Ayreon - The Theater Equation Review

-----------------------------------Introduction
-----------As unlikely as it seemed back when The Human Equation was originally released, o
ne of Ayreon's epic rock operas has finally gotten the live treatment.
Sound - 9/10
-----------Arjen Lucassen's Ayreon project has been on the forefront of the progressive roc
k scene since 1995, with many successful albums featuring a who's who list of ro
tating singers, sort of an all-star lineup of metal, prog and rock singers, each
portraying a different character in the project's over-arching science fiction
and fantasy narrative. Many vocalists have passed through the ranks, including s
uch instantly recognizable names as James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Devin Townsend
, Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Mike Baker (Shadow Ga
llery), Russell Allen (Symphony X), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), and many, many mor
e. Presenting rock operas with such a depth of character interaction and utilizi
ng many well-known vocalists means that the logistics of getting a live performa
nce of one of the project's albums has been impossible...
Until now.
In 2015, Arjen's former manager, Yvette Boertje, came up with the idea to do a f
an project to bring an Ayreon album to the stage. After putting out some feelers
and receiving positive feedback about the project and interest from many of the
vocalists on Arjen's 2004 album, The Human Equation, they decided to turn it in
to a bigger venture with Arjen's blessing (and eventually, even a small amount o
f involvement). Many of the album's vocalists return, each portraying their form
er characters. Many of these characters are personifications of emotions going o
n inside the main character's (referred to as "Me", and portrayed by Dream Theat
er vocalist James LaBrie) head: Passion (Irene Jansen, sister of Nightwish vocal
ist Floor Jansen), Pride (Magnus Ekwall of The Quill), Love (Heather Findlay, fo
rmerly of Mostly Autumn), Agony (Devon Graves of Dead Soul Tribe), and Reason (E
ric Clayton of Saviour Machine). Marcela Bovio (ex-Elfonia, Stream Of Passion) r
eturns as Me's wife. Some of the original vocalists were unable to make it to th
e album, presumably due to lack of interest or being too busy to contribute (and
sadly, in the case of former Shadow Gallery vocalist Mike Baker, death), but ro
unding out the lineup are Jermain "Wudstik" van der Bogt as Me's best friend (re
placing Arjen himself), Anneke van Giesbergen (known most recently for her work
with Devin Townsend) replacing Mikael Akerfeldt as Fear, and Mike Mills (from To
ehider) replacing both Devin Townsend (as Rage) and Mike Baker (as Me's father).
There are a couple of characters not mentioned in the original album (Me's moth
er, doctor, and nurses), as well as a backing choir simply known as the "Epic Ro
ck Choir". On the instrumental front, Joost van den Broek returns as musical dir
ector, Ed Warby takes his place as drummer (being the only other fairly steady m
ember of Ayreon besides Arjen himself), and Jeroen Goossens plays flutes and oth
er assorted wind instruments. Marcel Coenen (of Sun Caged) and Freek Gielen play
the guitar parts, Johan van Straum (of Stream Of Passion) plays bass, Eric van
Ittersum and Ruben Wijga (of ReVamp) play keys, frequent Ayreon collaborator Ben
Mathot plays violin, and Maaike Peterse plays cello.
Phew. That's a huge cast of vocalists and instrumentalists, and each one plays a
particular role on this record, with very few of them being underutilized, but
it never quite seems like the band is too big or ambitious for the format of alb

um this is. The music moves the story along quite well, with much more emphasis
on big 7-string riffs, folky acoustic guitar explorations, wild synthesizer solo
s, huge Hammond organ parts, and huge theatrical melodies that sort of play like
a darker version of something by Andrew Lloyd Weber. The live band plays their
parts quite faithfully to the studio version of the album, and all of the vocali
sts are entirely on point throughout. Even James LaBrie, whose live vocals are o
ften the source of intense scrutiny, sings incredibly well throughout the perfor
mance. There are a few reprises of songs interspersed throughout the live perfor
mances, that weren't on the album, presumably to add a few treats to listeners w
ho are used to hearing the original album. Some of the vocalist switches may not
be all that palatable to those who are sticklers for having all of the original
voices, but as unbelievable as Anneke van Giesbergen replacing Mikael Akerfeldt
might seem, it actually works quite well, given the circumstances. And Wudstik
(who is actually a Dutch rapper who is influenced by singers like LaBrie and Dic
kinson, and sings rather than raps on this record) is a surprisingly adequate re
placement for Arjen Lucassen's Beatles-influenced vocals. I'd only have some mis
givings about Mike Mills' performances, he doesn't seem to have the same kind of
vocal power or range as Devin Townsend, but as he's one of my all-time favourit
e vocalists, any comparison may seem a little bit unfair. Arjen Lucassen himself
makes an appearance at the end of the album as well, but any more information t
han that might constitute plot spoilers.
While I'm reviewing the audio portion of this album (a DVD/Blu-ray version is al
so available), the video also reveals that these singers are fairly decent at mu
sical theater acting as well, with many of the singers performing their parts by
singing and acting them, using many props (including a crashed up Mercedes Benz
and a hospital bed... more on that in the lyrics section!) to tell the story. B
ut it's also just kind of fun to see a bunch of other singers push around James
LaBrie on stage during "Day Two: Isolation".
The production of this record is excellent, given the size of the band plus the
choir, showcasing the amount of breathing space Arjen Lucassen wrote into the mu
sic. Even when the Epic Rock Choir is taken into consideration, the sound is nev
er completely overpowering. It does not sound at all like any of the singers' vo
cal parts were replaced in the studio, or altered in any way, even though it doe
sn't sound like any of the vocalists (except maybe the aforementioned Mike Mills
) needed any kind of pitch correction. It's truly a testament to Arjen's songwri
ting that such an ambitious scope can translate very well into a live recording.

Lyrics - 9/10
-------------Rock operas have a tendency to be cheesy as all hell. I need to get this out of
the way, because invariably, there will be the odd few who will comment about ho
w awful rock opera lyrics can be. And let's be real here. Any kind of project th
at uses many vocalists to portray different characters in a theatrical way is go
ing to rub a certain percentage of people the wrong way.
With that out of the way, let me give you a bit of a rundown of the story of the
album. We start with a man in a hospital bed, in a coma with his wife and best
friend at his side. Inside the man's head, an internal dialogue with his emotion
s take you through his life story, piecing together how this man ended up in thi
s sorry state. Abuse from his parents, schoolmates, a relentless drive to become
a successful man to spite these aspects of his life, and his relationships with
others have all conspired to cause him to be in this coma. How did he end up li
ke this? Will he get out of it? These are the questions at the heart of the stor
y, and with the way this album is presented, each singer delivering lines in an

almost conversational style, it feels less like a progressive rock opera, and mo
re like a legitimate piece of musical theater.
Each vocalist brings their unique style into the project, and they were all well
chosen for their qualities, much like certain actors are perfect for certain ro
les. James LaBrie commands his role as the main character quite well, even inclu
ding some spoken dialogue that's not included in the studio version. Eric Clayto
n's role as Reason is well-suited to his deep, operatic voice. Magnus Ekwall and
Irene Jansen as Pride and Passion, respectively, are completely natural choices
owing to their huge, powerful vocals. Anneke van Giesbergen's vulnerable voice
works just as well for the character of Fear as Mikael Akerfeldt's did, even tho
ugh they both have very different vocal styles. Devon Graves' extremely pained v
ocals made his role as Agony a perfect one.
The only vocalist I'm still unconvinced about is Mike Mills, as both Me's father
and Rage. He's a competent enough vocalist, but he just doesn't have the power
or charisma of either of the vocalists he replaces, and there are a few moments
his voice breaks in an unprofessional way.
On the flip side of the coin, James LaBrie has been known in the past for his li
ve vocals being particularly iffy, but he sings much better on this live record
than I ever remember hearing him on any Dream Theater live DVD. This might be th
e record that changes my mind about James as a vocalist, and puts him back in my
good books as one of rock music's best vocalists out there. Apparently, he was
also quite good on Dream Theater's recent Astonishing tour, lending credence to
the idea that theatrical rock opera might be the thing his voice is best suited
to.

Overall Impression - 9/10

------------------------With the original studio album being one of my all-time favourite albums, I was
extremely excited when I heard that The Human Equation was being brought to the
stage. But even I had no idea just how big this project was going to be until I
saw the trailer on YouTube, with many of the original vocalists portraying their
roles from the record. Ayreon's albums have always been incredible in their sco
pe and ambition, and while it's always been a logistical impossibility to make A
yreon concerts a frequent thing (also owing a bit to mastermind Arjen Lucassen's
anxious reluctance to perform live), hearing The Theater Equation has led me to
the conclusion that Ayreon's albums were *born* to be performed live on stage.
Between the previews of the visuals on YouTube ("Day Two: Isolation" and "Day El
even: Love" are available in full to be watched) and the great musical and vocal
performances from all involved, this project is everything I could have imagine
d it to be, and much more. There was a lot of potential for this project to be l
acking in many ways, both vocally and instrumentally, but the actual performance
s on this record exceeded my wildest expectations.
The only things I would have changed on this record would have been getting Devi
n Townsend to reprise his role, and perhaps replacing the solo section in "Day S
ixteen: Loser" with the blazing Hammond organ solo from the album version, rathe
r than the synth/guitar tradeoff that was only released on the single version.
Overall, though, this is the best live representation of any Ayreon material eve
r (and perhaps only the first time Ayreon, in name, has actually performed live,
besides the acoustic performances from the "01011001" release party), and I'd d
efinitely like to see project director Yvette Boertje attempt the same thing wit
h some of Arjen's other Ayreon works (especially "Into The Electric Castle").