Customer Reviews

Universal Migrator Pt 1 & 2

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

 

 

This is going to be a two-part review because I just don't think it would be right to review 135 minutes of music with tons of singers and musicians in a single review. The main reason, however, is because I can't decide if this deserves a 5 or 4-star rating as I love The Dream Sequencer way too much to rate it so poorly.

The Dream Sequencer was originally released in 2000 by Transmission Records as a single CD release but in the back of the CD it was clearly mentioned that it was the first part of a double album. This is Arjen's song-oriented and melodic approach to an atmospheric journey through time and space. I'll be honest; over the 4 years I've owned this disc, I've never paid much attention to the concept but the thing still struck me as deeply moving and emotional on a lyrical aspect.

I like this disc better than Flight of the Migrator because it features some of the 'most fitting' singers Arjen has ever worked with. It was a good insight on what singers like Johan Edlund and Neal Morse are capable of if they partake in such projects. Unlike the other Ayreon releases, each song on the Universal Migrator records features a single singer except for occasional back-ups and it's this what makes The Dream Sequencer so beautiful. After the heavily atmospheric intro layered with depths of emotion on the title track, we're introduced to "My House on Mars" sung by Johan Edlund of Tiamat fame. Edlund's vocal delivery is one of the finest on the entire disc; he possesses a low, melancholic voice similar to Dan Swano's singing on the Star One project. Also, both Arjen and Edlund being big Pink Floyd fans, their collaboration in the songwriting is perfect. While Edlund wrote his own vocal melodies, Arjen came up with the lyrics. Floor Jansen's back-up vocals in this track complement everything beautifully. Another great track is "One Small Step" delivered by Edward Reekers. Reekers is a long-time Ayreon 'member' and he sings in a warm voice over symphonic arrangements. Somehow I feel Arjen further explored this type of vocal stylings on his new album The Human Equation. This track also has a slow yet incredibly profound guitar solo that builds up delicately in a nice Pink Floyd style.

Lana Lana and another Ayreon veteran Damian Wilson are the two singers who appear on both Migrator albums. Wilson sings on "And the Druids Turned to Stone" which begins with a very cold, almost creepy intro but is turned into a heartfelt tune thanks to Damian Wilson's indestructable vocals. There is another magnificent guitar solo here; the bluesy melody is played over acoustic guitars and once again the Floydan keyboards give it a very moving vibe. I have to give kudos to both keyboardists on this disc, Erik Norlander and Clive Nolan. They are living proof that you can capture a totally unique style without having to be flashy. On this album the guitar work isn't very dominant; it's sparsely used because the songs are more centred around atmospheric keyboard and synth-driven melodies.

Most of the songs are within the 7 or 8-minute mark but there are also more compact tunes, one of which is delivered by Arjen Lucassen himself ("Carried by the Wind"). The other short-song "Temple of the Cat" is performed by female vocalist Jacqueline Govaert. The Neal Morse-sung "The First Man on Earth" has a very happy-go intro and Beatles-like back-ups by Mark McCrite. Morse is not a very technical singer but his work with the amazing prog band Spock's Beard clearly shows that he has tremendous expression in his singing. He doesn't disappoint in Ayreon either and the guitar solo that follows is simply fantastic.

The Dream Sequencer is easily one of my top 5 Arjen Lucassen albums. I remember I didn't care for it much when I first got it, but with each passing year, it's grown on me and now I consider it a very unique offering in Ayreon's ever-growing back catalog. I believe you'll discover the deepness and richness of The Dream Sequencer only if you keep listening to it patiently. 70 minutes of prog masterpiece. Period.

On the recommendation of a fellow metal-lover, i picked this up, and i am speechless.
The first disc is the progressive rock side, and its flowing, spacey tunes coupled with the equally cosmic theme gives off the distinctive air of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. While i love Pink Floyd and was amazed by disc one, i was itching to get to disc 2, which, in all honesty, was a tad weaker.
Despite this, disc 2 was still captivating, starting off strong, continuting a general metal feel in the middle, though nothing my jaded ears hadn't herd before. But If one is truly absorbed by the music at this point, the 50 seconds before the booming finale are legitimately terrifying. I don't wish to spoil it, but suffice to say that little in the world is scarier than a digitized voice breaking one's calm, announcing one's quickly oncoming demise.
Overall, this album is a powerful, moving experience.

The Universal Migrator double CD set has finally been rereleased containing both the Dreamsequencer and Flight of the Migrator albums. The musical genius Arjen Lucassen decided not to put any bonus tracks on the disc as to be fair to those who have already purchased the albums separately, although the selling price is a lot cheaper (2 for 1). The storyline is that of a Machine called the Migrator that takes the inhabitant through a mind journey of space and time, the first disc seems to me that of exploration, and the second is where the story becomes more intense. It's a little tough to follow because there aren't character roles as in Arjen's latest Album "The Human Equation." This time he's got different vocalists like Lana Lane, Russell Allen, Bruce Dickenson amoung others.

The first disc "Dreamsequencer" is the softer of the 2. There are lots of 70's influenced prog rock elements taken from such bands as the Beatles (late) and Pink Floyd but all basically kept at a very spacey level. While his latest album "Human Equation" he takes more of a diverse approach including all influences from Prog Metal, Hardcore, Celtic, Folk, 70's Prog Rock, this album is more of an abundance of synthesizer melodies, atmospheres and effects as tied well w/ the futuristic, intergalactic storyline. The music is very atmospheric, and not really about instantly catchy moments but more of stretched out melodies from the use of vocals as well as instrumentals. The opening instrumental isn't all that big a deal but the first real track "My House on Mars" is an incredible song, w/ it's beautiful futuristic main guitar lead and swapped vocal chorus is a track that'll be repeated over and over. Other great songs are the Beatles influenced "The First Man on Earth" and female sung "Temple of the Cat." There are a few skippers on this one. Now, even though the not so good songs aren't good b/c of their rather slow undiverse choruses, there is still plenty of depth and good moments w/in them, which is still able to be appreciated. An example would would be "Carried by the Wind" which even though has a pretty catchy guitar melody, it's repeated too many times giving the song almost no diversity. Also, some songs are just too long for their own good. I'd give the first disc 3 stars. Some fantastic songs worth owning, some skippers, but nothing BAD.

The second overall better disc "..Migrator" is the heavier of the two. This one's got a mix of heavy power chord prog metal and spacey atmospheres. After the just OK opening instrumental, "Dawn of the Million Souls" is a good song as sung by Sir Russell Allen but really only has a good chorus backing it up, which I guess doesnt qualify for a GREAT song. The good songs continue w/ "Journey on the waves of time" and the best song on both discs "To the Quasar," which has got a beautiful pulse rhythmic synth progression along w/ a "twilight" guitar melody during the verses and a hypnotic chorus which just oozes w/ imaginative inspiration. This is one of the few songs you can let play w/ your imagination.
The next few songs aren't as good but still worthy, such as "Through the WormHole" and the melodically sung "to the solar system." What I didn't like about this disc inparticular was how at some moments Lucassen just seemed to get too carried away w/ the continuous keyboard and guitar runs. the 10+ minute "Into the Black HOle" is a decent song but not enough to sustain such a length, plus i feel it gets too complex for its own good (as are a few other songs on this album). this disc ends weakly w/ the unmelodic and plain chorus of the final track "The New Migrator." I'd give this disc 4 stars, mostly great stuff, some that is really "too much" but again, nothing BAD.

The great thing about Arjen's music is that no matter what type of music you're into, there is something to love on his albums, a good amount to love to warrent a purchase. When this guy write a good song, it becomes a beautiful, fantastic song. Sure there may be some skippers on this album (i really like about 11 or 12 of the 20 tracks), and it's not all really a drive in your car type of thing, but more of a lay back and enjoy type music, but overall I still think Arjen's a musical genius, and w/ the $15 price tag for 2 discs, it's definitely a no brainer. Sure it's not as diverse as the latest, but the story line calls for a such a sound, and w/in that particular sound, the album is incredibly diverse. I mostly gave this a 3.5 star review b/c after being completely blown away by "The Human Equation" I guess I was expecting the same, but 3.5 isn't a bad review, it's good, just w/ some "not as good" spots.

This is a two CD set re-release of Universal Migrator and Dream Sequencer, which were separate albums back in 2000. Universal Migrator is supposed to be heavier and Dream Sequencer more keyboard driven and atmospheric.
Instead of multiple singers per song, Arjen has one main singer per song. This is where it goes wrong. The singing styles and sometimes the mixes are different enough that it is uneven, especially on the Universal Migrator CD. The guitar and keyboard are still good, however. Russel Allen sings Dawn of a MIllion Souls, which is my favorite song on this CD. Russel is one of my favorite singers and Symphony X is one of my top three fave bands, so it sets a standard that leaves me somewhat disappointed afterward.
This review and my opinion are actually my own fault because I started my Ayreon fixation with the new Human Equation, which is absolutely amazing (except for one song) and Star One Live. The Star One Live CD has live versions of Dawn of a Million Souls and Into the Black Hole, easily the two best songs on this set. The live versions are slightly faster and more intense and Dawn of a Million Souls has a slightly different arrangement. The keyboard and guitar intro to Dawn of a Million Souls is inspired and awesome on both versions, but I like the live version better.

Although some might find the concept matter a little kitschy, the music underpinning it is fascinating. I would even compare moments on it to Dream Theater's "Scenes from a Memory" in terms of being a better-executed musical composition. The keyboard layering manages not to detract from the guitar, which is a criticism I sometimes find relevant to a lot of bands in a similar vein; I think it really deserves it's categorization as "orchestral." The singers' variety also fills out the music nicely, with guests from Tiamat, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden and others adding different vocal textures. Post-apocalyptic mergers of humanity with computers may be an oft-used motif in metal concept albums, but Ayreon manages to make it enthralling. If you can sit down and listen to it all the way through (though I usually replay "My House on Mars" and "Chaos" several times), it's a new and rewarding experience.

This is different from most Ayreon projects in that it is not a rock-opera format. There is no story nor is there any characters per'se. There is an over-lying arc or theme in that a person takes a journey through the past in a sort of reincarnation generator, hop-scotching back in time, awakening in whatever body they occupied back then, and as luck would have it, they are usually involved in a bit of eventful history. There are different singers involved in each song and each song is its own stand-alone entity, independant of the other songs, so this is indeed more of a theme album, not so much a concept or opera as there is no dialog or narative, THANK GOODNESS! I have yet to appreciate Lucassen's operas, and this is after giving attempts at three different projects. Both discs are this way and all the better for it IMO.

I agree, The Flight of The Migrator is a bit sketchy as far as the writing and performances go, but there are some good songs to hear. Bruce Dickanson's turn in The Black Hole sort of predicts the direction Iron Maiden was headed their last few albums and Russel Allen's Dawn Of A Million Souls is a keeper as well. This is the album of blistering guitar solos and keyboard bombast one might expect from Lucassen. Albeit, one might walk away from this album not remembering any specific song as save for the few I mentioned, this material is a tad cliched.

The first disc however, The Dream Sequencer, is a genre defying gem, though some might put a few off since the guitar pyrotechnics is a subdued. The keys are more emphasized here, but then again, they're tastfully done. Much of this album comes across as sort of new-age metal, where what guitar that is there is an accessory and the emphasis is on mood and atmosphere ala older Floyd. Imagine an Andreas Vollenweider album with David Gilmour playing lead guitar. A testament to Lucassen's talent as a producer/arranger, each of these songs plays to the strengths of the singers - none of these performances would be out of place on the individual's own projects. The same can't be said of disc 2, where the vocals either don't fit, or aren't up to the task of the material.

The Dream Sequencer is an album I manage to play at least once a month. I just never get tired of it. Song-craft definitely took precendence over performance on this one and it shows in the quality of the songs. While the theme of the album explains the songs in a way, there is no storyline to reconcile and that to me is also a good thing. A collection of great songs and performances triumphs over concept any old day. A truely unique effort. This album makes me wish that Lucassen would branch out and take his talents into the world of new-age or fusion jazz.

Arjen Lucassen's Ayreon has long been one of those projects that brings together the best artists from bands around the world and gives them an outlet for one cohesive story that spans an album and in this case two. The "Universal Migrator" series is a must have classic now apparently packaged together in a 2 disc set...as well they should be. What a great price for two incredible discs!! Sweeping, futuristic, mesmerizing and epic are all words that come to mind. Listening is definitely a journey and in the end isn't that what we are all after? The two discs are perfectly complimentary in their differences, the first being more symphonic and progressive in nature and the second kicking it into high metal gear with near unbelievable wizardry. Prepare to be dazzled by some of the most talented metal and progressive artists that have all come together on such an immense project. These discs were in rotation for me constantly and led to my picking up of Ayreon's back catalog as well as anything else Arjen has been involved in! New "Star One" disc anyone?? Oh.... yeah!

This album is absolutely amazing, if you like Ajreon sound you must have Universal Migrator

Excelent double edition, if you like progressive metal, you must have this one in your collection!!!

1. Dream Sequencer 2/5
2. My House on Mars 3/5
3. 2084 3/5
4. One Small Step 3/5
5. The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B. Cocq 3/5
6. Dragon on the Sea 2/5
7. Temple of the Cat 2/5
8. Carried by the Wind 2/5
9. And the Druids Turn to Stone 1/5
10. The First Man on Earth 1/5
11. The Dream Sequencer 3/5

1. Chaos 1/5
2. Dawn of a Million Souls 4/5
3. Journey on the Waves of Time 2/5
4. To the Quasar 4/5
5. Into the Black Hole 2/5
6. Through the Wormhole 1/5
7. Out of the White Hole 2/5
8. To the Solar System 2/5
9. The New Migrator 1/5

TOTAL = 44/100 = 44% = 2 star album

After a while the album gets a bit borring, the first time i heard it i was really surprised and enjoyed the sounds and the songs were quite good, but now that i have listened to it for a bit, it really doesn't give me much pleasure listening to it, it gets annoying after a while.