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Ayreon's music is characterized by the combination of mellow rock and metal, often within the same songs. Use of rare instruments to support the more conventional rock instruments is common for Ayreon.
The first Ayreon CD, released in 1995, is The Final Experiment , a story of a man in 6th century Britain who begins to receive messages from scientists in the year 2084 when humankind has almost destroyed itself in a final great war. The album features thirteen singers and seven instrumentalists, most of them Dutch. The Final Experiment is often mentioned as one of the first metal operas and a reviver of the rock opera genre.
Ayreon albums are written by Arjen Lucassen who also sings and plays instruments on each album. All albums feature many guest musicians.
Actual Fantasy from 1996 is the only Ayreon album without a continuous story. With its individual fantasy stories, it can still be considered a concept album though. There are "only" three singers and three instrumentalists on Actual Fantasy.
Into the Electric Castle - A Space Opera ( 1998) is considered by many as the best Ayreon album. The double album is a story of eight people from different eras of humankind, locked together in a weird "place of no-time and no-space". There, a mysterious voice talks to them, guiding them on their quest to find a way home through the Electric Castle. This story full of science-fiction clichéClich (from French, imitative refers to: an overused phrase or expression, or the idea expressed by it; a situation, theme or characterization which has become common; a thing (as a style of clothing) that has become overly familiar or commonplace. Usualls is told in psychedelicThis entry pertains to the word "psychedelic", its origin and uses. For general information on psychedelic drugs, see the entry for the synonym, hallucinogenic drug. The word psychedelic is a neologism coined from the Greek words for "mind," ψ&upsilon rock by eight singers (along with a few supporters), each playing a role of a single character, and eleven instrumentalists.
The twin album The Universal Migrator ( 2000See also 1999 in music, other events of 2000, 2001 in music, 2000s in music and the list of 'years in music' Events January 14 Rolling Stone magazine reveals that the two children of Melissa Etheridge and her partner, Julie Cypher, were fathered by David) features a science fiction story of the last human alive, living in the MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, both small and odd colonyThis article refers to a colony in politics and history. For alternate meanings of colony see colony (disambiguation). In politics and in history, a colony is an administrative unit under the control of a geographically- distinct entity, usually an autono. In the story of the first CD, The Dream Sequencer , he begins a trip back in time to flashbacks of different peoples' memories during human history, using a device called Dream Sequencer. This first album consists of soft, atmospheric progressive rock. Later, he "pre-incarnates" further back, all the way to the big bang in the heavy second album, Flight of the MigratorFlight Of The Migrator is second part of The Dream Sequencer story. In this second part our main character travels even further back in time, all the way to the birth of the galaxy. Arjen Lucassen has managed to gather an incredible group of musicians, in. Again, both of these albums have about ten singers supported by many instrumentalists. Bruce DickinsonBruce Dickinson (Paul Bruce Dickinson, born August 7, 1958 in Worksop Notts, England) is the lead singer in the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Before this, he was singer in similar band Samson from 1980 until he joined Iron Maiden with their Number of the ( Iron Maiden) made an appearance on Flight of the Migrator, being probably the best-known musician to appear on an Ayreon album.
The latest Ayreon release is The Human Equation, released in 2004. As on Into the Electric Castle, there are several singers, each playing their own role. With The Human Equation, Ayreon turned away from the usual science fiction and fantasy themes with a story taking place inside the head of a man lying comatose in a hospital bed after a bizarre car accident in broad daylight, with no other cars in sight.