It should come as no surprise that having my signed copy of The Theory of Everything Limited Edition show up on my door step right in time for my birthday is the greatest present I could have gotten. (Note to my significant other: Don’t worry sweetie, I liked the necklace you got me too!)
Fangirling aside, I will begin my obviously biased review of The Theory of Everything. I will try to avoid spoiling the plot for people.
The cast for The Theory of Everything is significantly smaller than on his previous Ayreon outing. It honestly helped me keep the cast of character straight in my brain while I was listening. While the singing is always good from the guests, this particular group featured singers who have very distinctive sounds. In general, I was surprised to hear some very different sounds from two of my favorite metal/rock singers and to hear from some new talents.
I love Nightwish/Tarot singer Marco Hietala and was pleased to see him get to do something besides scream metal awesomeness. There is the fine line you have to tread when singing as a villain. You don’t want to sound too pretty but you also don’t want to cross the line into cheesy either. All in all, I don’t think he’s a villain I’d want to encounter at my next staff meeting…a very well played performance as The Rival.
Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil has also been a favorite of mine for a while. I will confess I was a little worried that her powerful rock voice would not be versatile enough for an Ayreon album but wow was I wrong! I really hope she uses some of the delicate tones of her voice in the next Lacuna Coil album because she really has a lot more range than many LC songs show off.
I haven’t been following Kamelot lately as their final album with Roy Khan was a bit of a disappointment to me. As a result I didn’t pay much attention when Tommy Karevik was named as new lead signer. His performance as The Prodigy is making me wish I’d kept up with them and checked out their recent gig in Chicago. He was definitely a pleasant surprise to discover. I think I’ll have to see Kamelot next time they’re in town…
The last four singers on the album were all new singers to me but were fantastic. I really can’t say anything bad about any of the performances on The Theory of Everything.
The Theory of Everything departs from the sci-fi elements of the Binary album in favor of a more human oriented story. I found the struggle between ‘normality’ and genius/passion a much more relatable story, Human Equation has always been one of my favorite albums for the same reason. Sci-fi is fun, but human stories stay with the mind longer in my opinion.
Musically the album is very prog heavy. It also features a lot more slow and soft sections compared to the last Ayreon album. I think that makes it easier to listen to in one long sit down. My brain at least likes it better when I have some down time from loud and angry to get more introspective in music. Throughout the tracks there are lots of great Moog moments, stellar flute solos, and some great Celtic feeling bits on the second disk. The Celtic flutes honestly reminded me a lot of some of the tracks on the last two Nightwish albums. I always like when Arjen throws instruments I’ve never heard of (like the monster flute) or very infrequently hear. I’m still waiting for another digeridoo solo Mr. L…
If I had to pick a favorite instrumental moment it would be the build up in String Theory. I’m biased since I’m a cello player and I love the movement in the string section. To have it end with Marco’s sinfully evil sounding voice just is the icing on the cake to me.
I have very few complaints about this album and had to dig really deep to make this at least have some pretence of being a non-biased review. My first is that the album is broken into basically four acts, with each act broken into 10 or so parts. Frankly, I can’t even imagine not listening to an act in its entirety. Perhaps this is due to my background in classical music. I could not imagine listening to just part of a movement of a symphony and I feel that the way these tracks are composed are similar. I can understand why it was broken the way it was. I am sure there are many people out there who just want a five minute music fix before going back to what they are doing, but for me a journey like this sound be enjoyed in its entirety not broken into bits. Against health advice from Arjen, I listened to the entire thing twice in a row without a break. It was glorious!
My second complaint is I think Asians need to be more represented on Ayreon albums. Cough cough, totally NOT trying to get him to give me a solo here. J
Third complaint: IT ENDED. WHY DID IT HAVE TO END?
In summary, please go check this album out. It is amazing and features some of the most talented artists living today. If nothing else, why would anyone want to miss a keyboard solo by Jordan Rudess? Heck, my dog even sat through two listens of it, so it must be good!