THE HUMAN EQUATION

Along with his side projects Star One, Guilt Machine, Ambeon, and Stream of Passion, Arjen Anthony Lucassen's primary musical project has been Ayreon, a series of CDs dating back to 1995 with The Final Experiment and ending with 2008's 01011001.

All the albums in the Ayreon catalog have been incredible and worthy of their own place on "Top Albums" lists, but The Human Equation is simply one of the finest albums ever produced.

It tells the story of a man in a coma after a car crash, interacting with his emotions after the betrayal he experienced when he caught his best friend kissing his wife. What makes this particular album unique is that each of his emotions is anthropomorphized and given a specific vocalist ? eleven vocalists are employed, singing the parts of "Reason," "Love," "Pride," "Agony," etc.

The 2-CD concept album never gets old or tedious because of the eclectic styles that Lucassen is capable of creating.

At times, the music reminds you of something from Pink Floyd, then it sounds like Genesis, and then it sounds like a wonderful mix of Yes with Dream Theater. The artists that Lucassen recruited to sing and perform on this album are all amazing, and the his production genius is amazing.