Friday, June 15, 2012

**** Ayreon 01011001: Planet Y – Like the Other 01011001 Disc It Adds Nothing New To Ayreon


Planet Y is indistinguishable from the other disc of 01011001.  In some ways, that is a strength because both of the 01011001 discs are really good.  However, the sound of each of discs is indistinguishable in style though each of the songs on both albums are easily recognized.  So, what I am not saying is that Ayreon may be summed up to this point in that all their songs are indistinguishable.  In fact, every Ayreon song that I have listened to is easily distinguished from any other Ayreon song.  The problem is that Ayreon seems to be re-releasing the same style of music on his albums, such that there is no need to buy all of them.  I remember as a child my aunt describe this phenomena to me with respect to Pink Floyd in that if you have heard one Pink Floyd album, then you might as well have heard them all even though virtually no person would be incapable of discerning the exact song Pink Floyd is playing in their  catalog.
So, my recommendation with respect to this album is that if you haven’t heard Ayreon before, then this is a great place to start.  However, if you own several Ayreon albums, then you can be assured that you already know what you are going to purchase, should you purchase this album.  So, it comes down to whether or not you have heard enough of the Ayreon sound in my commentary as to whether or not you should buy this album.
As far as the musicianship goes, Ayreon is somewhere between progressive rock and progressive metal, and they are at the top of their genre as far as skill goes.  I am a huge fan of both of these genre’s which are actually very similar.  Like a metal band, they like distortion and spookiness.  However, Ayreon mixes in very well into a shuffled collection of heavy rock too.  I would also say that Ayreon is more than music that only musicians can appreciate.  Pretty much just about anyone can understand this sound, although anyone may or may not enjoy it as a matter of preference.

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