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There are also a couple of other songs, E=MC2...cringe. Then there are songs like "New Born Race"...cringe, just not to my taste. Then there's Liquid Eternity, I like it, the chorus is just repeated a bit too much.

Now other than those, for me, this is the discovery album for Ayreaon. I tried Human Equation and a few others a while back and they just didn't click.

Having a veritable who's who of vocalists providing their voices is a novelty, it makes things interesting. You can look at the list. I don't listen to all of them in their own bands, so some are a discovery. It's good to hear Jorn Lande singing prog again, his voice and delivery does have character. Hansi Kursch chimes in in a similar way. Daniel Gildenlow is developing a different style these days, but still impresses with his soaring high notes. I'm not sure who sings the quiet bit in Age of Shadows, but I like it. The female vocals are also beautiful, though I don't listen to Epica, etc.

Musically, we have some great one-off keyboard solos from Derek Sherinian and Tomas Bodin along with some great guitar solos from Arjen and some special guests. Drums provided Ed Warby shouldn't be downplayed either.

Age of Reason is a great catchy opener, apart from the 80's keyboards, before the next track which has a more Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine sound. There's an industrial keyboard feel throughout the album, tempered by the folkier songs. Melodies jump out and catch your brain, with Beneath the Waves being one of the strongest in the middle of the album.

Chop out those cringey songs listed above and proceed to the end of the album and it really is a high quality progressive rock/metal album with a lot of variation to stretch your imagination and melodies to hum in your head.

In the end, this is an excellent addition to ANY prog rock music collection, despite a few cringes along the way.

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