AYREON have revealed a lyric video for “Dawn Of A Million Souls” ft. Russell Allen & Michael Romeo of Symphony X. The song is taken from “Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2 (2022 Remixed & Remastered)”, out now via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group.

You can watch the video here:

Ayreon recently also announced a run of four shows ‘01011001 – Live Beneath the Waves’ on 15, 16, and 17 September at 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands which sold out immediately. Due to popular demand, they have announced a 5^th show on the afternoon of Saturday the 16th of September 2023. Guests for the shows include Simone Simons, Damian Wilson, Hansi Kürsch, Anneke van Giersbergen, Daniel Gildenlöw and more. Tickets are available HERE.
 
Talking about the song Arjen Lucassen says, “Both singer Sir Russell Allen and guitar player Michael Romeo of Symphony X recorded their parts in the States. I still remember when Russell played their contributions to me on the phone, I literally cried tears of joy! This song has become one of the fan’s favourites, judging from the crowd’s reaction every time we play it live.  In this re-mixed version, I put Russell’s vocals more in the foreground. Personally, I also think that the amazing drums by Ed Warby sound much more powerful and crisp in this new version. Hope you agree, enjoy this great video made by Dave Letelier, assisted by Wayne Joyner!”

It is released on multiple formats – 1) A limited edition 56-page artbook including a 40-page comic, exclusive images of “the process”, 5 CDs (including previously unreleased audio) and a bonus DVD with 5.1 surround mix, 2 binaural headphone mixes and more. 2) A vinyl box set with 4 LPs on marble vinyl in 2 gatefolds, a 40-page comic book, a bonus DVD, a double-sided poster, and a sticker sheet. The vinyl box set is limited to 1000 numbered copies webshop exclusive). 3) 2CD + Bonus CD. Additionally, “The Dream Sequencer” and “Flight of the Migrator” are available separately on 180-gram orange transparent vinyl and digitally on all platforms. The bonus CD will feature an hour of previously unreleased material, ranging from versions of the tracks with different (guide) vocals to entirely new (well, old) tracks that didn’t make the albums and were previously never released. 

Universal Migrator Pt 1: The Dream Sequencer and Universal Migrator Pt 2: Flight of the Migrator were released initially simultaneously in 2000, following the majestically sprawling hit album Into the Electric Castle two years previously. The Dream Sequencer continues the plot from The Final Experiment (1995), starting in the year 2084 when the final world war wiped out all life on Earth. Flight of the Migrator continues the story of the last living human being, the colonist on Mars and his decision to use the Dream Sequencer machine to travel back to before the universe was formed.

The two albums feature an extravaganza of stunning musicians and vocalists such as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Edward Reekers (Kayak), Damian Wilson (Headspace/Threshold), Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard/Transatlantic/Flying Colors), Russell Allen (Symphony X), Andi Deris (Helloween), Michael Romeo (Symphony X) and many more.

Arjen Lucassen continues his crusade of remixing and remastering his finest work to absolute perfection and Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2 (2022 Remixed & Remastered) is a stunning addition to his spectacular cannon. With technology advanced, fans can now get the chance to hear the albums through the ears of Lucassen as he intended them.

Track list
CD1
01 The Dream Sequencer
02 My House On Mars
03 2084
04 One Small Step
05 The Shooting Company Of Captain Frans B. Cocq
06 Dragon On The Sea
07 Temple Of The Cat
08 Burried By The Wind
09 And The Druids Turn To Stone
10 First Man On Earth
11 The Dream Sequencer Reprise

CD2
01 Chaos
02 Dawn Of A Million Souls
03 Journey On The Waves Of Time
04 To The Quasar
05 Into The Black Hole
06 Through The Wormhole
07 Out Of The White Hole
08 To The Solar System
09 The New Migrator

Photo by Lori Linstruth

AYREON and Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group will reissue Ayreon’s Universal Migrator Pt 1 & 2 (2022 Remixed and Remastered) on 18th November.

Today sees the release of the lyric video for And The Druids Turn To Stone.

Arjen Lucassen:
 
“And the Druids Turn To Stone is my personal favourite track from the Ayreon Universe live shows. Mainly because of the amazing vocal performance of my talented friend Damian Wilson. I still remember that back when I sent him the demo for this song, he wasn’t totally convinced. Maybe in part because of the dangerously-close-to-Spinal-Tap lyrics about Stonehenge. Haha! But man, he surely elevated this song to great heights, showing off all aspects of his versatile and distinctive voice. In the re-mixed version I tried to make the track sound more transparent and bring every little subtlety to the surface. Hope I succeeded!”

It will be released on multiple formats – 1) A limited edition 56-page artbook including a 40-page comic, exclusive images of “the process”, 5 CDs (including previously unreleased audio) and a bonus DVD with 5.1 surround mix, 2 binaural headphone mixes and more. 2) A vinyl box set with 4 LPs on marble vinyl in 2 gatefolds, a 40-page comic book, a bonus DVD, a double-sided poster and a sticker sheet. The vinyl box set is limited to 1000 numbered copies web shop exclusive). 3) 2CD + Bonus CD. Additionally, “The Dream Sequencer” and “Flight of the Migrator” are available separately on 180-gram transparent vinyl and digitally on all platforms. The bonus CD will feature an hour of previously unreleased material, ranging from versions of the tracks with different (guide) vocals to entirely new (well, old) tracks that didn’t make the albums and were previously never released. 

You can pre-order the album here: https://lnk.to/Ayreon

The two albums feature an extravaganza of stunning musicians and vocalists such as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Edward Reekers (Kayak), Damian Wilson (Headspace/Threshold), Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard/Transatlantic/Flying Colors), Russell Allen (Symphony X), Andi Deris (Helloween), Michael Romeo (Symphony X) and many more.

When approaching the considerable task of remixing and remastering the albums, Arjen had to dig through his attic and unearth his ADAT recorder and all the old 8-track ADAT tapes. He then had to import the audio of all 70 tapes (40 minutes each) into the computer. Not a job for the faint of heart!” he says. “But once I was remixing, I enjoyed revisiting the recordings and all the memories that came up as I worked.”

Arjen Lucassen continues his crusade of remixing and remastering his finest work to absolute perfection and Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2 (2022 Remixed & Remastered) is a stunning addition to his spectacular cannon. With technology advanced, fans can now get the chance to hear the albums through the ears of Lucassen as he intended them.

Track list
CD1
01 The Dream Sequencer
02 My House On Mars
03 2084
04 One Small Step
05 The Shooting Company Of Captain Frans B. Cocq
06 Dragon On The Sea
07 Temple Of The Cat
08 Burried By The Wind
09 And The Druids Turn To Stone
10 First Man On Earth
11 The Dream Sequencer Reprise

CD2
01 Chaos
02 Dawn Of A Million Souls
03 Journey On The Waves Of Time
04 To The Quasar
05 Into The Black Hole
06 Through The Wormhole
07 Out Of The White Hole
08 To The Solar System
09 The New Migrator

Photo by Lori Linstruth

Ayreon and Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group will reissue Ayreon’s Universal Migrator Pt 1 & 2 (2022 Remixed and Remastered) on 18th November. To celebrate the release, Ayreon has revealed the video for “Into the Black Hole” ft. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), below.

You can pre-order the album here:  https://lnk.to/Ayreon

t will be released on multiple formats – 1) A limited edition 56-page artbook including a 40-page comic, exclusive images of “the process”, 5 CDs (including previously unreleased audio) and a bonus DVD with 5.1 surround mix, 2 binaural headphone mixes and more. 2) A vinyl box set with 4 LPs on marble vinyl in 2 gatefolds, a 40-page comic book, a bonus DVD, a double-sided poster and a sticker sheet. The vinyl box set is limited to 1000 numbered copies webshop exclusive). 3) 2CD + Bonus CD. Additionally, “The Dream Sequencer” and “Flight of the Migrator” are available separately on 180-gram transparent vinyl and digitally on all platforms. The bonus CD will feature an hour of previously unreleased material, ranging from versions of the tracks with different (guide) vocals to entirely new (well, old) tracks that didn’t make the albums and were previously never released. 

Universal Migrator Pt 1: The Dream Sequencer and Universal Migrator Pt 2: Flight of the Migrator were released initially simultaneously in 2000, following the majestically sprawling hit album Into the Electric Castle two years previously. The Dream Sequencer continues the plot from The Final Experiment (1995), starting in the year 2084 when the final world war wiped out all life on Earth. Flight of the Migrator continues the story of the last living human being, the colonist on Mars and his decision to use the Dream Sequencer machine to travel back to before the universe was formed.
 
The two albums feature an extravaganza of stunning musicians and vocalists such as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Edward Reekers (Kayak), Damian Wilson (Headspace/Threshold), Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard/Transatlantic/Flying Colors), Russell Allen (Symphony X), Andi Deris (Helloween), Michael Romeo (Symphony X) and many more.

Ayreon mastermind and Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen remembers, “‘Into the Electric Castle’ was such a huge worldwide success that when I picked up the guitar to start working on the next Ayreon, I was terrified! I realized it would simply be impossible to recreate the magic of that album. So, instead of trying to make an ‘Electric Castle part two,’ I looked for new and challenging ways to create my next Ayreon album.”

He continues, “First, I decided to have each vocalist perform one individual song instead of using multiple singers interacting within the same song as I had on previous Ayreon albums. Second, I decided to separate my two extreme styles and make two contrasting albums instead. ‘The Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer is a melodic and atmospheric journey through time, and ‘Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator is a heavy progressive adventure through space.”
 
“Ayreon fans come in all shapes and sizes, but I believed that overall, there were two distinct groups: the prog fans and the metal fans,” he explains. “By releasing these two albums separately, I wanted to give each group a chance to buy the album of the style they loved and, if they wanted, ignore the other. To my (pleasant) surprise, most fans loved both albums!”
 
Talking about “Into the Black Hole,” Lucassen says, “Into the Black Hole is one of my personal favourite songs on the Flight of the Migrator album. Particularly because of the amazing vocal performance of the mighty Bruce Dickinson. It was a true honour and pleasure for me to record one of my favourite singers of all time in my studio. I love that his singing in this track is so different from the (often faster) Iron Maiden material. If you listen well, you can hear that in this remixed version, I used some vocal lines that I didn’t use in the original version. Have fun exploring!”
 
The album cover and 40-page comic book were designed by Spanish artist and friend of Arjen, Élan López. “It’s an epic story!” Arjen says. “We worked on this together for three months, and we’re proud of the result. It’s cool to see the complex story portrayed now in beautiful colours.”

When approaching the considerable task of remixing and remastering the albums, Arjen had to dig through his attic and unearth his ADAT recorder and all the old 8-track ADAT tapes. He then had to import the audio of all 70 tapes (40 minutes each) into the computer. Not a job for the faint of heart!” he says. “But once I was remixing, I enjoyed revisiting the recordings and all the memories that came up as I worked.”

Arjen Lucassen continues his crusade of remixing and remastering his finest work to absolute perfection and Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2 (2022 Remixed & Remastered) is a stunning addition to his spectacular canon. Thanks to advancements in technology, fans can now get the chance to hear the albums through the ears of Lucassen as he intended them.

Universal Migrator Part I & Part II -tracklisting

CD1
01 The Dream Sequencer
02 My House On Mars
03 2084
04 One Small Step
05 The Shooting Company Of Captain Frans B. Cocq
06 Dragon On The Sea
07 Temple Of The Cat
08 Burried By The Wind
09 And The Druids Turn To Stone
10 First Man On Earth
11 The Dream Sequencer Reprise

CD2
01 Chaos
02 Dawn Of A Million Souls
03 Journey On The Waves Of Time
04 To The Quasar
05 Into The Black Hole
06 Through The Wormhole
07 Out Of The White Hole
08 To The Solar System
09 The New Migrator

AYREON’s new studio album Transitus is released today, September 25th, via Music Theories Recordings. Featuring guest performances from; Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Simone Simons (Epica), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman + more.

Watch Arjen Lucassen unbox the Earbook and double LP editions of Transitus here:

Ayreon have today released a brand-new sprawling and epic studio album ‘Transitus’ via Music Theories Recordings. The album is available on 2CD, 2LP gatefold red transparent vinyl and a 40-page Earbook which includes 5 discs; 2CD album, 1CD instrumental versions, 1CD guide vocal versions, and a DVD with bonus footage which includes a behind the scenes video, a videoclip, trailer and a 5.1 audio and hi-def stereo mix of the album. The release is accompanied by a 28-page graphic novel which is also included in the Earbook as well as the 2LP.

In 2017 Ayreon released ‘The Source,’ which revisited the ‘Forever/Planet Y’ saga, but now three years later it is time for something completely different…

“The year is 1884, these are dark, troubled times, fraught with greed, envy and prejudice…” begins our narrator and storyteller, Tom Baker…

‘Transitus’ is built around an entirely new story, not connected to the Ayreon universe although as always it does have some subtle links. The sci-fi theme makes way for a gothic ghost story set (partly) in the 19th century with elements of horror and the supernatural. It’s on a dark thunderous night where our story of Abby and Daniel begins.

Track List

CD1
01. Fatum Horrificum (A] Graveyard, B] 1884, C] Daniel And Abby, D] Fatum, E] Why?!, F] Guilty)
02. Daniel’s Descent Into Transitus
03. Listen To My Story
04. Two Worlds Now One
05. Talk Of The Town
06. Old Friend
07. Dumb Piece Of Rock
08. Get Out! Now!
09. Seven Days, Seven Nights

CD2
01. Condemned Without A Trial
02. Daniel’s Funeral
03. Hopelessly Slipping Away
04. This Human Equation.
05. Henry’s Plot
06. Message From Beyond
07. Daniel’s Vision
08. She Is Innocent
09. Lavinia’s Confession
10. Inferno
11. Your Story Is Over!
12. Abby In Transitus
13. The Great Beyond

Also watch

AYREON’s new studio album Transitus will be released on September 25th via Music Theories Recordings. Featuring guest performances from; Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Simone Simons (Epica), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman + more.

Watch the video for ‘Talk Of The Town’ here:

Arjen Lucassen about the song:

”Here’s the 4th and final lyric (behind-the-scenes) video before the release of Transitus next week: Talk of the Town. I think this is the most Ayreon-ish track on the album. It features Tom Baker, Paul Manzi, Tommy Karevik and Cammie Gilbert on vocals, and the fantastic instrumentalists Juan van Emmerloot, Joost van den Broek, Patty Gurdy, Jeroen Goossens and Ben Mathot. Oh yeah… and some tall beardy dude provides the comic relief 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!”

In 2017 Ayreon released ‘The Source,’ which revisited the ‘Forever/Planet Y’ saga, but now three years later it is time for something completely different…

“The year is 1884, these are dark, troubled times, fraught with greed, envy and prejudice…” begins our narrator and storyteller, Tom Baker…

‘Transitus’ is built around an entirely new story, not connected to the Ayreon universe although as always it does have some subtle links. The sci-fi theme makes way for a gothic ghost story set (partly) in the 19th century with elements of horror and the supernatural. It’s on a dark thunderous night where our story of Abby and Daniel begins.

Track List

CD1
01. Fatum Horrificum (A] Graveyard, B] 1884, C] Daniel And Abby, D] Fatum, E] Why?!, F] Guilty)
02. Daniel’s Descent Into Transitus
03. Listen To My Story
04. Two Worlds Now One
05. Talk Of The Town
06. Old Friend
07. Dumb Piece Of Rock
08. Get Out! Now!
09. Seven Days, Seven Nights

CD2
01. Condemned Without A Trial
02. Daniel’s Funeral
03. Hopelessly Slipping Away
04. This Human Equation.
05. Henry’s Plot
06. Message From Beyond
07. Daniel’s Vision
08. She Is Innocent
09. Lavinia’s Confession
10. Inferno
11. Your Story Is Over!
12. Abby In Transitus
13. The Great Beyond

Also watch