01011001

01011001 came as a bit of a disappointment after following Ayreon around for the last couple of years. There isn't much in the way of sounds and melodies here that you haven't heard from Ayreon before, nor do the songs stick out above anything from earlier albums. Also the concept fails to work. It doesn't improve the individual songs and it doesn't have the coherence from the Human Equation or Electric Castle. Call it lack of inspiration or lack of conviction in the Ayreon formula on Arjen Lucassen's part.

The approach is the same as on the Human equation. Two cd's of rock opera with plenty of heavy metal and symphonic rock influences. The cast is baffling, featuring some of the most remarkable voices in metal of the last ten years.

On paper it sounds like a recipe for success but the whole enterprise doesn't get off the ground. It takes an extreme effort to sit through this tepid album and not press the skip button before each song is halfway through. Just too predictable and deja-entendu.

It's a much better idea to ignore this album altogether and have another go at one of the earlier rock operas that preceded it. The Ayreon saga has reached a disappointing end.