Electric Castle Live and Other Tales | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | 27 March 2020 | |||
Recorded | 13–15 September 2019 | |||
Genre | Progressive metal, progressive rock | |||
Length | 2:26:39 | |||
Label | Mascot Label Group / Music Theories | |||
Producer | Arjen Anthony Lucassen | |||
Ayreon live chronology | ||||
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Electric Castle Live and Other Tales is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project Ayreon, released on 27 March 2020. [1] It is a live version of the 1998 studio album Into the Electric Castle , performed as an actual rock opera, complete with mise-en-scène; it is a recording of one of four live performances between 13 and 15 September 2019 in Tilburg to celebrate the original album's 20th anniversary in a way similar to The Theater Equation , with songs from other Lucassen projects performed once the songs from the albums were all performed.
Lucassen and fellow singers Anneke van Giersbergen, Damian Wilson, Edward Reekers, Edwin Balogh, Fish, and George Oosthoek returned to reprise their roles from the original album, alongside drummer Ed Warby and flutist Thijs van Leer. [2] New additions include John "Jaycee" Cuijpers of Praying Mantis, Simone Simons of Epica, Marcela Bovio of Mayan, and Mark Jansen of both Epica and Mayan, with actor John de Lancie acting as narrator. The performance of the album was followed by a selection of songs from other Lucassen projects.
After positive reactions to the Ayreon Universe shows, Lucassen decided to supervise a live version of Into the Electric Castle in a style similar to The Theater Equation , to celebrate the album's 20th anniversary. [1]
The four Electric Castle Live and Other Tales shows were performed between 13 and 15 September 2019 (with two performances on the last day) in Tilburg; unlike The Theater Equation, which was performed as an unofficial series of shows titled Ayreon's The Human Equation Theater Experience with the recording being later released as an official Ayreon release, Electric Castle Live and Other Tales was performed as a series of official Ayreon shows. Singers Anneke van Giersbergen, Damian Wilson, Edward Reekers, Edwin Balogh, Fish, and George Oosthoek returned to reprise their roles from the original album, alongside drummer Ed Warby and flutist Thijs van Leer; Lucassen also reprised his role as the Hippie, unlike in The Theater Equation, in which he had been replaced by Jermain "Wudstik" van der Bog and only made a small appearance at the end. [2] New additions include John "Jaycee" Cuijpers of Praying Mantis, Simone Simons of Epica, Marcela Bovio of Mayan, and Mark Jansen of both Epica and Mayan, with actor John de Lancie acting as narrator. [2] [3] Actor John de Lancie, of whom Lucassen was a long-time fan due to De Lancie's role as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation , was announced on 8 October 2018 as the playing the role of "The Voice" in the last performances, replacing Peter Daltrey from the original album. [4]
After performing the album in its entirety, the cast performed several songs from other Lucassen projects: "Shores of India" from the album The Diary by his band The Gentle Storm with Van Giersbergen, "Ashes" from the album Fate of a Dreamer by his former project Ambeon, "Out in the Real World" from Embrace the Storm by his former band Stream of Passion with Bovio and her ex-husband Johan van Stratum (who performs bass on the live album), "Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin" from his solo album Lost in the New Real , and "Songs of the Ocean" from Space Metal by his project Star One with Wilson; they also performed a cover of Kayleigh", a song by Marillion from Fish's time with the band. [5]
The album was available to pre-order in five editions: the Super Deluxe Wooden Box Set for €159,00, limited to 1500 copies worldwide, the 5-disc Earbook for €49,99, the Gold Vinyl Edition for €27,99, the 2CD + DVD edition for €17,99, and the Blu-Ray for €17,99. The Gold Vinyl Edition does not contain the tracks "Robby Valentine (piano solo)", "Kayleigh", and "Speech by Arjen & Joost". [6]
It also features a documentary chronicling the making of the shows and the events behind-the-scenes of the show themselves. [5]
Source: [7]
All tracks are written by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, except as noted. Narration written by John de Lancie and Marnie Mosiman [8]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Welcome to the New Dimension" | 3:10 |
2. | "Isis and Osiris" (Lucassen/Fish) | 10:51 |
3. | "Amazing Flight" (Lucassen/Jay van Feggelen) | 8:26 |
4. | "Time Beyond Time" | 6:30 |
5. | "The Decision Tree" (Lucassen/Fish) | 5:44 |
6. | "Tunnel of Light" (Lucassen/Fish/Anneke van Giersbergen) | 4:29 |
7. | "Across the Rainbow Bridge" | 6:05 |
8. | "The Garden of Emotions" | 9:00 |
9. | "Valley of the Queens" | 4:18 |
10. | "The Castle Hall" | 5:45 |
11. | "Tower of Hope" | 5:32 |
12. | "Cosmic Fusion" | 6:53 |
13. | "Robby Valentine" | 4:52 |
14. | "The Mirror Maze" | 6:52 |
15. | "Evil Devolution" | 5:00 |
16. | "The Two Gates" | 6:54 |
17. | "Forever of the Stars" | 1:39 |
18. | "Another Time, Another Space" (Lucassen/Fish) | 6:18 |
19. | "Shores of India" (Lucassen/A. van Giersbergen) | 5:23 |
20. | "Ashes" (Lucassen/Astrid van der Veen) | 5:06 |
21. | "Out in the Real World" (Lucassen/Marcela Bovio) | 4:01 |
22. | "Twisted Coil" (Lucassen/Lori Linstruth) | 9:18 |
23. | "Kayleigh" (Fish/Marillion) | 4:14 |
24. | "Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin" | 4:36 |
25. | "Songs of the Ocean" | 5:43 |
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Chart (2020) | Peak position |
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German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [9] | 14 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [10] | 13 |
Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electronica, experimental and classical music. The majority of Ayreon's albums are dubbed "rock operas" because the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, usually with each one being represented by a unique vocalist.
Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project was originally called Agua de Annique, but now goes by her own name.
The Human Equation is the sixth album from the progressive rock project Ayreon by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 25 May 2004 via Inside Out Music. As with other Ayreon albums, it features guest appearances from several musicians previously unrelated to the project, including James LaBrie of Dream Theater, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine, and Devin Townsend, performing music arranged and written by Lucassen.
Into the Electric Castle – A Space Opera is the third album of the progressive metal project Ayreon by Dutch songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Released in 1998, it was the band's first double album.
Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the guitarist and backing vocalist of Dutch band Bodine as Iron Anthony, before joining Vengeance in 1984. After eight years he left the band, wanting to go into a more progressive direction, and released two years later an unsuccessful solo album entitled Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy under the nickname Anthony.
Stream of Passion is a Dutch progressive metal band with symphonic and gothic influences founded by guitarist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Mexican singer, violinist, and lyricist Marcela Bovio. They have released four studio albums.
Edward R. Warby is a Dutch musician, best known as the drummer for death metal band Gorefest and progressive rock/metal project Ayreon.
Marcela Alejandra Bovio García is a Mexican singer and violinist who is currently a member of the Dutch symphonic death metal band MaYaN.
Johan van Stratum is a Dutch bassist and a member of the progressive metal band VUUR.
"Day Eleven: Love" is the fourth single by Ayreon, released on 2004, from their album The Human Equation.
"Loser" is a song by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal opera Ayreon, originally released under the title "Day Sixteen: Loser" as a part of the 2004 album The Human Equation. It is the fifth track of the second disc, and the sixteenth track of the overall album. It was later released as the fifth single by Ayreon under the new title "Loser"; this version, very different, features several new musicians.
“Come Back to Me” is the fifth single by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal opera Ayreon, released on 2005 from its sixth album, The Human Equation, in which the song was called “Day Seven: Hope”.
Elected is the first EP by progressive metal project Ayreon, owned by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. It was released on 25 April 2008 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and on 28 April in the rest of Europe. It features the guest performance of German singer Tobias Sammet, from Avantasia and Edguy.
The Theater Equation is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project Ayreon. The Theater Equation originally consisted of a four live performances, with cast, choir and small orchestra, of the 2004 album The Human Equation, as an actual rock opera, complete with mise-en-scène. It is the first Ayreon live release, although Ayreon songs had previously been featured on live albums by two of Lucassen's other musical projects, and marks the first time an Ayreon album was performed live in its entirety. The Theater Equation consisted of four shows, all played in Rotterdam between September 18 and 20, 2015, with the last performance being the one recorded for the album.
The Gentle Storm is a Dutch musical project by singer and lyricist Anneke van Giersbergen and composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, founder and leader of other musical projects such as Star One, Ayreon, Guilt Machine and Ambeon. The duo has previously collaborated in Ayreon albums Into the Electric Castle and 01011001. The project's debut album, The Diary, was released on March 23, 2015, in Europe, and the following day in the US.
The Gentle Storm Exclusive Tour CD is a cover EP and the first release of the Dutch heavy metal/folk band The Gentle Storm. It is entirely acoustic, and features only bandleaders Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Anneke van Giersbergen, and drummer Rob Snijders.
Ayreonauts Only is the first compilation album by Dutch progressive metal project Ayreon by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released in 2000. Although categorized as a compilation album, it consists only of previously unreleased material, with alternate versions of Ayreon songs with different singers, demos, and of the song "Cold Metal" from Lucassen's then-upcoming project Ambeon.
The Source is the ninth studio album from Ayreon, a progressive metal/rock opera project by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 28 April 2017. It is Lucassen's first album under his new label, Mascot Label Group.
Transitus is the tenth studio album by the Dutch progressive rock/metal band Ayreon. It was released on 25 September 2020. The album is accompanied by a 25 page comic book, not included with CD or vinyl, and illustrated by Felix Vega.
John "Jaycee" Cuijpers is a Dutch singer. He is best known as lead singer of the English heavy metal band Praying Mantis and collaborator on music projects by Arjen Lucassen. Cuijpers has played in many cover bands, like Van Hagar, Parris and Deo.