Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Lucassen, Arjen Anthony
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2012
Running time: 1:30:20
Rating: 5/5
Multi-instrumentalist, occasional singer and composer Arjen Anthony ‘Ayreon’ Lucassen has been the most creative progressive rock/metal musician in the Netherlands for almost twenty years now. A former member of the metal outfits Bodine and Vengeance, he has made a few studio masterpieces with his solo project/band Ayreon, earning himself the title of creative genius and one of the most inventive musicians on the modern prog rock scene. On top of his work with Ayreon, he has also launched plenty of side projects over the years, like Star One, Stream of Passion, Guilt Machine and Ambion. What’s less well known is that after leaving Vengeance and before Ayreon came into being, Lucassen already tried a solo career under the shortened name ‘Anthony’, but that venture didn’t end well. His psychedelic/hard-rock-flavored solo debut »Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy« from 1994, despite a burning desire for success (the singles that came out showed as much), was a huge commercial flop, and apart from Lucassen’s diehard fans, almost nobody today even remembers it exists.
Almost twenty years after that debut, Lucassen put his Ayreon work on hold and restarted his solo career, and not in just any old way: he recorded an ambitious, conceptual progressive rock/metal opera that in many ways follows the successful recipe of his ‘main’ band, Ayreon, while the influences of his other projects are very much present on individual tracks too. »Lost in the New Real«, a new sci-fi concept, packs in an hour and a half of music that fills the entire first CD, while the second one holds, besides the original compositions and the continuation of the concept, covers of some of Lucassen’s favorite artists/idols. This time around, apart from his longtime collaborator, drummer Ed Warby, Arjen deliberately didn’t bring in any big names, the way he usually does with Ayreon. Instead, he handled all the vocals himself and teamed up with the legendary Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Lady Hawke, Fatherland, Sin City, etc.), probably the most famous Dutch film actor of all time, to tell the story of the concept.
The story of »Lost in the New Real« itself is nothing special, at least for anyone who has already worked through most of the sci-fi classics (novels and films). Lucassen’s character, Mr. L, who first appeared on the Ayreon track »The Truth Is in Here« from the album »01011001« (2008), finds himself in a future where the world he knew has changed completely: for the better in some ways, for the worse in others. Back in the 21st century, just before physically dying of what was then an incurable disease, Mr. L was sealed in a special chamber and put into cryogenic (frozen) sleep. Several decades later he wakes up fully cured and sees his specially assigned psychological counselor, Dr. Voight-Kampff (played by Rutger Hauer), who tries to ease him gently into life in the future.
For better and for worse, the world of the future has changed so much that it’s no longer possible to tell reality from fantasy, since everyone’s deepest dreams have become achievable, including immortality and eternal youth (»When I’m A Hundred Sixty-Four«), imminent contact with extraterrestrials (»Our Imperfect Race«), an ‘Orwellian’ policed internet (»E-Police), space tourism (»The Space Hotel«), artificially created organic life »So Is There No God?«), unlimited virtual reality (»The Social Recluse«) and a special island with resurrected extinct animal species (»You Have Entered the Reality Zone«), to name just a few of the big changes.
In the future Mr. L runs into a whole heap of other, even more bizarre things, like the option of replacing a living partner with a virtual one, who can be modified to suit your wishes and fetishes, or simply switched off (»Don’t Switch Me Off«). Then there’s refined euthanasia for when someone happens to get sick of eternal life (»Dr. Slumber’s Eternity Home«), special supervised programs for creating a child at the level of ‘physical and mental perfection’ (»Parental Procreation Permit«), or a device that lets you merge different musical evergreens into a single track (»Pink Beatles In A Purple Zeppelin«). On his journey through the changed world of the future, Mr. L stumbles into plenty of grotesque and comical situations, all the while wondering whether he’ll manage to adapt to the new reality. If he fails to ‘keep up with the times’, he can always visit Dr. Slumber for the eternal ‘snooze’, or simply lock himself into the Dream Sequencer machine, seen in the background of the »Lost in New Real« cover, and set off on a whole new fantastic journey.
In a way, the concept of »Lost in the New Real«, which doesn’t come across as all that fantastical but rather as ominously realistic and achievable, can also be read as a satire of today’s society, only with all the modern social pathologies, frustrations, complexes and longings pushed to their futuristic extremes. The future on »Lost In the New Real« isn’t split into black and white, since it’s at least as alluring and magical as it is twisted and morbid.
Lucassen wrote all the songs and lyrics on the album without any help and played all the guitars, bass lines, keyboards and a few other instruments, and the vocal contributions were exclusively his too. Only for the narration, or the introduction of the individual pieces/parts of the concept, did he get help from Rutger Hauer. Stylistically, »Lost in the New Real« will surely appeal to all Ayreon fans, since it constantly strolls across the bridge between progressive rock and progressive metal, and psychedelic rock too, as Lucassen has always been a huge fan of The Beatles and Pink Floyd.
Doctor Voight-Kampff wakes Mr. L up on the opener, titled »The New Real«, which is soaked in dark atmosphere, and asks him to tell him his last memory before he was put into cryogenic sleep for all those years. So, through snarling guitar passages and groovy rhythmic nuances, Lucassen starts telling his dark tale of how an incurable illness landed him in the hands of a bizarre scientific experiment, after which he woke up in a completely new world. Electronic samples, along with flute sounds popping in here and there, crank up the eerie, tense atmosphere even further, letting the listener picture the doctor’s cold, sterile office in the middle of a world where all imagination died long ago and the word ‘unachievable’ sounds like a bad joke.
»Pink Beatles In A Purple Zeppelin«, where Mr. L listens in on a bizarre musical hybrid while Voight-Kampff explains to him that pretty much everything in music has already been invented and now they only manipulate past creations, turning them into ever new forms. It’s a composition whose style fits its satirical title very well, meaning this relaxed track features a colorful mix of psychedelia and hard rock. On »Parental Procreation Unit« Mr. L faces the brutal birth-control program for the first time, and the dramatic atmosphere matches, with oriental-flavored guitar scales backed by plenty of punchy drum fills, while Lucassen occasionally uses a vocoder when singing. The backing vocal lines further accentuate the melodic yet ambient-fatalistic chorus.
»When I’m a Hundred Sixty-Four«, whose title is a nod to The Beatles classic »When I’m Sixty-Four«, is the moment in the concept when the protagonist discovers how humanity manipulates life extension and the discovery of immortality. This time it’s a fun folk rock experiment with acoustic guitar chords and string accompaniment, which together create a slightly Celtic, pastoral mood. »E-Police«, where the Orwellian control of the internet is revealed in all its megalomaniacal dimensions, something today’s ‘superpowers’ no doubt fantasize about every single night, has an epic chorus with layered harmonies, which makes it an exceptionally accessible and memorable piece. »Don’t Switch Me Off«, where acoustic chords and pleasant harmonies take over again, and there’s even time for a synth and guitar solo within a rhythmically enviable sonic palette, tells the story of a bizarre encounter with a virtual partner, a kind of hologram that looks like a real flesh-and-blood person.
»Dr. Slumber’s Eternity Home«, a visit to the famous center for euthanizing everyone fed up and apathetic about eternal life, features a cheekily spiced baroque arrangement, while the layered chorus takes care of the fun vibe. The dark-aura-soaked »Yellowstone Memorial Day«, where mighty synth passages grind away while Lucassen shows off a chameleon-like vocal approach, tells how humanity, despite its extraordinary development and technological progress, still battles wars and natural disasters like the eruption of a devastating volcano in Yellowstone National Park.
On »Where Pigs Fly« we learn that humanity has finally cracked the puzzle of parallel universes and run into some seriously odd alternative doubles of well-known personalities. A baroque arrangement takes center stage here and creates a slightly rustic atmosphere. The hugely entertaining lyrics tell of a parallel world where Darwin championed creationism, Einstein discovered a time machine and Columbus found the way to India, while Shakespeare had no sense for rhyme. Then there’s Reagan, who won five Oscars, and Meryl, who never once succeeded, a vegan Elvis, an Alice who stayed Vincent and a Bowie who stayed Jones, to name just some of the funnier examples. The title track, which reveals that in the world of the future they can no longer tell reality from virtuality, is at ten minutes the longest and most complex piece on »Lost in the New Real«. With its numerous sudden time changes and rich ambient transitions that easily thrill all fans of Lucassen’s Ayreon legacy, since there’s no shortage of mighty vocal harmonies and dramatic symphonic arrangements, it’s the album’s high point.
The second disc opens with the space-rock-oriented »Our Imperfect Race«, which is about imminent contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Here the protagonist asks what visitors from distant galaxies will think when they discover what a catastrophic state our planet is in. The futuristic ambient is nicely created here with a range of digital samples and the dark sound of synth textures. »Welcome To The Machine«, a prog-metal-leaning cover of the Pink Floyd classic from the legendary album »Wish You Were Here« (1975), sounds much more brutal than the original and so almost unrecognizable, which has its pros and cons. On one hand, it’s a very interesting, completely distinctive take on this evergreen; on the other, it lacks the original soul and ambient, and the song’s original message gets kind of lost along the way.
»So Is There No God?«, with lyrics that would put a satisfied smirk on Nietzsche’s face too, provides a nice contrast to the previous track thanks to its string passages and melancholic guitar improvisations, »Veteran Of The Psychic Wars«, a cover of the Blue Ӧyster Cult evergreen in modern production and with slightly more prominent electronic keyboard sounds, turns out surprisingly well and almost reaches the epic atmosphere of the original, and Mr. Lucassen deserves congratulations for a terrific vocal performance too. »The Social Recluse«, seasoned with subtle acoustic chords and telling of how futuristic generations connect through their private virtual worlds, which in the new world happens via a computer device implanted in the human brain, is one of the most interesting achievements on the second disc.
Arjen also took on a cover of the Led Zeppelin evergreen »Battle Of Evermore«, which under his baton comes out a little more ‘futuristic’, though the original pastoral melodies on acoustic guitar are still there, and the ethereal female backing vocal, which complements Lucassen’s singing very well, turns out very solid. »The Space Hotel«, which deals with space tourism, has an interesting transition between the dark intro section and the ‘liberating’ chorus, and there’s no shortage of clever guitar improvisations either. »Some Other Time« is one of the more surprising and interesting covers, with which Lucassen once again proves his broad musical knowledge, as it doesn’t happen all that often that someone decides to cover a The Alan Parsons Project classic. The vocal performance lags well behind the original in power and expression, while the symphonic arrangements still capture the original ambient magic pretty well.
»You Have Entered The Reality Zone«, which is really the story of a kind of futuristic Jurassic Park, is also one of the better moments on »Lost in the New Real«, thanks to superb shifts between subtle moments with harmonies and acoustics and folk flourishes on flute. Right at the end of the album, Arjen springs one more surprise with »I’m The Slime«, a cover of the legendary Frank Zappa, an unforgettable burlesque that originally came out on the cult album »Over-nite Sensation« (1973). Covering Frank Zappa takes, above all, a lot of brain cells, enviable musical talent, a sense of humor and some ‘balls’, and Mr. Lucassen didn’t disappoint. He delivered by far the most ‘out-there’ moment of the whole album, which, apart from the lead vocal run through a megaphone and a completely different guitar sound, is also quite faithful to the brilliant original in atmosphere.
Arjen Anthony Lucassen has once again proven just how one-of-a-kind and brilliant he is. »Lost In the New Real« is one of the best sci-fi concept albums out there. With its colorful ambient magic, stylistic variety and superb arrangements full of virtuoso antics that will have all the prog rock gourmets licking their lips, it takes the listener on a wonderful musical journey through a sadly rather probable (near) future, while the concept itself serves up enough food for thought that plenty of people will start wondering where we’re ‘racing’ to. What’s more, this is a record on par with Ayreon’s best, so it’d be no tragedy at all if Mr. Lucassen gave his solo career more attention in the future, even if it means no splendid guest vocalists and him focusing instead on his own singing abilities.
Lineup
Arjen Anthony Lucassen – vocals (“Mr. L”), guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, other instruments
Rutger Hauer – spoken vocals/narration (“Voight Kampff”)
Wilmer Waarbroek – backing vocals, grumbling on “Parental Procreation Permit”
Ed Warby – drums
Rob Snijders – drums
Ben Mathot – violinMaaike Peterse – celloJeroen Goossens – fluteElvya Dulcimer – percussion, female vocals on “The Battle of Evermore”
Gjalt Lucassen – megaphone on “I’m The Slime”
Production
Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Track list
CD 1:
1. The New Real (6:24)
2. Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin (3:36)
3. Parental Procreation Permit (5:03)
4. When I’m a Hundred Sixty-Four (2:30)
5. E-Police (4:07)
6. Don’t Switch Me Off (4:06)
7. Dr Slumber’s Eternity Home (3:51)
8. Yellowstone Memorial Day (3:31)
9. Where Pigs Fly (3:47)
10. Lost in the New Real (10:19)
CD 2:
1. Our Imperfect Race (6:27)
2. Welcome to the Machine [Pink Floyd] (4:45)
3. So Is There No God? (4:41)
4. Veteran of the Psychic Wars [Blue Oyster Cult] (4:34)
5. The Social Recluse (3:55)
6. Battle of Evermore [Led Zeppelin] (5:28)
7. The Space Hotel (3:49)
8. Some Other Time [Alan Parsons Project] (3:27)
9. You Have Entered the Reality Zone (3:24)
10. I’m the Slime [Frank Zappa] (2:53)
