AYREON Into The Electric Castle - 2009 special edition Prog Metal 2-CD
Format: CD Condition: New Year of Release: 2009 Cat. No.: 868831 Label: Century Media
Into the Electric Castle is an epic prog rock opera from Dutch guitarist Arjen Lucassen.
The sci-fi story centers around eight strangers brought together into a dimension of no space and no time. The characters in the story are played by varying lead singers, including former Marillion frontman Fish.
The supporting cast is a who's who of proggers, which translates into superb musicianship. The story is standard sci-fi fare, but winds up being quite effective with the accompanying score. The massive coordination of such a large project is admirable, but to pull it off with such impressive results is stunning. There are some moments that work better than others, but in sum this an energetic, fun, and original recording.
There is a plethora of styles incorporated here, including progressive rock, progressive metal, neo-prog, fusion, space rock, jazz, folk, and classical. This campy classic helped to spawn a devout cult following for Ayreon and the man behind the music, Arjen Lucassen.
~ Robert Taylor, All Music Guide
TRACK LISTING:
CD 1:
1 Welcome To The New Dimension 2 Isis And Osiris: Let The Journey Begin/The Hall Of Isis And Osiris 3 Amazing Flight (A. Amazing Flight In Space/B. Stardance/C. Flying ...) 4 Time Beyond Time 5 The Decision Tree (We're Alive) 6 Tunnel Of Light 7 Across The Rainbow Bridge
CD 2:
8 The Garden Of Emotions: In The Garden Of Emotions/Voices In The ... 9 Valley Of The Queens 10 The Castle Hall 11 Tower Of Hope 12 Cosmic Fusion: Soar On The Breeze/Death's Grunt/The Passing Of An ... 13 The Mirror Maze (A. Inside The Mirror Maze/B. Through The Mirror) 14 Evil Devolution 15 The Two Gates 16 "Forever" Of The Stars 17 Another Time, Another Space
