UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PART 1: THE DREAM SEQUENCER

Ayreon is truly a unique band. I found it years ago. Ayreon is always performed by different guest singers and instrumentalists. There's only one man stands behind Ayreon, the genius A. A. Lucassen. He does all the things it needs in producing the albums, writes the lyrics, music and plays varied instruments such as guitar, bass and keyboard. What an impressive talent.

The Dream Sequencer is my first album by Ayreon and I still love it till now especially when I want to have lazy and relax time. Along with Damnation by Opeth, this is my first choice among my progressive collections whenever I want to listen to the slower or softer side of progressive metal. The Dream Sequencer is the first part of two Universal Migrator albums.

A soundscape and effects of future aircraft and a narration by Lana Lange open the album, followed by instrumental The Dream Sequencer. The guitar and keyboard solo create the dreamy nuance and so heart wrenching. What a wonderful way to start the album and it represents the overall sound of the album, slow pace, relax and melodic. My House on Mars is the next song, sung by Tiamat vocalist, Johan Edlund in low register note and backed up by Floor Jansen of After Forever. I like very much listening to the guitar and keyboard solo after each chorus. 2048 has a beautiful guitar solo and sung beautifully by Lana Lange. It opened by haunting sound created by keyboard.

One Small Step tells about the achievement of man arrive at the moon for the first time. It's sung by Dutch vocalist Edward Reekers. The instrumentals sections of all tracks on this album are heavily driven by guitar and keyboard solo except The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B Cocq. It has a great bass solo in the middle of the track. Dragon on the Sea is once again sung by Lana Lange, it's a very melodic track and has a nice guitar solo. Temple of the Cat opened by keyboard sound and gradually becomes much richer with the joining of acoustic guitar, flute and drum.

Carried by the Wind is the next track sung by Arjen Lucassen. I really like the melody lines produced by keyboard, it's very moving and hypnotic. It's simple in the song structure but definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album. And the Druids Turn to Stone is sung by one of my favorite guest singers, Damian Wilson. It's an acoustic driven track and has beautiful guitar solo and also another of my favorite tracks.

The First Man on Earth is written and sung by Neil Morse, Spock's Beard vocalist. The end of the track is the part I like most when keyboard solo takes a lead then gradually becomes much more complex with the inclusion of all instruments played faster. The Dream Sequencer Reprise is the closing track. It's pretty much same as the opening track except for the acoustic guitar throughout the track and has no keyboard solo.

Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer is very good album and a great addition for your progressive rock collection. Each track is great on its own and develops a beautiful musical flow. Also try Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator for faster and heavier compositions as a comparison and judge it for your self.