UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PART 1: THE DREAM SEQUENCER

This is surely the most ´pure´progressive work ever done by Arjen Anthony Lucassen so far. And it is one of my favorites too. The combination fo an interesting and very well written SF story and progressive rock was never so well explored as far as I know (well, maybe Hawkwind have done something in that level, but since I´m not so musch of a fan of that band I´m not sure). Anyway, this is a truly inspired and brilliant work by this genius dutchman. And with the help of such talented people as Erik Norlander (Rocket Scientists) and Clive Nolan (Arena), not to mention singers of the caliber of Johan Edlund (Tiamat), Floor Jensen (After Forever), Edward Reekes (Kayak), Lane Lane, Neal Morse (Spock´s Beard), Damion Wilson (Threshold, Landmark), amog others, how could he go wrong?

Everything works on this album. 70´s minutes of 24 carat symphonic prog, with lots of Hammonds, mellotrons, moogs and other analog synthesizers. amazing vocals, some folk influences here and ther too, but really no metal at all (you won´t miss it, like it or not). If you follow the lyrics and heh storyline you´ll be even more rewarded, for it is very good. The second part of this epic Flight Of The Migrator was released at the same time, but it is much more metal tinged and not as successful as this one. for progheads this is the one everyone must have it.

The Dream Sequencer was to me the best prog album of the year 2000 and a triunph of Lucassen´s talent and imagination. If you want to start to know the work of this outstanding songwriterr, this is an excellent starting point. A classic, highly recommended.