing along with him!

@nettocap

3 жыл бұрын

Oh! It would be fun to watch Doug react to ATTWS!

@nathanadam4666

3 жыл бұрын

OH my god yes. Cannot state this enough

@bravenewozzy

3 жыл бұрын

I Vote this! Amazing song. Over 200 tracks mixed into this, Blind Guardian's Magnum Opus!

@bravenewozzy

3 жыл бұрын

I Vote this! Amazing song. Over 200 tracks mixed into this, Blind Guardian's Magnum Opus!

Welcome aboard, fellow Ayreonaut! Almost all albums by Ayreon are concept albums, basically rock operas, as you mentioned Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals, Arjen is a huge fan of his work, he mentioned Jesus Christ Superstar as a great inspiration, Pilate's Dream in particular. His last album, Transitus is more on musical side. It was made with being a movie in mind, but you know, Pandemic, plans changed but it will be a full musical one day! On rock side you got Into The Electric Castle, whole rock opera was played live 2 years ago, Amazing Flight is a great example, and guess what? Whole concert was narrated on stage by John de Lancie aka Q from Star Trek! People from all over the world (myself included) traveled to Netherlands to witness it. For 3 days Tilburg was the Ayreon capital with Ayreon beer for sale and Ayreon burgers in restaurants ;p The Human Equation is amazing album too. It's about a man in coma, with all different singers representing different emotion, story is told in 20 songs, each one is one day of the coma. This was also played live as a Theater Equation shows. The Theory of Everything is odd one. Again very personal story, but whole album consists of only 4 songs... 20 minutes each! Reactions to whole albums at once, this is what we need, just beware not to be blown away by too much awesomeness at once :)

@pahema472

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this comment. I was going to attempt the same, but you did it better, I think. Cheers from Downundah. ;D

@roblaw4554

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, quite the body of work! Over 25 years he masterminded 10 Ayreon albums, 7 of which (and 1 of his solo discs) all occur in the same shared universe as TDTTWBD. Plus a couple other band projects. And finally in the last several years a few live shows. Was super fortunate to get to see Electric Castle Live! I regret very little in my life but missing out on the chance to see Universe and Theater just sucks. Thankfully there are super well-done DVDs! And even video of the Star One show...

@scorpiusbalthazar4327

2 жыл бұрын

I love Transitus but apparently not a lot of people do. I've heard it said that it doesn't sound like Ayreon but I disagree. Get out! Now! is awesome.

@scorpiusbalthazar4327

2 жыл бұрын

I thought the Theory of Everything had like 30 songs or more? Nothing is longer than 4 minutes or so.

@michanowak7060

2 жыл бұрын

@@scorpiusbalthazar4327 Theory of Everything has 4 'phases' which are meant to be listened as whole songs. I believe Arjen sent it to his friends for feedback and when they told him 4 epics are too much to take he just cut songs into pieces without rearranging it. tbh I think it wasn't his best idea. I'd cut this album a bit differently :P As of Transitus, Dumb Piece of Rock is one of my favorite Ayreon songs! But album as a whole got too much repetition near the end for me.

I can't stress this enough. And then There Was Silence by Blind Guardian, please. What a journey of a song!

@imokin86

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, a true epic.

Floor is a common collaborator on Ayreon projects. As someone else once put it, Arjen loves setting her off like a bomb in the finale.

@CBadger

3 жыл бұрын

Just to add to your comment. Floor and her sister Irene have been in Ayreon since long before her fame, pre-2000/2001 and were originally backing vocalists called Ayreon's Angels. They were also both backing vocalists for Star One, Arjen's other sci-fi prog project.

@fnglert

3 жыл бұрын

@@CBadger First time I heard Floor was her backing vocals on My House On Mars.

@CBadger

3 жыл бұрын

@@fnglert Yeah. Universal Migrator part 1 from 2000. Those two albums (Universal Migrator 1 and 2), in my opinion, are Arjen's most solid and best work. Part 2 particularly.

@fnglert

3 жыл бұрын

@@CBadger I'm more partial to The Human Equation, but UM is also a favorite.

@damienmaynard8892

3 жыл бұрын

Have you seen Arjen standing next to Floor? He is SO tall!!!!

New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Doug. Now that you're becoming a metalhead you have to familiarise yourself with the acronyms 😁

@paveldronov9944

3 жыл бұрын

Did you mean Dutch?

@preludePT

3 жыл бұрын

@@paveldronov9944you have to see the whole video to understand 😊

Every reaction to The Day that the World Breaks Down: "Oh, wow I love this This is epic ... Floor!"

The singer Tommy Karevik is phenomenal. He deserves to be listened to in his own band(s). He's currently the lead singer of Kamelot which is a much more well known band, however his lesser known but older band is Seventh Wonder, and THIS is where you need to hear him. Seventh Wonder gives him a lot more space to play with his voice, and he can do some crazy things with it. I would suggest Welcome to Mercy Falls as the song to start with.

@ConfessorRahl

3 жыл бұрын

Seventh Wonder is hands down one of the most under appreciated bands around. Just beauty all around. When Tommy joined Kamelot it was the only choice that was able to take the sting out of losing Khan.

@alyssacrnkovic2691

3 жыл бұрын

@@ConfessorRahl ugh right?! Every time a reactor does this song, I urge them to listen to SW to hear Tommy instead of Kamelot, and every time I’ve been ignored. No one has reacted to them yet! And they deserve to be heard!

@TheDoctorIWho

3 жыл бұрын

Thinking about Seventh wonder: "The Great Escape" will be a great pick for you.

@DonCarnage42

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheDoctorIWho Would love to hear Doug do a reaction to the song The Great Escape!

@imokin86

3 жыл бұрын

SW is a better choice for Doug, because their composing style is more advanced than Kamelot, especially the latest Kamelot albums (I do like the newer Kamelot, but it is what it is, more straightforward music, almost pop).

Arjen has been doing this Ayreon project for a LONG time. He generally uses new musicians and singers on each album. This was one of the first that had singers come back into the project from previous albums. He very seldom plays live, especially since getting SOO many singers to your together is a logistical nightmare. He has performed a few select shows, look up Ayreon Universe. It was after this album and he had some of the singers on stage (Hansi, Mike Mills etc). Fantastic performance all around.

@talaniel

3 жыл бұрын

@@allie9452 Hm, I do not think he's running out of names, I think he just uses these great people again just because they are great.

@chessbrainiac

3 жыл бұрын

He had singers coming back already on Actual Fantasy and Into the Electric Castle . Several of the singers on his debut album The Final Experiment sang on his first 3 albums. Only when you got to The Human Equation did he start using mostly new singers on his albums.

The Floor bomb at the end always works 😁 They did a live concert called ‘Universe’, the whole concert is Epic! I advice you to just do everything 😄🙋🏼‍♀️

Arjen isn't just out to write epic works, he's also determined to have a lot of fun while doing it. 🙂

If you like epic long songs with lots of different parts, check out "And Then There Was Silence" by "Blind Guardian". (It's the band from the vocalist at 11:39 in this video). Though not the live version, it lacks a lot of layers.

Arjen is such a amazing musician. This is the first Ayreon song i have heard. The "Ayreon Universe" and "Electric Castle live and Other Tales" are incredible to watch in a home theater system.

@rikvanommen9564

3 жыл бұрын

I totally agree. I love those live albums/DVD's over the studio albums of Ayreon.

Ar-yen by the way, lol. Ayreon is freaking AMAZING! Such a humble human being as well.

I don't hear music like this so much nowadays. This is so cool! Doug - thanks for turning me onto them!

Ayreon generally doesn't do live shows, but they have on a couple rare occasions. With proper recording, thankfully! Highly recommend you check out the live performances of Everybody Dies and Intergalactic Space Crusaders

@AJ_NL_1963

2 жыл бұрын

Great choices. And indeed live performances are brilliant

The whole song gives me multiple goosebumps! One of the favorite moments is Hansi Kürsch' vocals!

Ay yes, the rabbit hole that is Ayreon. What an amazing project. Simply amazing stuff. I've been a fan for decades and Arjen has yet to let me down.

Yay! Was hoping you'd get around to this! I adore all of Arjen's projects. He's the man. Arjen didn't want to play this live for years because of how hard it is to get all the people together, in addition to his own stage fright. But he did it in 2018 and a few times thereafter, and it's AWESOME. Check out the live version of "Everybody Dies" for a wonderful example. Thank you so much for doing Ayreon, Arjen deserves a lot more attention. Almost all of Arjen's Ayreon albums are concept albums. He also has other projects, like Star One, the Gentle Storm, and Stream of Passion (among others) which are all pretty good. There's an Ayreon album called The Human Equation which, similar to The Source (the album this track came from), has multiple roles, both people and individual emotions (one of whom is played by Devon Townsend). I'm fanboying a little, but it's also a great album. I mean I say that like all his work isn't worth getting into. He's just a wonderful, inspiring composer and I like to think he must be a pretty good guy or else all these people wouldn't keep working with him. Floor and Irene have worked with him for ages.

There are clips from his live shows on KZread. Everybody dies from this same album is recommended. Others are from Ayreon and his other project albums like The Eye of Ra, Valley of the Queens, Age of Shadows, Isis and Osiris, Day 11:Love, Intergalactic Space Crusaders and Another time, Another Space.

@darkiee69

3 жыл бұрын

Don't forget And the Druids turned to stone. It's a masterpiece.

You should do more Ayreon, each album is a concept and he always enlists amazing talent and singers, all are mostly quite well composed.

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal started in 1979 and ran roughly up to 1984. It was a rather fun time to be a metalhead!

Amazing, I love Ayreon! So now, you gotta do Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy. It has LOTS of classical influences.

Doug, kudos to you. I'm in washington state but in music my heart belongs to Europe for reasons you find in this song. Great reaction..

I love the way you listen, Doug. When you find out that there was Russell Allen from Symphony X I cried a little. So beautiful watching a man like you. Thanks

This is my favorite quarantine new artist. I heard a reaction and found myself humming the song the next day. I went right out and purchased the album. Glad you got to see and react to this. There is a full album lyric video that give you the story of the source. You might like checking out Everybody Dies live.

@bigg2988

3 жыл бұрын

Btw, who else thought Everybody Dies Live is such a boss pun! \m/\m/

Thanks Doug - great track you "comment" here. How could I hide something so good from my ears for four years?

For Ayreon you should do streams and get the entire albums in an single sitting. Get the full stories because they are so worth it.

@LongandWeirdName

3 жыл бұрын

Seconded. Ayreon should be heard as full concept albums for full appreciation. While Arjen is a great composer, it's a storyteller that he truly shines as. Two of the albums are actually life changing.

@branlopgar

3 жыл бұрын

@@LongandWeirdName "Two of the albums"? Let me guess. Into the Electric Castle and The Human Equation? Because, if so, I totally agree

I thought Helloween - Keeper of the seven keys would be a mindblower, but ok Ayreon is next level

@robertvarga5788

3 жыл бұрын

Helloween is the next level :)

When Mr Arjen speaks to you directly, it feels like the highest pope just blessed you in person! LOL Aryeon Is A-Ma-Zing 😁😁😁

Ayreon is the most amazing collective. Its the "cast of thousands" of the metal world. It's that TV show or film every actor wants to sneak a bit-part in. I love that the metal world will come together for a bit of "fun". And Ayreon is the glue.

You need to review Into the Black Hole by Ayreon with Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden singing. Epic track. Don't worry you're not going to hell it just sounds like you are.

@gabolujan

3 жыл бұрын

Bruce's best performance of his career, imo.

@harrygorrod4463

3 жыл бұрын

I second this, such an epic song and one of Bruce's strongest, yet most underrated, vocal performances.

@69Tiburoncito

3 жыл бұрын

@@gabolujan Bruce Dickinson was so impressed by Arjen Anthony Lucassen hé wanted to make a whole Album with him. Lucassen was so happy and exited about the idea he told it to some journalist and Dickinson became very angry because it was leaked so the project got canceled.

@anastasisanastasia1436

3 жыл бұрын

@@69Tiburoncito always wondered why that record never happened. It still needs to happen though.

@MrEddison84

3 жыл бұрын

A vote for this! That track is a pure celebration of Bruce's awesomeness! Belt singing at its finest.

Haha, been waiting for this one! I wish every reactor did this one sooner in their journey.

Really glad you're now finding Ayreon. He has some very cool/different stuff. Big time talented writer! Thanks for the videos!!

Rhapsody’s “Sacred Power of Raging Winds” and/or Rhapsody of Fire’s “Son of Pain.” Two names but same band.

Arjen is a genious!!Amazing composer,i love him

Dear Doug, this video is like a late birthday present to my 40th anniversary - so Thank you, Sir!! I was lucky enough to see Ayreon live in Tilburg, Holland. It is a very rare occasion. Arjen has a tradition of writing amazing concept albums with the most talented guest musicians on earth. It never gets boring. Thank you for bringing this song to the attention of your followers,

Check out Avantasia. It's a similar project like Ayreon where each album is a story with multiple characters. It's a bit less progressive but still really good. Try the song "The Seven Angels". For Ayreon, you just have to dive into entire albums like The Source, The Human Equation or Into the Electric Castle...all as incredible as what you just watched.

@gsresener

3 жыл бұрын

Funny thing, i suggested the same song before seeing your comment

Amazing stuff. So much extraordinary talent and creativity packed into one song. Inspired, I am.

Ayreon 🤩 There is SO MUCH to discover 🤘😁🤘 Go for it and you will love every second of the journey, I promise 😍

I was truly excited about watching this a s you didn’t disappoint. Keep up the good work Doug, loving the reactions so far. New Wave of British Heavy Metal - NWOBHM, a term referring to a clutch of bands emerging in the ‘80s and having an impact on the metal genres. Arjen is a great musician and there is so much to listen to. Most are rock operas and without a shadow of a doubt he always works with great talent. He has also been doing the remote recording since 2007 when he worked with a singer from an Ayreon album to start a band. The band was called Stream of Passion. Stream to refer to the remote recording and working of the different members and Passion as that’s who Marcela Bovio played on his Human Equation album. She is also worthy of checking out. For the next songs I’d pick Amazing Flight In Space from Ayreon Universe, Garden of Emotions from Into The Electric Castle Live, Twisted Coil from the same live show, Starchild from Star One Live and Songs of the Ocean from Ayreon Universe. But in reality pick a song and you shouldn’t be disappointed, they vary in technicality, catchiness and length but that diversity is also a mark of the man, who is a top bloke by the way. Had a chance to meet him and the Stream Of Passion band (plus Damian Wilson, amazing vocalist and ex-Valjean) after a gig in London, all were down to Earth and as friendly as they come.

Finally Ayreon! Yo need to try Therion

@anastasisanastasia1436

3 жыл бұрын

Enter Vril-Ya :-)

I’m with you Doug. First time hearing this myself. Magnificent, such an eclectic musical landscape. Will check out more for sure. 👏

Nice to see this through the KZread-eyes of a composer and music lover. Knew the stuff already, for sure. But this perspective and view: worth while! By the way. Floor. She has a sister. She, her name is Irene, is also very talented. And she worked with Arjen too. Fun facts, as they say. Bye.

So glad you liked this! Remember this is musical theatre, just enjoy it and shut off your calculator.

I loved your reaction! NWOBHM stands for new wave of British heavy metal. The binary part played by Mike Mills as TH1, the computer, means 'trust TH1'. Arjen does play live, but seldom. He has a terrible case of stage fright. To continue your Ayreon journey, I reccommend 'the eye of ra', 'everybody dies', 'Age of shadows' and 'the valley of the queens'. Stay healthy!

Glad you love Ayreon and his guests....that song has so much rewarding replay value...nice choice for analysis! "Into The Electric Castle" is the gateway and arguable the masterpiece...I bet you binge on it soon

He does play live, but mostly other artists are singing and are playing the instruments. Arjen has stage freight.

@suspicionofdeceit

3 жыл бұрын

Dow he bring large boxes on stage?

@martindoorn9638

3 жыл бұрын

But not always! On Ayreon Universe he is in three songs and in Into The Electric Castle he is in almost all songs

@TheCyberMantis

3 жыл бұрын

@@suspicionofdeceit "stage freight"! LoL! Freight train!

@talaniel

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheCyberMantis well, could be a typo :-) Not nice to laugh, just correct :-)

You had me at "better than anything ALW could ever write". "Lloyd Webber's awful stuff runs for years and years and years" - Roger Waters (it's a miracle)

@talaniel

3 жыл бұрын

Actually, It's a bit funny cos I think Webber did Jesus Christ Superstar, right? That is a rock opera Arjen Lucassen likes a lot and it is one of the sources of inspiration for Ayreon project, if I am not mistaken.

Almost all Ayreon albums are rock operas. My personal favorite being Into the Electric Castle. They have a live video recording of it with full cast!! Opening track Isis and Osiris just sucks you into the story. I'm so happy you finally reacted to Ayreon. Waiting for more!!!

A live performance that I really like from Ayreon is : "Ayreon - And The Druids Turned To Stone (Ayreon Universe)" .

I've seen Ayreon twice a while back, 2 days in a row (First one because I managed to get tickets, second day because I met someone there that I had a great evening/connection with, which had a spare ticket for day 2). And Holy Shit... That show is just just like 4 hours of amazenessing ish.. That's the best word I can think of.

(Sees title and gets excited) Ooooh yes! (starts wiggling in chair from anticipation)

I didn't know this project! Incredible! These are unique opportunities to bring great musicians together in well-crafted music. Please Doug, bring Avantasia - Sign Of The Cross (R.I.P André Mattos), and Rainbow - Stargazer .... =)

Great song, great reaction. One of the singers, Simone Simons is the lead singer of Epica (which you definitely need to listen to). Epica's song, Sancta Terra has Floor and Simone singing together with a full orchestra and chorus behind the symphonic metal band.

Yeah baby! So nice to see you filet Arjen's presentation there, and his composition and production ofc. Enjoyed it a lot. Thanks! I'm sure many commenters already gave you more ins and outs on Arjen and Ayreon by now, so I'll skip that part. And yeah, 'synthesis' is so spot on! But he is also a master at arrangeing his live concerts, so best check out one or more of signature performances like 'Everybody Dies' or some from the 2019 'The Electric Castle' show. Every musician or vocalist, how renown they may be in their own right, obeys Arjen's directions and lets him guide them to perform exactly how he wants them to. Next best Ayreon thing for me is 'Isis and Osiris', because Q, Fish and Anneke, but there is so much more. You may also be interested to learn more from Arjen's project with legendary vocalist Anneke: The Gentle Storm. They (Arjen music and Anneke lyrics) created a very interesting concept double album 'The Diary') with a gentle (Acoustic/Folk) and a storm (Prog/Metal) version of a track list chronicling the story of a dutch sailor and his wife in 17th century Amsterdam. The two of them toured together to perform the gentle version of the album, and they geared up a band around many of the Ayreon-Arjen-Anneke team to tour with Anneke and Marcela (Bovio) on vocals. Here's a signature live performance 'The Storm', of that tour at Masters of Rock in 2015: kzread.info/dash/bejne/laOWp8pwcravpZs.html And here's a decent bootleg of a full, intimate acoustic concert Arjen and Anneke gave: kzread.info/dash/bejne/eaGK0siTca7cgpc.html And do consider to check out more by Anneke, either one or more signature track with The Gathering (Travel / TG25) or with Devin Townsend Project (Grace / Retinal Circus).

Ayreon is amazing, all of his work! Great reaction :)

Welcome aboard! Ayreon introduced me to prog metal when I was 14, and has been my favorite band ever

"Saved the best for last!" Indeed.

You know one great album from Ayreon I would like to see you reacting? The Human Equation. It's a very long album (1h40m total), but it is a true masterpiece! If I need to pick two songs from it, I would recommend "Day Eleven: Love" and "Day Sixteen: Loser"

So glad you discover Ayreon. Arjan is a genius composer, Just like Tuomas. I would love to see you react tot Wintersun🤘🥰

Arjen is at the very top. There is no doubt about that. Listen to all Ayreon stuff! And don't forget his other project: " the gentle storm " with Anneke van Giersbergen. You will not be disappointed. In the contrary. This music brings joy to your life!

I hope you find as much enjoyment as I have from this music. Glad you did the reaction. Expanding the fan base one music lover at a time.

For me, this is composing on the next level. Arjen and Tuomas bin the greatest composers from this era on any level.

Doug! Just keeping listening Ayreon! You will love it! (always reading the lyrics, the story its fantastic)

As you noticed, not only does Arjen write epic songs, but the performances and recording/mixing/mastering are second to none. So glad you did this one. His “Star One” project is amazing, as well, and you get to hear more Floor!

Ayreon is definitely my favorite musician by far. If you want a complex interesting rock opera from him - his best album imo is "the human equation".

This makes me so happy. Not my choice of the vast catalogue of Arjen, but undeniably an exciting showcase of a bunch of singers. My personal fav is Twisted Coil by his side project called Guilt Machine.

@talaniel

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, that one is great! Both the original version with Jasper and live version with Damien.

@maxmaidment96

3 жыл бұрын

@@talaniel I loved the original so much before I found out about the live version with Damien, and he absolutely nails it. So powerful.

One of my favorite Ayreon songs is Beneath the Waves. Beautiful song!

Best rock opera Ayreon Universe A must watch

I funny to see the raections on this. When Floor appears, all reactors has the same HUGE smile of joy and surprise on their faces. Thanks for this :-)

Friend from Munich turned me onto Ayreon late 2000's and I have been a fan ever since, turned my kids and friends onto them.

Helloween - Keeper of the seven keys!

@obi-wannabekennotbi2418

3 жыл бұрын

Helloween - Halloween

Ayreon is truly one of the most consistently exciting projects out there. Album after album he delivers, and this song is one of the most epic. Great video as always Doug! I’m going to recommend Meshuggah’s Clockworks (live) or Bleed (Live). Pay close attention to the drums, Tomas Haake is a legend

Arjen is the master of the concept album. The Human Equation is probably my favourite, the music, vocal performances, story etc all brilliant.

@LongandWeirdName

3 жыл бұрын

Wake up and rejoice You've made the right choice Let them hear your voice Shout it out Couldn't have chosen a better album, Jim.

The versatility of Russell Allen scares me... I think he deliberately adopts a new aspect of his voice for each album he sings in. Also, didn't expect to see my boy Mike Mills on the channel but here we go!

@TheCyberMantis

3 жыл бұрын

Russ is a legend. He is awesome on the TSO stuff. And all those years in Symphony-X. Plus other projects. He gets around!

If you are into metal opera, you should give a go at Avantasia. It's somewhat like Ayreon, but put together by Tobias Sammet (yes, captain in this song), and their first two albums are actually called "the metal opera", pt 1 and 2. I really dig Farewell, such amazing vocals. And the seven angels is really epic

@darkiee69

3 жыл бұрын

"In quest for" from mo pt 2 is my go to song.

Loved your reaction video Doug. I thought you might appreciate the work of Arjen. You nailed it. He does rock opera or Broadway style musical plays. Arjen is a bit of a recluse. he does not play much anymore in live shows. However he does do the production for live shows from time to time. No touring due to the difficulty of bringing all of these vocalists together for shows. They all have their own bands which keep them quite busy. You may want to check out some of the songs from 2 or 3 of his live shows. They are Ayreon Universe - The Best of Ayreon Live, performed in 2017. Then there is "Electric Castle Live and other Tales" performed as an actual rock opera, complete with mise-en-scène from 2019. This one includes John De Lancie, the actor who portrayed Q from the Star Trek "Next Generation" TV series as the narrator. He also has "The Theater Equation" performed live as an actual rock opera, complete with mise-en-scène. Short synopsis below. After a car accident, a man ("Me") falls into a coma, and, in his head, is confronted with his past, his emotions, and his current situation as he lays trapped inside his own mind. The circumstances surrounding the accident are mysterious, as Me ploughed into a tree on a deserted road in broad daylight. Following this, he slips into a twenty-day coma. While each day is represented by a single song on the album the theater show uses stylistic means like several repetitions. Each song follows a slightly different format, though there are major common themes, such as the presence of Me's manifest emotions in his dream world including Fear, Reason, and Pride; the presence of Me's Wife, his Best Friend, a doctor and a nurse at his bedside; and the past events that Me is forced to reflect on. Arjen always uses world class vocalists and musicians for his recordings such as Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Steve Hackett (Ex-Genisis), and many others from prominent European bands. His live performances also have incredible musicians from Europe that bring his creations to life. Occasionally Arjen will play a small role in the live stage shows. I have really come to appreciate his amazing and creative musical creations. He has a new record called "Transitus" which presents a sci-fi/gothic horror story partially set in the 19th century, which features about a dozen vocalists and a choir. Hope to see you again very soon. Peace.

"oh he's giving away the chord by showing it with his hand" - the sign of a true professional If you like metal and classical being mixed, I'd recommend Epica ft Floor Jansen - Sancta Terra live @ Retrospect

@rolsen1304

3 жыл бұрын

@Doug Helvering Epica is for sure something you should give a few listens, Sancta Terra, Kingdom of Heaven parts 1-3, Design Your Universe, Consign to Oblivion and so on are all good choices.

@darkiee69

3 жыл бұрын

How about Stabat mater dolorosa from the same show?

Aeryon is rfeally awesome ! It's pretty hard to find the Aeryon Universe live BD but i recommand you to have it your colletion !!! Nice job as usual :)

Great band, Great song, Great reaction by a REALLY great musical guy! Thanks!

i never was in ayreon. i remember an old friend of me loves the band and he let me listen to this band at a disillusion concert. i coudn't hear anything cause of the concert. but this video suprised me in a positive way. i have to listen to the band in the future

I just knew that you'd love this! Don't be surprised in Arjen drops a comment in here, as he genuinely seems to enjoy it when people react to his work. Oh, and NWOBHM stands for New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and the binary code is extended ascii for "trustTH1" - and Michael Mills really does have a range that vast.

Doug has gone down the rabbit-hole now! He's late to the party.... and he has a lot of catching-up to do. Interesting to watch people discover this stuff for the first time. I'm not even sure how long ago it was, when I first heard Ayreon... but it was a long time ago. It was around the time of the "Into The Electric Castle" album... so.... over 20 years ago.

Hi Doug! I'm glad you came to Ayreon; loads of great stuff to choose from. Needless to say I'm enjoying your video's very much :)

Now we talking music and musicianship!!!

Thanks for this reaction! The worship of Ayreon is now nearly fulfilled😉👍🖖

Another one of Lucassen's projects is called the Gentle Storm, which features Anneke van Giersbergen, who is also great! I'd start with the song Amsterdam.

I like to define Ayreon as the "Metal All-Star". Arjen gathers so many great musicians, creates amazing music and powerful stories. I think you will enjoy the albums "The Human Equation" and "The Theory Of Everything". If you want to do a reaction find something from Ayreon Universe Concert, you won't regret it.

I saw it being played live, today at 013 in Tilburg! Great song!

You should see the Theater Equation concert, that features the full lenght album "The Human Equation" of 2004, with almost of the original singers, not only singing but acting the story, with a chorus and minimal orquestral musicians. That show makes me cry a lot, I recommend you to see the concert!

Long time Ayreonaut here, been following and listening to Arjen regularly since Star One (Floor Jansen along with her sister did vocals and choir on the first album in 2002 by the way, can definitely recommend checking it out for some perspective on the musical journey of both Arjen and all the guest musicians and vocalists!) about 20 years ago, and this is one of the more interesting analyses I've seen - digging through the technical aspects of the complexity that his prog works often are. His works definitely deserve the attention, and you did a great job looking at it in more detail and giving your thoughts on it! :)

I just say this and I dont know how I missed it for so long, this song is so so amazing

I have been looking forward to this one eventually coming up. It was inevitable. Thanks for sharing the fun with us! :)

"Is this like the Matrix? Stuff?" Well.... yeah? But also, it's a lot more? A lot more. Like, universal-spanning, all-of-time-spanning level storytelling. Ayreon's scope is large. There's actually a whole story! And this track is the opening of the prequel album to the entire story, that sets up everything really. Enjoy any more Ayreon you check out, because there's so many great eras and songs! There's even a rock opera and a rock theater show! The Theater Equation is a stage play live performance version of The Human Equation album. And the album Into the Electric Castle has been done in a concert that I'd basically call opera, but it's not really opera proper, but it's also way bigger than most live performances.