THE HUMAN EQUATION

The album is about a guy ('me') who is in a coma and the music is all part of the world he is stuck in, as he lies in his hospital bed. All the singers either represent his emotions or people close to him and they are there to help figure out how he got there. They're not real but are controlled by Me's subconscious, and it's this that makes the genius of the album. As it progresses the songs chronologically reflect his life before they lead up to the finding the truth about his coma; all buried somewhere in his mind. Not only is it a good concept but it's really easy to follow.

The music is superb and very diverse to keep it interesting, and every song is memorable. There's no reoccurring musical theme unlike most concept albums, but it means that everything just moves on and it flows nicely. There's prog metal, folk, folk-metal, just plain prog, and symphonic/epic parts, just to name a few musical styles off the top of my head. There's even didgeridoo. The singing is brilliant and all the characters play their parts well and help to make the album rich with emotion. I especially like the voice of Arjen ('Best Friend') for some reason and Devin Townsend's screams which induce goosebumps. There's only one instrumental in this album so listeners must be aware that this is vocally heavy and requires concentration to follow the story, like a movie. But there's enough instrumental parts to keep balance though.

Overall it's a perfect album which makes me doubt whether any other album is worthy of 5 stars. After listening to the whole 1 hour 40 minutes without pause (which is how it should be listened) I didn't feel that any other music could live up to what I had just heard. When I approached this album I was skeptical as to whether I'd enjoy it or not. I had only heard Ayreon's first album which I thought was over the top and mediocre. But after deciding I liked The Human Equation it seemed that Ayreon had definitely matured from silly spacey stuff. The only flaw in this album, and my deepest fear, is that I may get tired of this album if I give it like 10 more listens. The Human Equation probably won't last as long as other less-conceptual albums but while I'm still enjoying it I'm happy to say that I highly recommend this. 5 stars.

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