The Theory of Everything - Ayreon

The Theory of Everything (Ayreon, 2013)

Disc 1
Phase I: Singularity
1. Prologue: The Blackboard - 1:56
2. The Theory of Everything, Part 1 - 3:02
3. Patterns - 1:04
4. The Prodigy's World - 1:31
5. The Teacher's Discovery - 2:59
6. Love and Envy - 2:40
7. Progressive Waves - 3:17
8. The Gift - 2:38
9. The Eleventh Dimension - 1:46
10. Inertia - 0:45
11. The Theory of Everything, Part 2 - 1:51

Phase II: Symmetry
12. The Consultation - 3:49
13. Diagnosis - 2:49
14. The Argument 1 - 0:25
15. The Rival's Dilemma - 2:22
16. Surface Tension - 0:57
17. A Reason to Live - 0:46
18. Potential - 3:15
19. Quantum Chaos - 2:10
20. Dark Medicine - 1:24
21. Alive! - 2:29
22. The Prediction - 1:05

Disc 2
Phase III: Entanglement
1. Fluctuations - 1:01
2. Transformation - 3:14
3. Collision - 3:27
4. Side Effects - 2:59
5. Frequency Modulation - 1:44
6. Magnetism - 3:54
7. Quid Pro Quo - 3:09
8. String Theory - 1:29
9. Fortune? - 1:37

Phase IV: Unification
10. Mirror of Dreams - 2:31
11. The Lighthouse - 3:16
12. The Argument 2 - 0:49
13. The Parting - 3:27
14. The Visitation - 3:27
15. The Breakthrough - 2:00
16. The Note - 1:12
17. The Uncertainty Principle - 2:10
18. Dark Energy - 0:45
19. The Theory of Everything, Part 3 - 1:29
20. The Blackboard (Reprise) - 1:14

After you've read all the titles, this album practically reviews itself! With The Theory of Everything, Dutch multi-instrumentalist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen delivers another sprawling rock opera rooted in progressive rock, folk, and symphonic metal.  Reigning in previous albums' sci-fi flights of fancy, Lucassen weaves a tale about an autistic savant and his ambitious physicist father.

Equal parts Good Will Hunting, Rain Man, Flowers For Algernon, A Beautiful Mind, the crime plot of Office Space, and the dust jacket of A Brief History of Time, the narrative here is very involved, and, while it does deliver some satisfying twists, it is a lot to take in. Events happen in rapid succession, with not much time for in-depth development. The liner notes provide extra information to give the songs context and a timeline, but that's an awful lot of reading... Thankfully, the story communicates itself well (without Cliff's Notes) due to the presence of strong vocalists. Each sings the part of one character, so just a couple of listens are needed before the story takes shape.

Musically, the concept was to compose four lengthy movements or acts, divided into a total of 42 sections (shout out to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). However, rather than breaking things down into accessible chunks, the profusion of tracks actually clouds the musical structure for me. The themes and melodies don't get much time to coalesce before we're on to another song. The emphasis is on Broadway/opera-style musical storytelling, so Lucassen's music is suitably diverse and changeable. I didn't really come to appreciate the quality of the music until I put down the track list and just listened.

Just listening is my recommendation here. Lucassen's typically high-quality instrumental performance, arrangement, and production is on full display. His rich analog synths, tasteful piano, growling bass, and intricate electro-acoustic guitar guide the listener on a multifaceted musical journey. Guest soloists include a triumvirate of prog keyboardists: Keith Emerson (ELP), Rick Wakeman (Yes), and Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater). Steve Hackett of Genesis contributes an excellent guitar solo as well. And the aforementioned vocalists - too many to list - make the story come alive in a unique way. While this doesn't have the emotional impact of Lucassen's previous album The Human Equation (one of three concept albums that have made me cry, along with Dream Theater's Scenes From a Memory and The Decemberists' The Hazards of Love), The Theory of Everything is an excellent addition to the ever-growing ranks of concept albums.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 rich analog synths

Darkness In A Different Light - Fates Warning

Darkness In A Different Light (Fates Warning, 2013)

1. One Thousand Fires - 7:22
2. Firefly - 4:59
3. Desire - 4:00
4. Falling - 1:35
5. I Am - 5:08
6. Lighthouse - 5:25
7. Into The Black - 5:10
8. Kneel And Obey - 5:05
9. O Chloroform - 4:14
10. And Yet It Moves - 14:04

Arguably the forefathers of the progressive metal genre, Fates Warning have been making subtly challenging music for thirty years. After a break of almost nine years, the newly reformed band have released one of the strongest statements of their career. Less flashy than Dream Theater, Fates Warning mix somber, emotional compositions with textural guitar sonics, metric complexity, and metallic attack.

Guitarists Jim Matheos and Frank Aresti are immediately out of the gate with the tight, sinewy intro to "One Thousand Fires", a masterful opus about love lost and lonely journeys. The themes of poignant endings and personal struggles continue throughout the album. Ray Alder's voice has aged well. Though the sound is a bit more husky, he can still hit some seriously big notes, and his lyrics showcase thoughtful poetry. Jim Matheos's mercurial guitar textures drive the mood, while Joey Vera's bass guitar work is spot-on.  However, the primary instrumental voice might be Bobby Jarzombek's intense and tightly coiled performance on drums. The man is an animal! Just listen to his part on "O Chloroform", with rolling starts and stops that give the 6/4 song a 5/4 feel, so that the sixth beat sounds like a clever extra (though still perfectly fitted).

For me, the main event is the closing epic "And Yet It Moves". It starts with Jim Matheos on solo classical guitar playing a neo-Baroque tune. Frank Aresti joins on a second classical guitar with counter-melody, then Joey Vera's bass provides a counter-counter melody. The trio resolve and transition into crushingly large chords. As Alder sings of a journey to a destination unknown, we get the sense of someone running from himself, yet standing still. The piece consists of several musical movements expertly tied together and building to the finish. It's a master's class in what a long-form composition should be.

The real excellence of Fates Warning lies in their ability to identify and interpret their compositions to the fullest. Thirty years later, they continue to hone their craft with rare skill and grace.

Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 tight, sinewy intros

Dream Theater - Dream Theater

Dream Theater (2013)

1. False Awakening Suite - 2:42
    I. Sleep Paralysis
    II. Night Terrors
    III. Lucid Dream
2. The Enemy Inside - 6:17
3. The Looking Glass - 4:53
4. Enigma Machine - 6:02
5. The Bigger Picture - 7:41
6. Behind The Veil - 6:53
7. Surrender to Reason - 6:35
8. Along For The Ride - 4:45
9. Illumination Theory - 22:18
    I. Paradoxe de la Lumiere Noire
    II. Live, Die, Kill
    III. The Embracing Circle
    IV. The Pursuit of Truth
    V. Surrender, Trust & Passion

If you've made eleven albums over the course of 24 years, I guess you've earned the right to skimp on a title... especially when you deliver a set of songs equal to the best work of your career. With new drummer Mike Mangini fully integrated into the band as a co-writer, Dream Theater deliver thoughtful, complex, inventive progressive rock that shows them breaking new ground rather than resting on their laurels.

They start off with a very risky move - a miniature suite, compressing their genre-bending grandeur and instrumental expertise into three fifty-second segments that disappear almost before they've made their impact. I thought maybe it was an overture to the album, but so far I haven't found any of these micro-themes expanded anywhere else. Perhaps an exercise in a form of minimalism, perhaps a comment on prog pomp (hence "False Awakening"), it is a fascinating piece of music to start things out.

On the opposite end, the epic "Illumination Theory" takes plenty of chances of its own. The lyric subject matter is an aggressive philosophy class:  the first section ("Live, Die, Kill", following an awesome instrumental overture in "Paradoxe") grabs you by the collar and poses essential questions: What are you willing to live/die/kill for?  These questions provide a launching point for similarly turbulent and tortuous prog-metal flights of virtuosity which are starkly interrupted by "The Embracing Circle," four minutes of zero-time ambient keyboard and sound effects, gradually melting into an orchestral cadenza from keyboardist Jordan Rudess. The melody barely resolves before John Myung (bass) and Mike Mangini roar into a fantastic stop-time rhythm to start "The Pursuit of Truth", and vocalist James LaBrie really lets it rip as he examines the questions posed earlier: "Mothers for their children/Husbands for their wives/Martyrs for the kingdom/Fighting for your life". The final section "Surrender, Trust & Passion" answers the opening triptych, rising from the elemental concerns of existence to higher concepts. LaBrie delivers the uplifting message with some of the best vocals of his career, and guitarist John Petrucci turns in an emotional solo. Then, silence - until Rudess comes back in on very calming, introspective, and beautiful piano, with Petrucci adding tasteful volume-swell accents. It is perhaps one of the most elegant yet bewildering opuses on record, and (in my opinion) one of the best pieces of music the band has ever composed.

Bookended by these two pieces are seven songs that boast similarly outstanding compositional structure and performance values. Gone are the misguided metal growls; LaBrie showcases his impressive range as well as he has since his first album with the band. Petrucci dominates the instruments, as he tends to do, but he has so much to say that is worth hearing. Myung, Rudess, and Mangini all contribute to the compositions with musical hunger but masterful taste.  I could probably wax eloquent about each song: the densely intricate and exhilirating "The Enemy Inside", the high-energy rock of "The Looking Glass", the instrumental insanity of "Enigma Machine", the piano-ballad-turned-knotty-guitar-highlight "The Bigger Picture", the emotional metal of "Behind The Veil", the multi-part anthem "Surrender to Reason", and the ridiculously catchy yet still intelligent "Along For The Ride" all make this sound like a debut album from an exciting new band, not a business-as-usual offering from jaded veterans churning along.

Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 elegant compositions

Brief Noctures and Dreamless Sleep - Spock's Beard

Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep (Spock's Beard, 2013)

1. Hiding Out - 7:15
2. I Know Your Secret - 7:42
3. A Treasure Abandoned - 8:57
4. Submerged - 5:00
5. Afterthoughts - 6:09
6. Something Very Strange - 8:23
7. Waiting For Me - 12:36

Though they've sustained another major loss with the departure of drummer and lead vocalist Nick D'Virgilio, the Beard remain intact, successfully integrating new lead singer Ted Leonard (formerly of Enchant) and drummer Jimmy Keegan to deliver one of their best albums, ever. And I thought X was a return to form... Holy cats.

Throughout this album, Spock's Beard combines stately themes, high-energy rock, complex instrumental interplay, and quirky fun in the best of their tradition. Ted Leonard retains the pop sensibility and passion he contributed to his former band, and Jimmy Keegan drums in, out, over, and around the tunes while still anchoring the proceedings admirably. Alan Morse's guitar work is simply revelatory - every solo, fill, lead line, and backing part is impressively executed, wildly creative, and uniquely suited to the composition. Ryo Okumoto, meanwhile, remains one of the premier practitioners of Hammond B3, Moog, and Mellotron operating today. He plays with a joy and exuberance that bursts through the speakers.

And what can I say about Dave Meros?  I have a serious bass crush on him. His bass lines are melodic, contrapuntal, muscular, inventive, and perfectly fitted to each song, adding a complementary lead voice and a chordal basis simultaneously.  I wish I had a tenth of his compositional ability.

How about the songs?  The opening three are instant classics, with the perfect balance between impassioned vocals, driving rock, and progressive structure. Whether it's the high-energy Alan Morse solo leading to a big harmony vocal note in "Hiding Out", the crunchy guitar with beautiful Mellotron/vocal interlude of "I Know Your Secret", or the perfect combination of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis and early Kansas in the epic "A Treasure Abandoned", the Beard are firing on all cylinders. "Submerged" is the token prog-pop song, and it's the only weak spot for me. The octave-jumping "melody" of the pre-chorus is weird enough to defuse the effect of the anthemic chorus.

Any weakness is forgotten in the second half, however. Alan Morse takes the lead vocal on "Afterthoughts", another song in the "Thoughts" series (complete with madrigal singing!) which epitomizes everything that is fantastic about this band. A playful melody mixed with oddball humor, it examines the feisty ruminations of a mental patient. "Something Very Strange" starts with mysterious wisps of keyboard and organ, clearing to reveal a Vocoder monologue punctuated by epic chords. The intro gives way to an arpeggiated duet a la Gentle Giant between keyboard and bass. As the song develops and morphs, the bass keeps the arpeggio churning along underneath, flowing and swelling with the musical tide. I don't know how Meros' fingers don't cramp - he sure makes it sound effortless. The final song "Waiting For Me" is quintessential: an ennobling theme, an irrepressibly happy verse/chorus structure, an emotional bridge with pensive vocals and emotive guitar/keyboard, and a grand finale par excellence, with an electric guitar duet between Alan Morse and guest musician/former Beardie/brother Neal. How sweet it is!

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 serious bass crushes