Customer Reviews

Actual Fantasy Revisited (W/Dvd) (Spec)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Actual Fantasy Revisited is the (mostly) re-recorded version of Ayreon's 1996 release Actual Fantasy. Released after the highly successful rock opera debut, The Final Experiment, mastermind Arjen Lucassen decided to surprise his fans with a more electronic-based album consisting of fewer singers and a loosely connected lyrical theme. To give the album a more electronic feel and digital atmosphere, Lucassen used a drum machine, but the outcome was rather mediocre. The album didn't sell as well as the other Ayreon releases and Lucassen always wondered how it would sound if he used a real drummer and another bass player. Which he realized eight years after the original release. Enter godly drummer Ed Warby (who else would Arjen work with anyway?) and bassist Peter Vink. Most of the guitars were re-recorded, some from scratch, the synth solos were changed, and even the programmed flute was replaced by the real instrument. The result is definitely a more powerful, more fresh, more crisp, and more alive. It's not too often that a re-release surpasses the original record, but this has happened with Actual Fantasy Revisited.

If you've heard the original version, be prepared to be blown away by the excellently crisp production. Each instrument is audible and perfectly mixed. The re-recorded guitars and synths are a lot better and more interesting. For those of you who haven't heard the 96 release, you're in for a treat. Arjen Lucassen used only three singers on this disc: Robert Soeterboek for the powerful stuff, Edward Reekers for the melodic parts and Okkie Huysdens for the Beatle-like choral passages as Arjen himself explains in the liner notes. The album may remind you of the Star One project in this aspect, with fewer singers, and therefore, a more compact sound. Lucassen plays heavy guitars and blends them with powerful grooves, psychedelic electronics and symphonic melodies. There are incredibly beautiful moments on this disc, starting with "Abbey of Synn". According to Arjen, 'synn' is the old spelling of 'sin', yet it also makes a direct reference to the important role of synthesizers on this album, hence the somewhat electronic approach. Another song, "Computer Eyes", deals with how computers and technology in general may have bad effect on people's lives, occupying their time, and making them lose touch with real life. The lyrics of "Beyond the Last Horizon" were penned during the last days of Arjen's father's life, so needless to say, it's a very personal song. Musically the album is equally competent, if not more haunting. Ed Warby's awesome drumming on "Abbey of Synn" gives the track more life, whilst Arjen plays one of his most emotionally engaging guitar solos ever. It's a soaring guitar run that blankets the tune right after the singers introduce themselves with their unique vocal delivery. The same solo is repeated in the latter part of the track by Rene Merkelbach on keyboards. It's jawdropping. "The Stranger from Within" opens with an electronic patch, but as the live drums kick in, you can't believe you're listening to the same song. Warby's drumming is the main focus of the track and it's surrounded by atmospheric keys and pummeling bass guitar! The song gets really dense in its finale. "Computer Eyes" has a similar intro before it picks up a pretty acoustic guitar and shifts to a Pink Floyd-driven psychedelia. Arjen's powerful guitar theme is further enhanced as singer Edward Reekers' warm voice creeps into the mix defining the highpoint of the album. Throughout the whole disc, Reekers proves to be a stunningly powerful singer with a very melodic delivery. As Huysdens does a fitting vocal harmony in the chorus, Peter Vink accompanies him on his pludding bass. Finally Soeterboek's low singing closes the track before you can believe how Arjen managed to blend all these elements so seamlessly.

Whilst "Beyond the Last Horizon" deals with an emotional theme, its music is truly uplifting. Reekers and Soeterboek once again combine their voices in the chorus. They sing in a soft tone over really heavy guitar arrangements, but the dynamics are awesome. "Back on Planet Earth" also features a very heavy musical pattern that interlocks electronics and melodic guitar riffs. This is a forceful track with an unforgettable bass line. Arjen says he may have been inspired by Rush - 2112 writing this, which kind of makes it special, since most of the other songs were inspired by (obscure) movies. Other great moments are how the slow keyboard piece is embraced by a forceful, melodic metal drive towards the end on "Forevermore", which Arjen himself sings the final chorus of; or the way Arjen integrates symphonic elements after the processed vocals in the closing track "The Dawn of Man". The tune ends on a somewhat happy note making room for hope. Overall it's a successful blend of a myriad of textures within a compositional framework. This reissue CD also comes with a bonus DVD which features the original version of the album from 1996, the video of "The Stranger from Within" shot by a few students, a behind the scenes feature showing the recording process of drums and bass with Ed Warby and Peter Vink, plus a nice booklet with detailed song commentary by Arjen Lucassen himself. I was pleased to read how he was inspired to write some of those songs I'd been listening to for years. Very good packaging indeed.

I was a fan of the original of this album, but i never got around to buying it, and as a result, never did really listen to it as much as the other ones i had. About a week ago this new version came in the mail, and WOW. it really is a stellar album, and while i can't really say it's as good as Electric Castle, The Dream Sequencer, or The Human Equation, it really isn't far behind at all. The rerecorded guitars sound much thicker than on the original recording as well, which really drives the music home.

If you've gotten the majority of the Ayreon catalogue already, i wouldn't hesitate for a second on picking up this rerecording/remaster. All the classic Ayreon elements are there (the instantly recognizable synths, chuggy guitars, beautiful spacey melodies, etc.). The main difference between this album and others is that this one seems to be a bit more electronic in feel, and the songs all plod along happily at the same pace throughout. That could be considered a downside i guess, as there are no real upswings in the music, but it's pleasant enough as it is. Standout tracks for me are Stranger From Within, Back On Planet Earth (which uses some of the vocals in the background from the Ambeon reworking of the tune, very nice touch!), and Beyond The Last Horizon. It may be Ayreon's least popular album, but don't pass it off as his worst. Very highly reccomended for anyone looking for just a bit more Ayreon after hearing Electric Castle or The Human Equation.

If you like new age, you will like it. If you like metal, you will lik it!

It's a great cd by Ayreon. I think Ayreon is the best progressive rock project. Arjen Lucanssen is genius.
ALL THE PEOPLE MUST TO LISTEN TO THE AYREON.

The other reviewers have described why this album is so good. Easily on par with all his other work...don't let the lower sales make you think otherwise.

This was the first Ayreon album I purchased a year and a half ago, and since then I'm a fan and own every album, including the recent release 01011001.

I'm also intensely grateful they included a remaster of the original 1996 "Actual Fantasy" in the bonus DVD, but from a pro-"Revisited" point of view, it was a mistake.

Comparing the two albums shows very clearly that "Actual Fantasy Revisited" is inferior and considerably weaker than "Actual Fantasy" itself.

For one, the synthesizer, which sounded rich and full in the original Actual Fantasy, has a more sharp, snipped tone to it; it sounds as if the last millisecond of each synthesized note has been cut off so it sounds staccato every time.
The bass, which in the original was quiet, yet profound and booming, is now more noticeable not because of an increase in volume or presence, but simply the irritating sound of the strings twanging.
The guitar, in some places, most audibly in "Abbey of Synn" is intensely toned down in volume and presence, and the guitar solos no longer ring out, echo, and entrance the listener with their drama, but sound more casual, as if done while sitting down drinking beers and telling jokes to friends.
The drums in the original were booming, thunderous, and had a slight echo in places where needed. In "Revisited", they sound meek and uninteresting, as if done on an electronic drum set, with the bass drum, once the center-piece of the post-introduction of "Abbey of Synn", is muffled and wimpy, while the once echoing snare drum is content to die out quickly, like a middle-school band snare drum.
The vocals are also victimized, as in some songs where once there was rich vocal harmony, some of the voices are removed so that a homophonic texture in "Farside of the World" becomes monophonic (that is, a high voice and a low voice in unison is replaced with just a low voice).

Mentioned by Arjen in the documentary in the bonus DVD, he didn't use many real instruments (other than guitar and bass) because of the "genre" of his album, being based mostly in science fiction and fantasy, he wanted it to have a more artificial and electronic sound and feel to it. This worked wonderfully, but in re-recording, he seems to have forgotten that original intention, as the natural instruments fail to live up to the power of the originals. For example, the flute sampling in the original song "Actual Fantasy" is beautiful, rich and lush, whereas the real flute in the Revisited "Actual Fantasy" has more spirit and improvisation to it, but has a highly scratchy sound to it, likely from the flute player blowing too hard into the instrument, or having the microphone too close to their lips to pick up the blowing.


The re-recording is flimsy and weak compared to the remastered original included with the bonus-DVD, but the release is definitely worth buying solely for including the original album, plus a music video and documentary. Great starter kit for the new Ayreon fan.

1. Actual Fantasy 0/5
2. Abbey of Synn 1/5
3. The Stranger from Within 3/5 *
4. Computer Eyes 3/5 *
5. Beyond the Last Horizon 1/5
6. Farside of the World 1/5
7. Back on Planet Earth 2/5
8. Forevermore 1/5
9. The Dawn of Man 1/5

TOTAL = 13/45 = 29% = 2 star album



Very disappointing album, this is really hard to enjoy, unless you enjoy slow sci-fi music...it doesn't give anything new to the previous album, this album has been a real disappointment and i only think there are two songs worth listening to, everything else is not worth listening to.

I love Electric Castle, Human Equation, and Dream Sequencer. This is on par with Flight of the Migrator.

All I've got to say re: this release is ~

GODDAMN!!!!!!!!!!