INTO THE ELECTRIC CASTLE

Along with Ayreon's more famous rock opera, 'The Human Equation,' this fine masterpiece is another highlight of the symphonic metal band/project,

Put simply, the album melds a whimsical Ziltoid-esque concept with excellent progressive music. To make a long story short, 8 different cultural stereotypes (IE: Roman, Barbarian, Hippie etc) are plucked out of time to go on a quest through an extra dimensional realm. While it's certainly not an immensely engaging plot, it works well, and gives alot of potential to incorperate different styles, and despite the obvious fact that the story isn't supposed to emotionally envelop a listener, there are moments where the characters really show added dimensions to their personalities beyond the simple stereotypes they set out to be.

This album (unlike the Human Equation, which I fell in love with at first listen) took me a little while to appreciate it. I've always enjoyed it, but like a few other albums in my collection (Coheed & Cambria's 'The Second Stage Turbine, and Opeth's 'Still Life,' for example) when the album suddenly hit me, it was instantaneous and overwhelming.

It takes a huge amount of genius to make a double album this engaging. Beautifully produced, performed and composed. Gets better with each listen. An excellent addition to any prog collection.

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