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
Daniel Gildenlöw
(Pain of Salvation)
Anneke van Giersbergen
(ex-The Gathering)
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)