In his latest (2013) release, The Theory of Everything, Arjen unveils a completely revamped conceptual universe for Ayreon. Gone are the complicated story lines featuring sci-fi, aliens and time-travel; in their place is a real-world drama set in the here and now.

Wrapping up the original Ayreon saga with ‘Epilogue: The Memory Remains’, a track on the ‘Timeline’ boxed set, Arjen took a creative hiatus from Ayreon to focus on other projects including Guilt Machine, Star One and his solo record ‘Lost In New Real’. And yet something kept calling him back to Ayreon. Determined to revamp and revitalize the Ayreon universe, Arjen spent 18 months crafting a simpler yet by no means less extravagant new record. Summing up the new concept, Arjen explains, “it takes a look at the fine line between genius and madness, focusing on the conflicting desires of the characters and the consequences of following their passions. It’s not science fiction, but a human story set in a science context.”

• The Theory of Everything features a stellar cast of guests, with members past and present of Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Kamelot, Genesis, Yes, ELP, Asia, Toehider, Grand Magus, and Ancient Bards (see below)
• It is a double album
• It covers a completely new story line for the Ayreon universe
• It comprises four 20-plus minute “epics” divided into 42 separate tracks
• It’s a true Rock Opera with a dramatic, real-world storyline
• It is available in 4 editions, including an exclusive 5-disc limited edition, as well as 2-LP vinyl
• The DVD for the special and limited editions features two and a half hours of behind the scenes content
• Official release date is 28 October, 2013
• The 5-disc Limited Edition is currently sold out in Arjen’s shop, but signed copies of the vinyl and Special Editions are are still available in Arjen’s webshop

Arjen ran a series of “guess the musician” contests via Facebook. You can see all of the videos on his Youtube channel.

GUEST MUSICIANS

Vocalists

(in order of appearance)
JB (Grand Magus) as The Teacher
Sara Squadrani (Ancient Bards) as The Girl
Michael Mills (Toehider) as The Father
Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) as The Mother
Tommy Karevik (Kamelot, Seventh Wonder) as The Prodigy
Marco Hietala (Nightwish, Tarot) as The Rival
John Wetton (Asia, King Crimson) as The Psychiatrist

Instrumentalists

Ed Warby (Hail of Bullets, Gorefest) – drums
Rick Wakeman (Yes) – keyboards
Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake and Palmer) – keyboards
Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) – keyboards
Steve Hackett (Genesis) – lead guitar
Troy Donockley (Nightwish) – Whistles, Uilleann pipes
Ben Mathot (Dis) –violin
Maaike Peterse (Kingfisher Sky) – cello
Jeroen Goossens (Flairck) – flute , bass flute, piccolo, bamboo flute and contrabass flute
Siddharta Barnhoorn – orchestrations
Michael Mills (Toehider) – Irish Bouzouki
Wilmer Waarbroek – backing vocals
Arjen Anthony Lucassen – electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, mandolin, analog synthesizers,
Hammond, Solina Strings

Track Listing

CD1
PHASE I: SINGULARITY (23:29)
1 Prologue: The Blackboard
2 The Theory of Everything part 1
3 Patterns
4 The Prodigy’s World
5 The Teacher’s Discovery
6 Love and Envy
7 Progressive Waves
8 The Gift
9 The Eleventh Dimension
10 Inertia
11 The Theory of Everything part 2

PHASE II: SYMMETRY (21:31)
12 The Consultation
13 Diagnosis
14 The Argument 1
15The Rival’s Dilemma
16 Surface Tension
17A Reason To Live
18 Potential
19 Quantum Chaos
20 Dark Medicine
21 Alive!
22 The Prediction

CD2
PHASE III: ENTANGLEMENT (22:34)
1 Fluctuations
2 Transformation
3 Collision
4 Side Effects
5 Frequency Modulation
6 Magnetism
7 Quid Pro Quo
8 String Theory
9 Fortune?

PHASE IV: UNIFICATION (22:20)
10 Mirror Of Dreams
11 The Lighthouse
12 The Argument 2
13 The Parting
14 The Visitation
15 The Breakthrough
16 The Note
17 The Uncertainty Principle
18 Dark Energy
19 The Theory of Everything part 3
20 The Blackboard (reprise)

DVD content

(special and limited editions only)

1. Feature: The Making of The Theory of Everything (47:49)
2. Full length interviews with Arjen, Cristina Scabbia, Tommy Karevik, JB, Sara Squadrani, Marco Hietala, Mike Mills, and Ed Warby (Total time 1:31:19)
3. Time lapse clips of recording sessions (total time 12:56)

The artwork for the album cover (top of page) was painted by Belgian artist Jef Bertels, who has painted all of the Ayreon covers since Into the Electric Castle. Additional artwork for the album booklet is by Christophe Dessaigne, who also designed the Star One “Victims of the Modern Age” and Guilt Machine “On this Perfect Day.”

The Story
Prologue
In the year 2084 scientists have found a way to send messages back into time using time telepathy. With the earth nearly destroyed by many different causes, they have one hope for the experiment: warn the past of the future to avert the fate of earth.
Act I
The receiver of the telepathic messages is Ayreon, a blind minstrel living in 6th century Britain. He’s lived his life in darkness from the day he was born, but one fateful day everything changes — Ayreon can see images. The minstrel believes these visions are sent to him by the Lords of Time. Unaware of how much time there is left before earth is destroyed Ayreon sets out to tell the tale of earth’s demise singing songs of wars, natural disaster, and computer technology. The terrifying tales frighten the villagers who run him out of town.
Act II
Alone, and cast out of his village, Ayreon goes to King Arthur’s castle, and, being a famed minstrel, he is allowed to sing of his visions in the King’s very own court.

Jealous of his ability to foresee the future, Merlin, the court’s wizard, isn’t pleased with Ayreon’s message, convincing the court the minstrel must be a fake.
Act IV
Merlin believes it is necessary to silence Ayreon forever and curses him. With the curse completed Merlin realizes his error, but it is too late. The wizard then predicts that the message will arrive in the mind of another minstrel at the end of the 20th century…

Release Info

1995 Transmission
2005 InsideOut Music
2005 JVC (Japan)

Vocalists

Arjen Lucassen
Barry Hay
Edward Reekers
Ian Parry
Jan-Chris de Koeijer
Jay van Feggelen
Lenny Wolf
Leon Goewie
Robert Soeterboek
Ruud Houweling
Debby Schreuder
Mirjam van Doorn
Lucy Hillen
Astrid v/d Veen (bonus)
Esther Ladiges (bonus)
Irene Jansen(bonus)
John Cuijpers (bonus)
Marcela Bovio (bonus)
Peter Daltrey (bonus)
Rodney Blaze (bonus)
Valentine (bonus)

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen
Cleem Determeijer
Ernst van Ee
Jan Bijlsma
Jolanda Verduijn
Peter Vink
Rene Merkelbach
Davy Mickers (bonus)
Lori Linstruth (bonus)
Jeroen Goossens (bonus)
Valentine (bonus)

Track List – The Final Experiment Special Edition reissue

1. Prologue
   1. The Time Telepathy Experiment
   2. Overture
   3. Ayreon’s Quest
2. The awareness
   1. The Premonition
   2. Dreamtime
   3. The Awakening
3. Eyes of Time
   1. Eyes of time
   2. Brainwaves
4. The Banishment
   1. A New Dawn
   2. The Gathering
   3. The Accusation
   4. The Banishment
   5. Oblivion
5. Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy
6. Sail Away to Avalon
7. Natures Dance
8. Computer Reign (Game Over)
9. Waracle
10. Listen to the Waves
11. Magic Ride
12. Merlin’s Will
13. The Charm of the Seer
14. Swan Song
15. Ayreon’s Fate
    1. Ayreon’s Fate
    2. Merlin’s Prophecy
    3. Epilogue

Bonus Disc (2005 Special Edition)

1. Dreamtime
2. Eyes of Time
3. The Accusation
4. Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy
5. Sail Away to Avalon
6. Nature’s Dance
7. Waracle
8. Merlin’s Will
9. the Charm of the Seer

Universal Migrator Part II: Flight of the Migrator is Arjen’s fifth Ayreon release.

At the time of the original release of the albums comprising the Universal Migrator (2000), Arjen had enough songs for a double CD. But at the time he was under the impression that his fan base was divided into two different camps — prog and metal — and that there was little genre crossover between the two.  So he decided to release two separate CDs, one with the proggy tracks (The Dream Sequencer) and another with the heavier, “metal” tracks (Flight of the Migrator). His idea was that fans could then choose the CD that best fit their musical preferences.

The two albums were released simultaneously, and Arjen’s surprise both CDs received favorable reactions, with most fans purchasing both! Later in 2004, when Arjen moved from Transmission to InsideOut Music, Flight of the Migrator was re-released together with the Dream Sequencer as a 2-CD special edition called The Universal Migrator: Parts I & II. As only 4 years had passed since the original release of the separate albums, Arjen did not add any bonus features because he felt that this would be unfair to the fans who had already purchased the albums.
The story
The Universal Migrator Part II picks up where Part I The Dream Sequencer leaves off, continuing the story of the last man alive on Mars as he decides to venture further back in time. He wants to go all the way back to the time just before the universe was created, a time when there was nothing but chaos. The Colonist witnesses the big bang and the creation of the first soul: The Universal Migrator. This soul divides itself into various new souls that each go in search of planets to inhabit. This is how they bring life to various planets and start different civilizations.

In the Dream Sequencer program the Colonist follows the soul that is headed for Earth. On his long journey through space, he passes astronomical phenomena such as quasars, pulsars, supernovas, black holes, and wormholes. He finally enters the solar system, but the Dream Sequencer program begins to overload. The Colonist should never have ventured that far back in time. The Dream Sequencer tried desperately to wake the Colonist from his deep state of hypnoses, but it is too late; the Colonist dies in the machine. Then the Migrator speaks to him without words: “Eternity lies before you. You are the new Migrator!”

Release info

2000 Transmission
2004 Re-released by InsideOut Music as CD2 of the 2-CD package “The Universal Migrator parts 1 and 2”
2004 Hellion (Brazil), Nems (Argentina)

Artwork
Jef Bertels (cover)
Jacques Marcoux (booklet)

Part 2: Flight of the Migrator

Vocalists

Andi Deris
Bruce Dickinson
Damian Wilson
Fabio Lione
Ian Parry
Lana Lane
Ralf Scheepers
Robert Soeterboek
Russell Allen
Timo Kotipelto

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen
Clive Nolan
Ed Warby
Gary Wehrkamp
Keiko Kumagai
Michael Romeo
Oscar Holleman
Rene Merkelbach

Track List

1. Chaos
2. Dawn of A Million Souls
3. Journey on the Waves of Time
4. To the Quasar
   1. The Taurus Pulsar
   2. Quasar 3C273
5. Into the Black Hole
   1. The Eye of the Universe
   2. Halo of Darkness
   3. The Final Door
6. Through the Wormhole
7. Out of the White Hole
   1. M31
   2. Planet Y
   3. The Search Continues
8. To the Solar System
   1. Planet of Blue
   2. System Alert
9. The New Migrator
   1. Metamorphosis
   2. Sleeper Awake

At the time of the original release of the albums comprising the Universal Migrator (2000), Arjen had enough songs for a double CD. But at the time he was under the impression that his fan base was divided into two different camps — prog and metal — and that there was little genre crossover between the two. So he decided to release two separate CDs, one with the proggy tracks (Dream Sequencer) and another with the heavier, “metal” tracks (Flight of the Migrator). His idea was that fans could then choose the CD that best fit their musical preferences.

The two albums were released simultaneously, and Arjen’s surprise both CDs received favorable reactions, with most fans purchasing both! Later in 2004, when Arjen moved from Transmission to InsideOut Music, The Dream Sequencer was re-released together with Flight of the Migrator as a 2-CD special edition called The Universal Migrator: Parts I & II. As only 4 years had passed since the original release of the separate albums, Arjen did not add any bonus features because he felt that this would be unfair to the fans who had already purchased the albums.
The Dream Sequencer
On Universal Migrator part I: The Dream Sequencer Arjen picks up the story of The Final Experiment and the year 2084. Over a hundred years have passed since the last world war destroyed all life on earth. This war was exactly what the main character Ayreon had already predicted in the 6th century (see the first Ayreon CD The Final Experiment).

As this final war was taking place, a number of Mars colonists witnessed the destruction on Earth from afar. For several years they managed to keep themselves alive with the supplies they had brought with them from Earth. But eventually the supplies ran out and the colonists were doomed to die. The main character in the story is the last surviving human being, a child of the first Mars colonists. He has never been on Earth.

During the initial period of Mars colonization, finding entertainment was somewhat of a problem. So clever technicians designed the Dream Sequencer, a machine that allowed the Colonists to travel back to their own youth by means of hypnoses, but also to their lives before; their pre-incarnations so to speak.

It is in this machine that the last Colonist relives his youth on Mars, and scenes from previous lives: his death as a woman on Earth during the war of 2084, the first moon landing of 1969, and his life as the standard bearer in the famous 17th century painting of Rembrandt: The Nightwatch. He stood on the shores of England as Queen Elisabeth I, watching the English fleet sail out to stop the Spanish Armada, and as a Mayan girl he witnessed sacred ceremonies in Tikal. As the story unfolds, we discover that the Colonist once was the minstrel Ayreon and that, in another even earlier incarnation, he was present during the construction of Stonehenge. His soul’s first incarnation was the first human being on Earth.

Release info

2000 Transmission
2004 Re-released by InsideOut Music as “The Universal Migrator parts 1 and 2”
2004 Hellion (Brazil), Nems (Argentina)

Artwork
Jef Bertels (cover)
Jacques Marcoux (booklet)

Part 1: The Dream Sequencer

Vocalists

Arjen Lucassen
Damian Wilson
Edward Reekers
Floor Jansen
Jacqueline Govaert
Johan Edlund
Lana Lane
Mark McCrite
Mouse
Neal Morse

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen
Clive Nolan
Rob Snijders

Track List

1. The Dream Sequencer
2. My House on Mars
3. 2084
4. One Small Step
5. The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B. Cocq
6. Dragon on the Sea
7. Temple of the Cat
8. Carried by the Wind
9. And the Druids Turned to Stone
10. The First Man on Earth
11. The Dream Sequencer (Reprise)

With his Ayreon project, legendary multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and vocalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen single-handedly revived the rock opera genre in the 1990s. Since then, Ayreon has achieved worldwide critical acclaim and success with albums charting in various countries. The seventh Ayreon output, 01011001, finds Lucassen both exploring new musical frontiers and revisiting his roots.

The story
Through technological advancement, ‘Forever’, a race of aquatic beings living on Planet Y, has found the secret of longevity. They have advanced to the point that they have become completely dependent on machines and are losing their emotions. A passing comet on a collision course with Planet Earth provides the opportunity to revitalize their race; ‘Forever’ harness the comet to carry their DNA to a new home on Earth. When the comet and Earth collide, the cataclysmic impact exterminates the dinosaurs (the Fifth Extinction), but from the ashes of destruction, humans arise. At first, the experiment with seeded DNA seems successful: through the humans ‘Forever’ vicariously relive the emotions they experienced before the age of machines. In order to help mankind overcome their physical ailments and mental limitations, ‘Forever’ speeds up human evolution. But the result is tragic: people develop a similar technological dependency with their emotions waning just like ‘Forever’ and moral development not keeping pace with their capacity to invent. ‘Forever’ must find a way to save mankind from its imminent self-destruction… or should they?

Vocalists

Forever

Hansi Kürsch
(Blind Guardian)

Daniel Gildenlöw
(Pain of Salvation)

Tom S. Englund
(Evergrey)

Jonas Renkse
(Katatonia)

Jorn Lande
(Masterplan)

Anneke van Giersbergen
(ex-The Gathering)

Steve Lee
(Gotthard)

Bob Catley
(Magnum)

Floor Jansen
(After Forever, Nightwish)

Magali Luyten
Virus IV

Man

Simone Simons
(Epica) – Simone on “Web of Lies”

Phideaux Xavier – PX on “Web of Lies”

Wudstik – a 21st century scientist on “E=mc²“

Marjan Welman
(Elister, Autumn) – a 21st century scientist on “E=mc²“

Liselotte Hegt
Dial – Mr L’s nurse on “The Truth is in Here”

Arjen Lucassen – Mr L on “The Truth is in Here,” backing vocals on “Connect the Dots”

Ty Tabor
(King’s X) – a 21st century corporate wage slave on “Connect the Dots”

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen
Guitar, keyboards, synths, bass guitar, programming

Ed Warby
(Gorefest, Hail of Bullets)
Drums

Lori Linstruth
Guitar solo on “Newborn Race”

Michael Romeo
(Symphony X) – guitar solo on “E=mc²“

 Derek Sherinian
(ex-Dream Theater) – synthesizer solo on “The Fifth Extinction”

Tomas Bodin
(The Flower Kings) – synthesizer solo on “Waking Dreams”

 Joost van den Broek 
(After Forever) – Keyboard solo and piano on “The Sixth Extinction”

 Jeroen Goossens
(Flairck) – flute; soprano and tenor recorder on “The Truth is in Here”; bass flute on “Unnatural Selection”; tin whistle on “River of Time”

 Ben Mathot
(Dis) – Violins

David Faber
Cellos

Production

Jef Bertels – cover painting
Yvette Boertje – image for “The Truth is in Here”
Felipe Machado Franco – artwork and layout
Arjen Anthony Lucassen – recording, production, mixing, and mastering, and whip-cracking
Simon van Vegten – 3D-rendered artwork

Album info

Label: InsideOut Music (Europe – North America)

Regular Edition (28-page booklet, 2CD)
Special Edition (28-page booklet, 2CD + DVD*)
Limited Deluxe Edition (36-page booklet, 2CD + DVD*)
Japanese Edition (28 page booklet, 2CD)**

* Bonus DVD contains:
Behind the Scenes – Making of 01011001
Beneath the Waves – CGI Movie (5.1/2.0)
Guide Demos (audio) – feat. Arjen on vocals
Ed Warby’s Session – Recording drums
Bloopers (audio)

**Japanese release contains 2 bonus Guide Vocal tracks (vocals by Arjen) plus one exclusive Guide Vocal track unavailable anywhere else.

Catalogue numbers – InsideOut/SPV release
Regular Edition (SPV 79682)
Special Ed PAL (SPV 79680)
Special Ed NTSC (SPV 7968A)
Limited Ed. PAL (SPV 79688)
Limited Ed. NTSC (SPV 7968L)

Also released by:
Hellion (Brazil)
Icarus (Argentina)
Irond (Russia)
Marquee (Japan)

TIMELINE follows the thirteen-year evolution of the Ayreon sound from the 1995 debut The Final Experiment to the release of 01011001 in 2008. Its 3 CDs contain 32 essential Ayreon tracks plus one brand new song recorded especially for this release — almost 4 hours of music!

The DVD features nearly two hours of selected released and unreleased video clips, behind-the-scenes featurettes, 5.1 mixes, and live performances of Ayreon tracks (Star one and Stream of Passion versions).

Comes with a timeline poster illustrating the Ayreon universe and 56-page booklet containing many new photos, all lyrics, and notes on the story. The cover is a specially commissioned painting by traditional Ayreon cover artist, Jef Bertels (official site).

Release info

Released by InsideOut Music
7 November 2008 Germany – Austria – Switzerland
17 November 2008 Europe
13 January 2009 North America

2016 Released by Mascot Label Group

Artwork Lay-Out: Thomas Ewerhard (official site)

Track list

CD1
From 1995: The Final Experiment
1) Prologue 3:17
2) The Awareness 6:36
3) Eyes of Time 5:05
4) The Accusation (acoustic version taken from the Special Edition) 3:43
5) Sail Away to Avalon (single version) 3:40
6) Listen to the Waves 4:40

From 1996: Actual Fantasy (Revisited)
7) Actual Fantasy 1:31
8 ) Abbey of Synn 9:25
9) Computer Eyes 7:17
10) Back on Planet Earth 7:04

From 1998 Into the Electric Castle
11) Isis and Osiris 11:09
12) Amazing Flight 10:21
Total time CD1: 73:53

CD2
From 1998 Into the Electric Castle
1) The Garden of Emotions 9:40
2) The Castle Hall 5:48
3) The Mirror Maze 6:23
4) The Two Gates 6:23

From 2000: The Universal Migrator parts I and II
5) The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B Cocq 7:42
6) Dawn of a Million Souls 7:44
7) And the Druids Turned to Stone 6:32
8 ) Into the Black Hole 10:17
9) The First Man on Earth 6:54
From 2004: the Human Equation
10) Day Two: Isolation 8:46

Total time CD2: 76:14
CD3
From 2004: The Human Equation
1) Day Three: Pain 4:53
2) Day Six: Childhood 5:04
3) Day Twelve: Trauma 9:23
4) Day Sixteen: Loser 4:47
5) Day Seventeen: Accident? 5:41

From 2008: 01011001
6) Age of Shadows (edit) 5:39
7) Ride the Comet 3:39
8 ) The Fifth Extinction 10:27
9) Waking Dreams 6:23
10) The Sixth Extinction 12:16
11) Epilogue: The Memory Remains 9:16 (New track recorded in 2008 specifically for TIMELINE)
Total time CD3: 77:23

DVD
1] The Stranger from Within (5.1, available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)
2] Valley of the Queens (available on Star One – Live on Earth)
3] Isis and Osiris (available on Star One – Live on Earth)
4] The Two Gates (available on Star One – Live on Earth)
5] Teaser: The Human Equation (available on the special edition of The Human Equation)
6] Day Eleven: Love (5.1, available on the special edition of The Human Equation)
7] Come Back to Me (available as CD ROM track on the EP Come Back to Me)
8] Loser (Star One version, previously unreleased)
9] Farside of the World (5.1, available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)
10] Back on Planet Earth (5.1, available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)
11] Featurette Actual Fantasy (available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)
12] Computer Eyes (available on Stream of Passion – Live in the Real World)
13] Day One: Vigil (available on Stream of Passion – Live in the Real World)
14] Day Three: Pain (available on Stream of Passion – Live in the Real World)
15] The Castle Hall (available on Stream of Passion – Live in the Real World)
16] Release Party 01011001 (previously unreleased)
17] Beneath the Waves (5.1, available on the special edition of 01011001)
18] Teaser 01011001 (available on the special edition of 01011001)
19] Featurette Epilogue: The Memory Remains (previously unreleased)
Total time DVD: approx 2 hours

Story
A man lies comatose in hospital after a terrible car accident. The accident was bizarre: it happened in broad daylight with no other cars in sight. The man’s wife and his best friend are keeping a bedside vigil, trying to understand how the accident happened, and hoping for any sign of recovery.

Unable to communicate with the outside world, the man finds himself trapped in a strange realm where his emotions — most of which he’s repressed for a long time — have come to life to confront him with all the choices he has made in his life — and their consequences.

The accident has left the man confused and unable to remember what happened, but as his emotions lead him from one memory to the next, the events leading up to the accident become clear, and he realizes the only way to wake from the coma is to find a way out of his emotional prison.

TRACK LIST

Disc 1
1. Day One: Vigil
2. Day Two: Isolation
3. Day Three: Pain
4. Day Four: Mystery
5. Day Five: Voices
6. Day Six: Childhood
7. Day Seven: Hope
8. Day Eight: School
9. Day Nine: Playground
10. Day Ten: Memories
11. Day Eleven: Love

Disc 2
12. Day Twelve: Trauma
13. Day Thirteen: Sign
14. Day Fourteen: Pride
15. Day Fifteen: Betrayal
16. Day Sixteen: Loser
17. Day Seventeen: Accident?
18. Day Eighteen: Realization
19. Day Nineteen: Disclosure
20. Day Twenty: Confrontation

BONUS DVD (not included in vinyl edition)
– Inside (45.27)
Behind the Scenes: The Human Equation
– Concept (3.05)
The concept of The Human Equation
– Ayreon (4.26)
The Story of Ayreon
– Drums (3.32)
Ed Warby’s Drums.
– Promotional video (3.49)
Video clip Day Eleven: Love (5.1 & 2.0)
– Teaser (1.28)
Teaser trailer

Vocalists
Arjen Lucassen
Devin Townsend
Devon Graves
Eric Clayton
Heather Findlay
James LaBrie
Irene Jansen
Magnus Ekwall
Marcela Bovio
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Mike Baker

Instrumentalists
Arjen Lucassen
Ed Warby
John McManus
Jeroen Goossens
Joost van den Broek
Ken Hensley
Martin Orford
Oliver Wakeman
Robert Baba

Artwork
Jef Bertels (sleeve)
Mattias Norén

Available in the ArjenLucassen.com webshop:
http://store.arjenlucassen.com

The Universal Migrator parts I and II is the 2-CD re-release of what were originally released as two single albums: The Dream Sequencer and Flight of the Migrator.

The Dream Sequencer
On Universal Migrator part I: The Dream Sequencer Arjen picks up the story of The Final Experiment and the year 2084. Over a hundred years have passed since the last world war destroyed all life on earth. This war was exactly what the main character Ayreon had already predicted in the 6th century (see the first Ayreon CD The Final Experiment).

As this final war was taking place, a number of Mars colonists witnessed the destruction on Earth from afar. For several years they managed to keep themselves alive with the supplies they had brought with them from Earth. But eventually the supplies ran out and the colonists were doomed to die. The main character in the story is the last surviving human being, a child of the first Mars colonists. He has never been on Earth.

During the initial period of Mars colonization, finding entertainment was somewhat of a problem. So clever technicians designed the Dream Sequencer, a machine that allowed the Colonists to travel back to their own youth by means of hypnoses, but also to their lives before; their pre-incarnations so to speak.

It is in this machine that the last Colonist relives his youth on Mars, and scenes from previous lives: his death as a woman on Earth during the war of 2084, the first moon landing of 1969, and his life as the standard bearer in the famous 17th century painting of Rembrandt: The Nightwatch. He stood on the shores of England as Queen Elisabeth I, watching the English fleet sail out to stop the Spanish Armada, and as a Mayan girl he witnessed sacred ceremonies in Tikal. As the story unfolds, we discover that the Colonist once was the minstrel Ayreon and that, in another even earlier incarnation, he was present during the construction of Stonehenge. His soul’s first incarnation was the first human being on Earth.

Flight of the Migrator
The Universal Migrator Part II continues the story of the last man alive on Mars as he decides to venture further back in time. He wants to go all the way back to the time just before the universe was created, a time when there was nothing but chaos. The Colonist witnesses the big bang and the creation of the first soul: The Universal Migrator. This soul divides itself into various new souls that each go in search of planets to inhabit. This is how they bring life to various planets and start different civilizations.

In the Dream Sequencer program the Colonist follows the soul that is headed for Earth. On his long journey through space, he passes astronomical phenomena such as quasars, pulsars, supernovas, black holes, and wormholes. He finally enters the solar system, but the Dream Sequencer program begins to overload. The Colonist should never have ventured that far back in time. The Dream Sequencer tried desperately to wake the Colonist from his deep state of hypnoses, but it is too late; the Colonist dies in the machine. Then the Migrator speaks to him without words: “Eternity lies before you. You are the new Migrator!”

Release info

2000 Transmission
2004 Re-released by InsideOut Music
2004 Hellion (Brazil), Nems (Argentina)

Artwork
Jef Bertels (cover)
Jacques Marcoux (booklet)

Part 1: The Dream Sequencer

Vocalists

Arjen Lucassen
Damian Wilson
Edward Reekers
Floor Jansen
Jacqueline Govaert
Johan Edlund
Lana Lane
Mark McCrite
Mouse
Neal Morse

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen
Clive Nolan
Rob Snijders

Track List

1. The Dream Sequencer
2. My House on Mars
3. 2084
4. One Small Step
5. The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B. Cocq
6. Dragon on the Sea
7. Temple of the Cat
8. Carried by the Wind
9. And the Druids Turned to Stone
10. The First Man on Earth
11. The Dream Sequencer (Reprise)

Part 2: Flight of the Migrator

Vocalists

Andi Deris
Bruce Dickinson
Damian Wilson
Fabio Lione
Ian Parry
Lana Lane
Ralf Scheepers
Robert Soeterboek
Russell Allen
Timo Kotipelto

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen
Clive Nolan
Ed Warby
Gary Wehrkamp
Keiko Kumagai
Michael Romeo
Oscar Holleman
Rene Merkelbach

Track List

1. Chaos
2. Dawn of A Million Souls
3. Journey on the Waves of Time
4. To the Quasar
   1. The Taurus Pulsar
   2. Quasar 3C273
5. Into the Black Hole
   1. The Eye of the Universe
   2. Halo of Darkness
   3. The Final Door
6. Through the Wormhole
7. Out of the White Hole
   1. M31
   2. Planet Y
   3. The Search Continues
8. To the Solar System
   1. Planet of Blue
   2. System Alert
9. The New Migrator
   1. Metamorphosis
   2. Sleeper Awake

The third Ayreon release is a 100+ minute double CD and like ‘The Final Experiment’ it tells a story. Eight stereotypical characters from different eras in time suddenly find themselves in another dimension as subjects of an experiment conducted by an alien race.

The characters on ‘Into the Electric Castle’ (1998) are blown out of proportion. Arjen rented a few old B-movies for inspiration to see how Romans, Barbarians and Egyptians were stereotyped in those years. “I like this tongue in cheek-thing, although I take the music itself very seriously.”

“Into The Electric Castle’ is the most pleasant sounding album I’ve made so far’, says Arjen. “And that is mainly due to the analog equipment I used. Like vintage synthesizers from the 70′s, which still have that warm, instantly recognizable sound. I had enough of triggered drums, samples and prefab digital sounds. I’m a sucker for contradictions. ‘Into The Electric Castle’ is one to start with. But I also like the idea of telling a sci-fi story and using equipment that – in some cases – people might find out-dated.”

Release Info

Initially released by Transmission (1998)
Special Edition Re-release by InsideOut Music (2004)
Also released in Argentina by Nems

2016 Released by Mascot Label Group

Vocalists
Anneke van Giersbergen
Arjen Lucassen
Damian Wilson
Edward Reekers
Edwin Balogh
Fish
George Oosthoek
Jay van Feggelen
Peter Daltrey
Robert Westerholt
Sharon den Adel

Instrumentalists
Arjen Lucassen
Clive Nolan
Ed Warby
Jack Pisters
Rene Merkelbach
Robby Valentine
Roland Bakker
Thijs van Leer
Ton Scherpenzeel

Cover artwork
Jef Bertels

Track List

Disc 1
1. Welcome to the New Dimension
2. Isis and Osiris
(a) Let the Journey Begin
(b) The Hall of Isis and Osiris
(c) Strange Constellations
(d) Reprise
3. Amazing Flight
(a) Amazing Flight in Space
(b) Stardance
(c) Flying Colours
4. Time Beyond Time
5. The Decision Tree (We’re Alive)
6. Tunnel of Light
7. Across the Rainbow Bridge

Disc 2
1. The Garden of Emotions
(a) All in the Garden of Emotions
(b) Voices in the Sky
(c) The Aggression Factor
2.Valley of the Queens
3. The Castle Hall
4.The Tower of Hope
5.Cosmic Fusion
(a) I Soar on the Breeze
(b) Death’s Grunt
(c) The Passing of an Eagle
6. The Mirror Maze
(a) Inside the Mirror Maze
(b) Through the Mirror
7. Evil Devolution
8.The Two Gates
9. Forever of the Stars
10.Another Time, Another Space

Originally released in 1996 on the Transmission label, Actual Fantasy is the second album in Arjen’s Ayreon project. Instead of having a continuous story with a beginning and an end, the the individual songs are based on fantasy and sci-fi movies, or on stories Arjen wrote himself.

The first ten thousand copies of Actual Fantasy featured a bonus CD-rom track: a full-length animated video clip for ‘Stranger From Within’. The second version of the CD featured two bonus tracks: ‘The Dawn of Man’ and the single version for ‘Stranger From Within’ replacing the video.

A reworked version of the album was re-released in 2004 by InsideOut music, as “Actual Fantasy Revisited.” In 2016 Mascot Label Group took over the Ayreon back catalog, so you can expect a new release of Actual Fantasy.

Track list

1. Actual Fantasy
2. Abbey of Synn
3. The Stranger from Within
4. Computer Eyes
5. Beyond the Last Horizon
6. Farside of the World
7. Back on Planet Earth
8. Forevermore
9. The Dawn of Man (bonus)

Revisited Bonus DVD – 2004 InsideOut Edition
-5.1 Remix of the entire album
– Actual Fantasy 1996 version
– Video clip of “Stranger from Within” (5.1 and 2.0 mixes)
– Video featurette of recording drums, bass and guitars for the new 2004 version.

The Story

On ‘Actual Fantasy’ Arjen wanted to stimulate fantasy, not simulate reality. Actual fantasy is the opposite of virtual reality.
Actual Fantasy
This song is the intro of the CD and starts like a fairy-tale, beautiful, with a classical orchestra.
Abbey of Synn
Synn is the old spelling for ‘sin’ and also refers to the important role of the synthesizer on the CD. Inspired by the movie ‘Name of the Rose’ with Sean Connery, the song tells the story of a monastery where laughter is strictly forbidden. One by one monks die mysteriously each having a blackened finger and tongue. It turns out that the monks have discovered a book of comedy written by Aristotle, but the pages are poisoned; if you lick your finger to turn a page it will kill you.
Stranger From Within
In this story that Arjen wrote himself, doctors are trying to find a way to help a girl who is in a coma. In this state she begins to fantasize about some stranger. He could be dangerous, or harmless, or just a magician. The stranger tells her that she can cure herself using her own imagination, and then he allows the doctors to ‘shoot’ him as he takes the disease with him. The girl wakes up and the stranger from within has become part of her.
Computer Eyes
This song is a story Arjen wrote himself. It is about someone who has been playing a computer game for days. At a certain time he isn’t able to tell anymore whether he’s playing a game or has become part of it. He doesn’t feel any emotions and has become like a hologram unable to find a way out. This song is certainly not an attack on computers, for this album could never have been made without computers. It just all depends on how you use computers and virtual reality.
Beyond the Last Horizon
This is story Arjen came up with during the last few days of his father’s life. The story is set in the Middle Ages during the days of the crusades. One of the crusaders is ambushed and killed. After that it’s a familiar story: he sees a light and he rides towards it on a road that disappears on the horizon. Beyond it is the ‘last horizon’: death. In most stories it says there is a beautiful light or heaven. But where he is, there is darkness. There is nothing beyond the last horizon; he will disappear.
Farside of the World
This song is based on ‘The Navigator’, an obscure Australian movie. It’s about a boy in a medieval English village where the plague is killing most of the inhabitants. The boy falls and has a vision: in order to cure the village they must dig a hole straight through the earth, and- on the other side- place a cross on top of a silver tower.
Back on Planet Earth
In this story, written by Arjen himself, a boy lives in a space station. Humans have lost the ability to feel but he overhears the older people telling stories about the days when they lived on earth. On his computer the boy finds images of the most beautiful things, such as flowers and mountains, but he also finds out that earth was destroyed by wars and environmental disasters and people eventually had to live in space in order to survive. The boy realizes that after seeing people with emotions, and their laughter, he would rather have died on earth, than be in the cold space station.
Forevermore
Based on the movie ‘The Neverending Story’. A boy steals a book from a store. The boy arrives too late for class, sneaks into the attic and crawls under a blanket to read the book. The fictitious world of ‘Fantasia’ is falling apart; it’s being eaten by the Nothing. Symbolizing the fact that nobody’s fantasizing anymore. The hero in the story has to cure the empress from her disease, and save ‘Fantasia’. He does so by giving the Empress a name.
Dawn of Man
This is a very experimental song with vocoder and scratches on it. The story is based on Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001’ and ‘2010’, but with Arjen’s own fantasy and interpretation incorporated. The listener should do the same; the lyrics cannot be explained one way. Just use your imagination!

About the Actual Fantasy Revisited Edition
How Actual Fantasy: Revisited came about…
After mixing “Star Child” in dolby pro-logic and “Day Eleven: Love” in 5.1, Arjen couldn’t wait to mix an entire album 5.1. The first real opportunity came up when InsideOut began planning their release of the Ayreon back catalogue. Arjen was also eager to give the least selling and seriously overlooked second Ayreon album Actual Fantasy some new attention.
For years Arjen had wondered what Actual Fantasy would sound like with real drums, instead of the drum computer. And when Arjen began working with drummer extra-ordinaire Ed Warby on Ayreon and Star One recordings, the idea grew: wouldn’t it be great to record the album with real drums? It was a daunting task that kept Arjen from considering it seriously. However, in order to make a 5.1 mix work for the album he had to re-record a number of elements that were lost, and remaking the album by recording real drums became a serious option.
“After I was finished with ‘The Human Equation’, I took some time to think it over. I knew it would be a lot of work and would cost a lot of time, effort and money. How could I know it would be worth it? But then I talked it over with Ed, I knew I just had to do this. Of course at the time back in 1996 it was my intention to make the album completely electronic to match the themes of the songs, but what a waste when you have someone like Ed who can really make the album come alive with his drums. In fact Ed himself recently told me that when he heard Actual Fantasy for the first time (we hadn’t met yet back then) he told people he should have drummed it instead of a computer!”