THE HUMAN EQUATION

I just couldn't understand all the positive reviews that Ayreon albums have received. I definitely consider myself a fan of progressive metal so maybe my previous choice of The Universal Migrator was just an unfortunate mistake? Let's hope that The Human Equation will put this artists music in a whole different light!

Well to tell you the truth I did like this album a lot more than the Migrator-albums but there were still a couple of things that didn't work. On the positive side both the story and the compositions showed me a more mature Lucassen at work here.

What I really don't enjoy is the whole role playing where every vocalist plays a part in the story. The whole experience makes me think about opera and I'm still not sure whether or not it actually works on a metal album but I'm quite certain that it didn't work for me here. I also noticed that I haven't revisited this album for a very long time since my first week after purchasing it. I think that the reason for that is that The Human Equation lacks a centerpiece that I would be looking forward to revisiting.

Well all in all it's a good album that I'm sure fans of Lucassen's work will enjoy but the work doesn't have a genre transcending quality to it that will peak an interest from fans of other progressive rock genres. So it's by no means an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

**** star songs: Day One: Vigil (1:33) Day Three: Pain (4:58) Day Five: Voices (7:09) Day Six: Childhood (5:05) Day Seven: Hope (2:47) Day Eight: School (4:22) Day Nine: Playground (2:15) Day Ten: Memories (3:57) Day Eleven: Love (4:18) Day Thirteen: Sign (4:47) Day Eighteen: Realization (4:31) Day Nineteen: Disclosure (4:42) Day Twenty: Confrontation (7:03)

*** star songs: Day Two: Isolation (8:42) Day Four: Mystery (5:37)Day Twelve: Trauma (8:59) Day Fourteen: Pride (4:42) Day Fifteen: Betrayal (5:24) Day Sixteen: Loser (4:46) Day Seventeen: Accident? (5:42)