Customer Reviews

01011001

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My first encounter with the music of Arjen Lucassen was his last release, THE HUMAN EQUATION. I picked that CD up solely because James LaBrie of Dream Theater was singing on it. I was immediately impressed with the depth of story, the virtuosity of musicians and the masterful way that Lucassen pulled so many top flight people together to make, what amounts to a prog-rock opera. It was one of the best purchases I made a few years ago. I guess the only complaint I had at the time was the growling on a few of the tracks...a particular musical style I've personally never really appreciated.

It was with great anticipation that I bought 01011001. I wasn't sure if it would be a continuation of the Human Equation story or something completely different. This time around, it's a brilliant and powerful science fiction epic of a grand scale. I understand the story is related to his previous album UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PT 1-2. (Looks like I have another CD to buy.)

I was blown away with this album from the first moment. The assembled musicians are perfectly cast, and the music is incredible! I was expecting a good album, but got a great one. This is the must-buy album of the year for any and all progressive rock fans.

I purchased the Special Edition box set with a DVD included. I have to say that the "Beneath The Waves" video is amazing and wonderful to watch, but much of the rest of the DVD is dross. There is a tedious video showing interviews with many of the singers and musicians, talking about how they met Arjen, or how Arjen emailed them, or how Arjen picked them up at the airport, or how great it is to work with Arjen.....I got really bored with it really quickly. Unless you are really into that kind of thing, I can easily recommend that you save the extra $10 or so, and just pick up the music.

But you must, must, must get the music...you won't be sorry!

Arjen Lucassen, who by this point must be considered as one of the best concept album writers of all time, has managed to capture the best elements of "Into The Electric Castle" and "The Universal Migrator" with this stellar (literally) new release, "01011001". Using a vocal cast just as renowned as the one on "The Human Equation", this Ayreon album tells the story of a planet and a population close to the edge due to increasing reliance on technology and medicine.

Arjen skipped out on the usual introductory narration this time, and opens the album up with "The Age of Shadows", possibly the heaviest Ayreon opener yet. Then, the album takes a melancholy turn, reminiscent of the softer songs on fellow prog champions Porcupine Tree's newest album "Fear of a Blank Planet".

Those who missed the instrumental section on "The Human Equation" will be glad to see their return with "0101101". The production values are closer to "The Human Equation" than anything else, but the songs are written more in the style of "Electric Castle" and "Migrator", with longer vocal parts and long instrumentals. Thanks to the aid of many top-gun progressive musicians, Symphony X's Michael Romeo and ex-Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian among them, "0101101" should not be a disappointment to the progressive fans who were hooked with "Electric Castle" or "Migrator".

The vocal performances are strong as usual. That's to be expected, though, with the frontmen of acts like Blind Guardian, Pain of Salvation, and King's X on the roster. My only complaint is that there are so many vocalists that none get to steal the spotlight for long. Fan of the bands Arjen plucked from will hear just enough of their favorite vocalists to be satisfied, and no more.

Lyrically, the album takes a darker and more serious mood than ever before. Of course the usual cheese factor is present, though greatly diminished this time around. The album brings up several sociological and philosophical questions, though not without a certain pretense, asking what kind of society is really in the best interest of the human species. The album seems to want to comment on humanity's current faith in technology and medicine, scorning it in a way comparable to novels such as Huxley's "Brave New World". These kind of sentiments have always existed in Arjen's work, but here they take the spotlight.

I can not imagine "01011001" would disappoint any current Ayreon fan. It is a fresh release, different than previous ones yet with all the elements that made the older ones great. The number of highly memorable passages and good songs is much greater than the number not so memorable ones. Dare I say that this album is Arjen's masterpiece?

Firstly: do NOT hesitate to shell out the extra dough for this deluxe limited edition. It is VERY worth it, you get amazing packaging, a longer booklet, and it's just generally very cool. Enough of that, on to the album. In my opinion this is the greatest Ayreon album to date. The only possible way this album could have been better was if Russell Allen had parts on it. However, we do get an incredible solo by Michael Romeo. But Russell aside, you get Simone from Epica, Daniel from Pain of Salvation, Tom from Evergrey, Jorn Lande, and a slew of fantastic instrumentalists and other vocalists that'll blow your mind. This album goes straight to the top of my favorite concept albums list, second only to the mighty Scenes From A Memory, by Dream Theater. Every song on this album is great...not a single song gets skipped everytime I spin this album. And really, there's something for everyone here...something heavy, something lighter, something extremely melodic, something more "chuggy"...the album really runs the full spectrum of what great rock should be, and its no surprise when you consider Arjen's fantastic orchestration/arranging and the brilliant artists he brought together for this release. A must have for any fan of concept albums or progressive rock!

Arjen Lucassen, who by this point must be considered as one of the best concept album writers of all time, has managed to capture the best elements of "Into The Electric Castle" and "The Universal Migrator" with this stellar (literally) new release, "01011001". Using a vocal cast just as renowned as the one on "The Human Equation", this Ayreon album tells the story of a planet and a population close to the edge due to increasing reliance on technology and medicine.

Arjen skipped out on the usual introductory narration this time, and opens the album up with "The Age of Shadows", possibly the heaviest Ayreon opener yet. Then, the album takes a melancholy turn, reminiscent of the softer songs on fellow prog champions Porcupine Tree's newest album "Fear of a Blank Planet".

Those who missed the instrumental section on "The Human Equation" will be glad to see their return with "0101101". The production values are closer to "The Human Equation" than anything else, but the songs are written more in the style of "Electric Castle" and "Migrator", with longer vocal parts and long instrumentals. Thanks to the aid of many top-gun progressive musicians, Symphony X's Michael Romeo and ex-Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian among them, "0101101" should not be a disappointment to the progressive fans who were hooked with "Electric Castle" or "Migrator".

The vocal performances are strong as usual. That's to be expected, though, with the frontmen of acts like Blind Guardian, Pain of Salvation, and King's X on the roster. My only complaint is that there are so many vocalists that none get to steal the spotlight for long. Fan of the bands Arjen plucked from will hear just enough of their favorite vocalists to be satisfied, and no more.

Lyrically, the album takes a darker and more serious mood than ever before. Of course the usual cheese factor is present, though greatly diminished this time around. The album brings up several sociological and philosophical questions, though not without a certain pretense, asking what kind of society is really in the best interest of the human species. The album seems to want to comment on humanity's current faith in technology and medicine, scorning it in a way comparable to novels such as Huxley's "Brave New World". These kind of sentiments have always existed in Arjen's work, but here they take the spotlight.

I can not imagine "01011001" would disappoint any current Ayreon fan. It is a fresh release, different than previous ones yet with all the elements that made the older ones great. The number of highly memorable passages and good songs is much greater than the number not so memorable ones. Dare I say that this album is Arjen's masterpiece?

This album was utterly amazing. Arjen Lucassen is simply the best at writing concept albums. I own over 1,500 CD's and I have to say that this is top 5 if not THE best one I now own. Anyone who is already an Ayreon fan will not be disappointed. And it will pull in those that are not yet Ayreon fans - 3 of my friends have already become interested in hearing more Ayreon after they listened to 01011001.

The ensemble of singers and musicians that Arjen Lucassen was able to pull together for this album is top-notch. I didn't think it was possible to top the line-up for The Human Equation, but he somehow managed to surpass himself. All of the singers that are together on songs have such a wonderful blend. Several of the singers, I believe, have given their best ever performances on this album.

As for the songs themselves:

Disc One: Y

1. Age of Shadows (We Are Forever) - 10/10 - You couldn't ask for an intro song on a CD that surpasses this one. It starts out a little hard with almost a Rammstein feel. Floor Jansen's (After Forever) vocals are wonderful. Then around 4:45, it gets very mellow. Jonas Renske (Katatonia) and Anneke Van Giersbergen's (ex-The Gathering) vocals are so haunting in this section, especially at the 7:30 mark when Anneke begins singing the binary calls for help.

2. Comatose - 9.5/10 - Very spooky mellow song. Wonderful vocals - Anneke again and Jorn Lande go together so well. Such a great blend.

3. Liquid Eternity - 9.5/10 - Such a contrast between Comatose and Liquid Eternity. Comatose gets you relaxed, then Liquid Eternity comes in soft and builds over the first 30 seconds, then back to soft as Jonas comes back in. The verse build perfectly up to the powerful choruses.

4. Connect the Dots - 9/10 - I had a hard time scoring this song. As a single, not part of the album, I would give this song a perfect 10/10, but as part of the CD, it doesn't flow as well with the entirety of the album. Ty Tabor (King's X) is excellent on the lead vocals. The chorus sticks with me even after the song is over - very catchy, yet powerful. Arjen and Ty sound very good together.

5. Beneath The Waves - 9.75/10 - Once again the song starts out mellow giving plenty of room to build. Part A - Beneath The Waves just continues to build setting up Part B - Face The Facts wonderfully. Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) leads the vocals in Part B and sounds superb. Part C - But a Memory goes back to the mellow tune in the verse of Part A. Part D - World Without Walls features Jorn and Floor going back and forth with lines from the end of Part A.

6. Newborn Race - 10/10 - The intro of the violin with the acoustic guitar with Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation) coming in on vocals is soft yet powerful. The harmonies of Floor Jansen are yet again wonderful. I feel her performances on this album exceed anything on After Forever's albums. One of the best guitar solos on the CD come at the 2:30 mark of this song. The song takes on a completely new direction when Hansi Kursch comes in at the 3:55 mark. This section with Hansi, Jorn, Jonas, and Bob Catley (Magnum) is one of my favorite sections of the entire album.

7. Ride The Comet - 9/10 - I wish this song was longer. Even still, at 3:29, it is longer than most of the songs heard on the radio. Floor Jansen once again has hauntingly beautiful vocals in the verses of this one.

8. Web of Lies - 8.5/10 - The shortest song on the album at 2:50. I hate to say it, but I feel it is the weakest song on the album. But then again, there has to be one that is the weakest. That isn't to say it is a bad song. Simone Simmons is amazing on the vocals. I wish she had more vocals on the album. The song is just a little strange. It sounds like a very classical song, but it is about online dating. Still, a great song though.


Disc Two: Earth

1. The Fifth Extinction - 9.5/10 - Arjen Lucassen has a great talent at picking female vocalists. 01011001 has more female vocals than any prior Ayreon albums, and I hope it is a trend. Anneke sounds amazing in Part A - Glimmer of Hope. This song is a little darker and gloomy than any of the songs on the first album, but it seems to fit. The beginning of the song almost has a Pink Floyd-ish sound.

2. Waking Dreams - 9.25/10 - Very mellow. A lot of instrumental segments in this one.

3. The Truth Is In Here - 10/10 - I love the instrumentation. The flute and recorder sound perfect for this song. Give it almost a medeival fair sound. Arjen's vocals has never sounded better in my opinion. If there were to be a single from the second CD, this should be it. Definitely one of the catchiest Ayreon songs.

4. Unnatural Selection - 9.5/10 - One of the more straight up rock songs on the CD. I love the line sung by Hansi Kursch "Don't want to live in a world that's dying / I'd rather die in a world that's living." At the 4:05 mark, you begin to hear a lot of samples of historic quotes. At first I didn't think they fit well, but now I can't think of any way that it could have been done better. I love the part right after this with Bob Catley and Steve Lee (Gotthard) going back and forth line for line seeming to try to outdo each other.

5. River of Time - 10/10 - Hansi Kursch and Bob Catley play off of each other's singing very well, and blend together well on the chorus. This one has kind of a folk, medeival quality to it as well. Hansi Kursch always sounds right at home on songs like this.

6. E=MC^2 - 9.5/10 - Back to good old hard rock on the intro. Marjan Welman does an excellent job with her vocals on the chorus. Overall, this song is best when you listen to it and the next one together because this ones builds up to The Sixth Extinction so well.

7. The Sixth Extinction - 10/10 - Arjen definitely knows how to write beginning and ending songs. This album has the most powerful beginning/ending combination that I can recall. The song has so many of the vocalists together at the end, and I feel almost out of breath as the song fades. There is just so much power building up to the end.


So, overall I would have to give the album a 10/10. Usually when I get a double album, one of the discs is stronger than the other one and the weaker one hardly gets listened to after the first 10 times or so. But checking my iTunes count, I am now at 47 plays of the first album and 47 plays for the first half of the second disc, and 46 for the second half of the second disc. If I waited about another 20 minutes, they would all have 47 plays. This CD is that amazing. It just gets better with every listen.

the first time i heard of Ayreon (or Arjen) was just 2 days before of the official release of 01011001. I was just browsing anonymously and found this album. what attracted me first was the album cover. so i thought i might check the album. and so i did. after playing some clips i though it might not be something bad so 2days after that i decided to buy the album,yet i didnt realize then that soon i will be wanting to collect all of his albums!
yeah its what happened to me!
thougth iam always more into extreme sorta metal,but progreesive and melodic anything always attract me.and os was this album.such a creative musician,Arjen really has a lot to offer.

Very recently I picked up my first Ayreon album to sample it and very much liked it. In purchasing about three to four of Ayreon's albums as a follow up, this is most definitively my favorite. This album is a miracle of collaboration and virtuosity. Since this is Ayreon's most recent album (a.k.a, Arjen A. Lucassen), it is easy to see that time has aged his musical ability like good wine. If the listener is lucky, most good groups have one excellent vocalist in the band. This album has a few outstanding vocalists including Simone Simmons of Epica, whose voice is like that of an angel. Additionally, the musical compositions are top-notch and imbed themselves quickly into the psyche, a sure mark of good musical artisanship. Therefore, all you progressive rock aficionados, make sure you pick this one up!

I'm greatly pleased with 01011001 because it flows perfectly. I've loved Arjen's previous works but for some reason the thematic consistency is so much more apparent on this album. Perhaps its the way he writes the songs or the way that the story develops, but I feel like I'm listening to a true concept album this time.

Also, the vocalists are amazing. As much as James Labrie is a great talent, the mix of artists on this album blows the Human Equation away. Any fans of Evergrey, Pain of Salvation, etc. should check it out.

Only Star One in my opinion is a better Arjen work than 01011001. So yes-- this gets my wholehearted 5 stars. Songs of note: Age of Shadows, Comatose, New Born Race and the Earth Extinction.

My first encounter with the music of Arjen Lucassen was his last release, THE HUMAN EQUATION. I picked that CD up solely because James LaBrie of Dream Theater was singing on it. I was immediately impressed with the depth of story, the virtuosity of musicians and the masterful way that Lucassen pulled so many top flight people together to make, what amounts to a prog-rock opera. It was one of the best purchases I made a few years ago. I guess the only complaint I had at the time was the growling on a few of the tracks...a particular musical style I've personally never really appreciated.

It was with great anticipation that I bought 01011001. I wasn't sure if it would be a continuation of the Human Equation story or something completely different. This time around, it's a brilliant and powerful science fiction epic of a grand scale. I understand the story is related to his previous album UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PT 1-2. (Looks like I have another CD to buy.)

I was blown away with this album from the first moment. The assembled musicians are perfectly cast, and the music is incredible! I was expecting a good album, but got a great one. This is the must-buy album of the year for any and all progressive rock fans.

I purchased the Special Edition box set with a DVD included. I have to say that the "Beneath The Waves" video is amazing and wonderful to watch, but much of the rest of the DVD is dross. There is a tedious video showing interviews with many of the singers and musicians, talking about how they met Arjen, or how Arjen emailed them, or how Arjen picked them up at the airport, or how great it is to work with Arjen.....I got really bored with it really quickly. Unless you are really into that kind of thing, I can easily recommend that you save the extra $10 or so, and just pick up the music.

But you must, must, must get the music...you won't be sorry!

Another amazing performance from the Dutch Rocker Arjen Lucassen. A well produced and recorded disc with a absolutely Stellar group of musicians coming along for the ride. Among Ayreons returning veterans are the amazing talents of Ed Warby (Drums), Joost Van Den Brock (Keys/Synth) the stunning vocals of Floor Jansen , Daniel Gildenlow and if that wasnt enough you have Simmone Simmons ( Epica, My god what a voice!!) & Thomas Bodin (Flower Kings/ Synth) coming on board and the list just keeps going. As for the music itself it is amazing from beginning to end. Ayreon fans will not be dissappointed.