ARJEN LUCASSEN'S SUPERSONIC REVOLUTION: GOLDEN AGE OF MUSIC

I've been a fan of Arjen Lucassen's music for twenty years now, first discovering his work through Ayreon's 'The Human Equation' and then backtracking to albums like 'The Final Experiment' and 'Into The Electric Castle', still favorites of mine to this day. I've followed all of his projects since then, and enjoyed them all, as while each one explores a different avenue of his musical vision, they all share the same basic DNA. Supersonic Revolution is his latest venture, and it's a case of false advertising in some ways, as I was led to believe this was some sort of campy glam rock album. Lyrically, this act are all about immortalizing their 70s youth with kitschy lyrics about the good old days, and the basic touchstone here is definitely a 70s hard rock-inspired sound, but it's far heavier and faster than I expected it to be, with a lot of shredding guitars and insane keyboard runs that immediately brought to mind Star One. The fact that vocalist Jaycee sounds a good deal like Russell Allen only strengthens the comparison, although this guy could easily sing for Tygers Of Pan Tang, too. He's got a killer rasp and a hell of a range, and he makes these tunes soar in unexpected ways, just the perfect voice for these bluesy, fist-pumping anthems.

The production is modern and polished like a silver platter, so it certainly doesn't sound like an album you dug out of your father's beat up old record collection from the attic or something. It's also a lot more progressive than you'd expect given the album cover and logo. I'd heard this was like Ayreon doing The Sweet or some [&*!#], and it really isn't. Beyond the obvious prog sounds Arjen brings to the table, the main bands this plays off of are Deep Purple from their 'Machine Head' days and the first three Rainbow albums. Former After Forever keyboardist Joost van den Broek exclusively plays the organ here, channeling his inner Jon Lord, and does a hell of a job of dazzling the listener with some of the most intricate and effortless playing you're likely to hear. Guitarist Timo Somers of Carthagods fame is a real find, laying out these bluesy riffs like [%*!#]ing Criss Oliva in his prime with plenty of cheeky pinch harmonics and shredding like the bastard child of Marty Friedman and Eddie Van Halen. It's a gloriously controlled racket that brings a kind of unruliness that Arjen wouldn't have managed if he'd handled axe duties on this (he serves as songwriter and bassist here).

Song wise, the whole album is dynamite, kicking off with a pedigree banger in 'The Glamattack', a double-bass-led anthemic assault that has some serious power metal vibes, especially during the chorus, which rocks massively. Then we have the hair-raising title track, one of the catchiest tunes on the album, before we're treated to the most blatant Purple-esque track in 'Burn It Down' and the most intricate and proggy cut here, the excellent 'Odyssey'. This one is pure Star One, chugging along with a mean groove and some superb vocal lines from Jaycee. Later cuts like 'Holy Holy Ground' hit the same kind of highs, while 'Came To Mock, Stayed To Rock' injects a bit of humor into the mix, but it's a killer boogie number that closes out the album before we have a slew of covers that are cool, but not really essential. I must say I'm pretty impressed with this. It's been stuck in my CD player for two weeks and it's been a huge pick-me-up during this rainy English winter. Those thinking this is some glam-inspired cringe fest need a blast of 'The Glamattack' to blow back the cobwebs, as anyone familiar with Arjen's work in Star One and Ayreon will find much to rock out to here. Let's hope they produce a follow up.