j o n f

How exactly should this album be classified? It has elements of rock opera, progressive metal, death metal, glam metal, old-time sci-fi radio shows, symphonic rock, hard rock, pop-rock and a smattering of several other genres. What is surprising about such an obvious kitchen sink work as Into the Electric Castle is that it not only comes together cohesively, but actually flows over the course of its two discs. The story revolves around a presence known only as Forever, who captures eight strangers from time and space (well, Earth) and puts them outside the mysterious Electric Castle. Don't focus too much on the plot, however, as it doesn't stand up under scrutiny (why, for example, would Forever take eight strangers when only seven can enter the Electric Castle?), but instead enjoy the wide variety of styles presented here. Very few works could contain both the death metal growls of (appropriately enough) Death on "Cosmic Fusion" and the soft-rock melodies on "Tunnel of Light" without falling apart at the seams. This work stands up pretty strongly as a double disc, as well, as there are very few throwaway tracks (all of them are on the second disc). The wide range of musical styles on Into the Electric Castle makes specific recommendations difficult, but I'd like to point out that if you're a fan of Rick Wakeman's solo work, get this -- you'll love some of the synthesizers on this album, which are highly reminiscent of Wakeman's playing on the original Journey to the Center of the Earth. Otherwise, if you like any of the types of music mentioned above, give this one a try. Ayreon has given us an album that is hard to review, as it doesn't sound that good on paper, but really must be heard to be understood. review by Jon Fry — undated —

e r i c

Not being a big fan of the prog-metal genre, I was skeptical about picking up this disc. It is a daunting task to listen to a 2CD set by a band you have never heard before, but with all the positive reviews, I gave it a try. I was surprised by the diversity of the music, from acoustic guitars and flute, classical-like breaks, Wakemanesque keyboard fills, and heavy crunch guitar, all played with care to create the moods for each character and part of the story. It is not necessary to sit and study the story as the music itself is so good, but I would suggest sitting down with the booklet at least once and follow along. There are 8 characters portrayed here, each in contrast with the other, kind of like a few Star Trek episodes I remember, and all are brought together to complete a mission created for them. The narrator who is called "Forever" is a godlike or advanced life form who uses the characters to experience the range of human emotions through them, as his race is unable to feel these emotions themselves. Considering all the characters are represented by different vocalists, it is a very cohesive listen. It was great to hear Fish (Highlander), and his performance is solid. My favorite sections include the monstrous "Death's Grunt", and the very ethereal sections performed by the two female vocalists. One of my only complaints here is the portrayal of the "Hippie" character which at times comes off goofy. The character is used well to counter the "Barbarian" but his vocal sections could have been written better. That being said, there is very little to dislike here. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Excellent! review by Eric Porter — undated —

b r a n d o n

Into the Electric Castle is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculously over-the-top, pretentious, campy, stupid, you name it. Arjen Lucassen has managed to pull together a splendid number of cliches and combined it with a dumb storyline, some horrible poetry, and Peter Daltrey's nutty and overblown narration. It's a good thing all this insanity is tied into some good, diverse music, or this would be the most embarrassing example of progressive rock on the planet. (It's still close: I wouldn't recommend playing this to anyone that already thinks prog is pretentious.) Surprisingly, though, although the concept and lyrics are utterly laughable, the album manages to be awfully entertaining. As a big fan of "real" science fiction, I usually tend to take exception to the cheesy, cliche-ridden, embarrassing brand of sci-fi (hey, I'm not only a prog-snob, I'm also a sci-fi snob!), but somehow not only is the music here kind of fun, the concept actually manages to add to it. A guilty pleasure if there ever was one. The music - by which I mean the instrumental work - is quite diverse and usually stays away from obvious cliches, unlike the concept. There are a few prog-metalish tracks that don't work quite as well (particularly "Death's Grunt", which also features awful cookie-monster vocals), but a large number of more interesting tracks make this not a prog-metal album at all, I'd say. Flutes, various acoustic stringed instruments, and a wide array of keys keep the tone color varied, and in many of the songs the writing is pretty good - the lengthy instrumental section of "Amazing Flight" is great. It's tough to pin down any one style, but generally the album consists of a mix of straightforward symphonic and prog-metal types of tracks (about an equal mix of both, I'd say). I'd guess that Into the Electric Castle can please a fairly wide range of prog fans - as long as you can get over the initial reaction to the overpowering cheesiness, it's pretty enjoyable. The vocals are about as diverse as the music, with some eight singers. Basically all of them do quite well; standouts are Fish and Anneke van Giersbergen (her "Valley of the Queens" is quite a beautiful piece). Jay van Feggelen gives a nicely over-the-top performance that's perfectly in tune with the nature of the album as a whole. The lyrics are, not surprisingly, kind of, well... you know. But, as with many things, they fit in well with the pretentiousness of the whole thing. I don't know if this album is intentionally funny - I hope so - but it's got a deliciously campy feel to it. The 2CD length will make many skeptical, and with good reason. There are a couple of throwaway tracks and/or sections, and Peter Daltrey talks way too much, but the album never completely bogs down in useless material. The last few tracks slow down noticeably, but not to the point of extreme tediousness. The album may not be original enough to justify its length, but when I'm in the mood for something that's just plain fun to listen to, it qualifies pretty well. Into the Electric Castle is sort of like the Star Wars of prog: it's kind of stupid, it's got some really painful moments, but you can't help but be taken in by its charm. As a closing note, I've added the following item to my wish list (emphasis on "wish"): that Arjen Lucassen bring in, say, Deborah Perry or better yet, Dagmar Krause, for one of his rock opera projects. Woo-hoo! review by Brandon Wu — 6-21-00 —