UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PART 1: THE DREAM SEQUENCER

1. The Dream Sequencer (3.5/10) 2. My House on Mars (3/10) 3. 2084 (3.5/10) 4. One Small Step (3.5/10) 5. The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B. Cocq (2/10) 6. Dragon on the Sea (2.5/10) 7. Temple of the Cat (1.5/10) 8. Carried By The Wind (3/10) 9. And The Druids Turn To Stone (2.5/10) 10. The First Man On Earth (2/10) 11. The Dream Sequencer Reprise (1.5/10)

I found myself constantly looking at the time meter for the songs on this album to end. Arjen Lucassen as I understand throws together science fiction stories to his albums (and in this case as I see it, dumb), and gathers guests from bands he admires to play out parts as he sees fit. He also accompanies this with '80's synth lines and dated guitar, ripping David Gilmour off. He seems to be paying tribute to bands he admires, but out of seriousness and little originality. Anyways, this concept is thrown around with several guests, notably Edlund of Tiamat, whose accent and tone turn the song "My House On Mars" into a comedy piece, this song being the most typical of the album, containing bleepy bloopy electronics, electronic drums, Gilmour guitar, samples, and synth lines probably left out of "The Final Countdown" from Europe. The lyrics also, sound like someone writing into a diary in singing tone, it's seriously operatic talking. Try reading out of a science fiction book in a womanly voice, you'll get the tone. It's an extremely acquired taste, and if any of what I said doesn't appeal to you then don't mess with this. I myself find this corny, cliche, and there's little good to find within this album for anyone who doesn't dabble in this genre anyways. If this was original, it would get a much better score. The so-called "good" songs from previous reviews are all Pink Floyd ripoffs.

Reviewer's Tilt: (3.5/10)

Overall score: 2.4 out of 10 or 1 star