As far as I’m concerned, The Human Equation it is the masterpiece of Ayreonor at least one of the greatest masterpieces created by that great genius Arjen Anthony Lucassen. The previous albums had already shown what he was capable of, but here a perfect balance was achieved between progressive rock, heavy metal, musicals, together with the fundamental connection with the story written for the opera, which is complex and fascinating. The Human Equation it is the interior story of a character called Myselfinterpreted by James LaBrie, left in a coma after suffering a car accident. Each song represents a day spent in a coma by the man and deals with a different theme. The other main characters are Wifethe wife, Marcela BovioAnd Best Friend, his best friend, namely Lucassen himself, who are next to him in the hospital. While MAnd he is stuck in a coma, remembers and relives his life, from childhood to the day of the accident. During each day, Myself deals with his emotions, which are played by other singers, i.e Fear (Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth), Reason (Eric Clayton by Savior Machine), Love (Heather Findlay by Mostly Autumn), Agony (Devon Graves of Psychotic Waltz), Pride (Magnus Ekwall by The Quill), Passion (Irene Jansen), Father (Mike Baker of Shadow Gallery), Rage (Devin Townsend). The rotation of all these great guests makes the album remarkably varied from both a vocal and musical point of view. Each song is full of atmosphere, tempo changes, complex arrangements, melodies and memorable instrumental passages. In such cases the risk would be to lose internal coherence, or to become too verbose, but here we find ourselves in an impeccable amalgam, where the musical material comes together in a precise, dense and engaging structure.
Such a project could also be risky due to the amount of compositional work and, above all, the commitment of directing so many different personalities from the musical world, but under Lucassen’s direction everything goes smoothly and falls into the right place. Even the mellifluous LaBrie turns out to be exceptional in the role of Myself, managing to give personality and depth to the story of the boy, who we will discover as tragic and heroic in his path of growth and emancipation. Also the production of The Human Equationagain curated by Lucassen, is phenomenal: the Dutch composer’s obsessive attention manages to give the right sonic space to every single instrumental or vocal detail, which contributes to the great emotional and musical impact of the work. The Human Equation it’s one of those very rare cases in which you listen to something that goes beyond the usual definitions, beyond metal, rock, progressive, beyond any possible convention. It’s simply music that becomes a work of art, complex and ambitious, yet incredibly accessible to all and seems to adapt to every type of listener. It was recorded twenty years ago, but it sounds as if it were written today, or rather, as if it came from the future. (Stefano Mazza)
