Release Date: 21 May 2002
Song Count: 10
Rating: 9.3/10
Description:
Today's musical trip across songs albums lands our metaphorical rocketship on the planet of one Dutch man named Arjen Anthony Lucassen and his personal supergroup project featuring popular musicians from multiple different metal bands and names out there. As the man behind Ayreon himself, Lucassen, with this miracle amalgamation titled Star One, goes on a venture rarely ever seen with metal music, albeit being an established niche on its own in the rock scene: going out into space, both in a lyrical and a directly audial sense. Space Metal is exactly what it is titled: progressive metal music centered wholly around the concept of insterstellar travel and exploration, telling science-fiction stories of adventures, planetary crises and other crazy space-related events, all meshed together with an instrumental sound that is as "metal" as it gets.
It is one thing to give a verbal summary of every little detail that has gone into the making of this monstrous project, from the tales each and every track tell within their lyrics and several voices from some of the most talented faces and vocalists in the European rock and metal scene being incorporated via characters telling their own perspectives and injecting sheer vitality into the songs with their performances, to the absolutely electric sounds of the guitars, bass, drums, keys, synths, electronic sound effects that paint the entire experience in - both metaphorically and literally - otherworldly colours. It is another, however, to take in this work of art for oneself and witness it all in its full power and capacity, a feeling which cannot be simply communicated outside of the very medium it finds itself in.
Everything about this 10-song collection, to say it in a concise manner, simply works. The introductions to the songs sprinkle in the first bouts of unearthly sound that then wraps itself into the spirit of the main instruments at play, those being the percussioning, metal instruments and keys, spanning throughout the whole tracks and practically never losing any of their flair or spark at any point, truly shining during moments where they get the time frame to pull off an immaculate solo line. The clean and melodic yet still very stylistically metal-esque singing, all brought in by some of the most professional and vocally strong individuals that could possibly be featured in an album such as this one, spring alive like water shooting up from a geyser, giving it their all, and come together in indescribably well-synced unison and harmony when it all matters most. The science-fictional stories brought to fruition through the lyricism and the framing around it are vivid, engaging and exciting, smoothly flowing through their in-song progression as characters are put through adventures relating to space and the supernatural that all come together in one both incredibly coherent and incredibly well-composed work of mastery.
There isn't enough matching vocabulary to fully convey my thoughts and emotions on Space Metal; nearly every single song just sticks the landing extremely graciously, and even the one or two that don't quickly pick themselves up with other qualities that make them truly special - to pick and choose amongst these tracks would henceforth be a Herculean duty. All else there is to say is that this album is, for certain, a full-on must-listen for all that can appreciate the craft, and I am so incredibly glad to have found this out of what is essentially sheer accident. Check this one out if you are an enjoyer of hard rock or prog metal; it will almost definitely be worth your hour of time.