Search - Ayreon :: Ayreonauts Only

A Treat For Ayreon Fans

Joe White | Layton, Utah United States | 05/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Arjen Lucassen, the man behind Ayreon, sure knows how to treat his fans right. With Ayreonauts Only, Arjen Lucassen gives the fans demo versions and new versions of Ayreon classics. There are eleven tracks here, including "Cold Metal", which is a preview of Arjen's new project, Ambeon.Every previous Ayreon studio album is represented. There are three tracks from Ayreon's debut album, The Final Experiment, one from Actual Fantasy, one from Into the Electric Castle, one from The Dream Sequencer and four from Flight of the Migrator. The "new" versions are intriguing and, in some cases, outshine the original or more well-known versions. Highlights include an acoustic version of "Temple of the Cat", which beats the original version on The Dream Sequencer. "Into the Black Hole" is another strong offering with Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold) and Lana Lane on vocals. Though Bruce Dickinson's version on Flight of the Migrator was good, this version beats it.All in all, this is an interesting and special album. And it may even be a good introduction to Ayreon's work for first time fans. Thanks, Arjen!Note: Ayreon's music contains elements of Pink Floyd, the Beatles and ELP mixed with hard rock/metal."