Arjen Anthony Lucassen, the main creative force behind Ayreon
Background information
Origin
Waalwijk, Netherlands
Genres
Progressive rock
progressive metal[1]
power metal[2]
Years active
1995–2008
2012–present
Labels
Transmission
Inside Out
Century Media
SPV
Mascot Label Group
Members
Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Past members
Guest performers
Website
ayreon.com
Ayreon/ˈɛriən/ⓘ is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal[1] and power metal[2] sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electronica, experimental and classical music. The majority of Ayreon's albums are dubbed "rock operas" (or "metal operas") because the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, usually with each one being represented by a unique vocalist.
Each Ayreon album tells a different story, but all, with the exceptions of Actual Fantasy, The Theory of Everything, and Transitus, take place in the same fictional, science fiction universe; additionally, Lucassen's solo album Lost in the New Real is also set in the Ayreon universe. Ayreon's music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music (guitars, bass guitar, drums, analogue synthesizers, electric organs) mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music (e.g. mandolins, violins, violas, celli, flutes, sitars and didgeridoos). Lucassen writes the music and the lyrics, sings and plays most of the instruments on all of the Ayreon albums, alongside many guest musicians. His most regular collaborator is drummer Ed Warby.
Due to the project's particular nature, Ayreon live performances are rare, and no official Ayreon live show took place until 2017. Several Ayreon songs were first included in two live albums by other Lucassen bands: Live on Earth by Star One (2003) and Live in the Real World by Stream of Passion (2006).
^ abHuey, Steve. "Ayreon biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
^ abSharpe-Young, Garry (2003). A-Z of Power Metal. London: Cherry Red Books Ltd. ISBN 1-901447-13-8.
Ayreon /ˈɛriən/ is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as...
01011001 is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's long-running Ayreon project. "01011001" is the binary representation of the ASCII value of the...
producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the guitarist and backing vocalist...
and sang in the Ayreon albums Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer, 01011001, and The Source, as well as the live album Ayreon Universe – The...
lead vocalist of Seventh Wonder from 2005 to 2023. He also appeared on Ayreon's 2013 album The Theory of Everything, in which he portrayed the main character...
featured on "The Theory of Everything", an album from Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon project, with which she is cast as the Mother. She is also the featured...
Castle – A Space Opera is the third album of the progressive metal project Ayreon by Dutch songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony...
Dreams" on "Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live" tour and album by Ayreon (2017) "Comatose" on "Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live" tour and...
2011 01011001, the seventh studio album from Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon project 01 (telephone number), United Kingdom internal dialing code for...
also collaborated with bands such as Kamelot, Leaves' Eyes, Primal Fear, Ayreon, and Angra. She also has a side pursuit as a lifestyle blogger, via her...
progressive rock project Ayreon by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 25 May 2004 via Inside Out Music. As with other Ayreon albums, it features...
Irene Jansen is a Dutch singer. She sang on the Ayreon album The Human Equation, portraying the character Passion. She was also the live backing vocalist...
relatively unknown singers, who chose her to play the character of Wife in the Ayreon album The Human Equation. In 2005, he also picked her for his new project...
contributed to the Arjen Anthony Lucassen's rock opera project known as Ayreon. Armand van der Hoff (ex-Bodine) Jan Bijlsma (ex-Vengeance) Jolanda Verduijn...
former band Stream of Passion. She also co-wrote all the lyrics of the Ayreon album The Theory of Everything, again with Lucassen. In 2010, Linstruth...
symphonic metal bands Epica, Delain, ReVamp, The Gathering, Asrai, Autumn, Ayreon and Within Temptation as well as jazz and pop singer Caro Emerald are having...
producer. He is most known as the creator of progressive metal/rock opera Ayreon. Over the years, Lucassen created various bands and musical projects. Overall...
supergroup Northern Kings, and portrayed one of the main characters in Ayreon's 2013 album The Theory of Everything. Marko Hietala was born in Kuopio,...
Experiment (originally Ayreon: The Final Experiment) is the debut studio album by the Dutch progressive metal project Ayreon, released in 1995. Originally...
DVD/Blu-ray by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project Ayreon. The Theater Equation originally consisted of a four live performances,...
Global Information