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The songs are the best Arjen has ever written, and don't try and argue with me on that.

The line up is the best it has ever been, Daniel Gildenlow,JORN LANDE!!!, Floor Jansen, Simone Simons, Steve Lee (RIP), Hansi Kusch, Jonas Renske, only to name a few...

It's so different from any other Ayreon album, and I know it has that distinctive Ayreon sound, but it also has a wider range of influences, and all you skeptics out their who claim that its just repetitive and the same as all the other Ayreon albums need to grow up, stop being so smug, picky and glum and just listen and enjoy.

And the story is also the most interesting with some aspects of the overall Ayreon concept, with a broader reach on the stort, e.g. going from Y to Earth, from Forever and the humans point of view.

And as a double album, it's actually quite snugly packed, with the total length just under 2 hours, perfect.

CD 1 (Y)

1. Age Of Shadows - The chorus is amazing, and this song got me interested in the amazing power of Steve Lee, and his cheesy as hell band Gotthard. Sadly Steve died a few weeks ago in a motorcycle accident, and it's such a shame because he was another amazing talent lost this year (alot of vocalists have bitten the dust this year, Dio & Pete Steele come to mind). The We Are Forever part has amazing use of vocorder and some nice counterpoint. 10/10

2. Comatose - Jorn does have a nice calm voice in this song. The calm nature of this song is amazing, and the chorus is lovely. 10/10

3. Liquid Eternity - Kick ass song, with the highlight being the epic vocals from Tom Englund in the bridge (even though I've got mixed feelings about Evergrey). 10/10

4. Connect The Dots - I do really like this song and I do think it is infectiously catchy, but the lyrics are bit too odd, and seem confused and a wee bit "trying to be modern" for Arjen. 9/10

5. Beneath The Waves - Great vocals and some great instrumental work. 9/10

6. Newborn Race - Best song on the album. If you need the definition of a vocal battle hear it is. I can rhyme this song off like gospel, I love it too bits. 11/10

7. Ride The Comet - Pretty epic chours. Some nice riffing. 8/10

8. Web Of Lies - Great vocals from Simone, but I'm not the biggest fan of Phideaux's vocals. 9/10

CD 2 (Earth)

1. The 5th Extinction - Instrumentally this song is epic as hell. The vocals are just good as well. 10/10

2. Waking Dreams - Lovely chorus and the instrumentation is odd, but it works. 10/10

3. The Truth Is In Here - Again, some odd lyrics, but classic Ayreon really. 9/10

4. Unnatural Selection - Some odd arrangments, but the most epic bit is the vocal battle between Bob & Steve (even though I don't really like Bob Catley's vocals.) 9/10

5. River Of Time - Hansi just rules this song. Great chorus. 10/10

6. E=MC2 - The chorus is amazing, especially the repeat with the descant harmonies. Just epic as hell really. 10/10

7. The 6th Extinction - Very epic and so over the top. The highlight of this one really is the meld of Jonas' growls and Floor's amazing luscious high alto warbles. The riffing at the end is also very spine chilling, expecially when the last vocals you hear is Steve Lees (again, the dead really do have an odd effect). 10/10

CONCLUSION: This was my first Ayreon album, and even after hearing their other efforts, nothing will beat it in my opinion. This might be Ayreons last album, because of certain big mouthed nosed stupid, hipster critics didn't really like this album, which made me sad, because because of those a***holes Arjen decided not to continue the traditional Ayreon tradition, and being an Ayreon fan, made me very angry. Critics need to wisen up, and Arjen should really do it for the fans, not for those awkward cretins.

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