@@TheWolffAndTheMelody Oh yes yes yes. "Everybody Dies" is beyond amazing and will introduce you to several more amazing vocalists that you can spin off on. Kamelot, Blind Guardian, etc. Plus, there's a vocalist you are already familiar with towards the end. ;)
Here is a list of the composer and singers in order of appearance: Arjen Lucassen - Composer - Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. James Labrie - Lead singer for Dream Theater. Tommy Karevik - Lead singer of Kamelot and Seventh Wonder. Tommy Rodgers - Lead singer of Between the Buried and Me. Simone Simons - Lead singer of Epica. Nils K. Rue - Lead singer of Pagan's Mind and also worked with Eidolon. Tobias Sammet - Lead singer of Edguy & Avantasia. Hansi Kürsch - Lead singer of Blind Guardian and Demons & Wizards. Mike Mills - Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and main songwriter for Toehider. Russell Allen - Lead singer of Symphony X and Allen/Lande. Michael Eriksen - Lead singer of Circus Maximus. Floor Jansen - Lead singer of After Forever, ReVamp & now Nightwish. Instrumentalists Joost van den Broek (ex-After Forever) - grand piano and electric piano Maaike Peterse (Kingfisher Sky) - cello Ed Warby - drums Ben Mathot - violin Jeroen Goossens (ex-Pater Moeskroen) - flute, wind instruments Arjen Anthony Lucassen - electric and acoustic guitars, all other instruments (composer) Next I would suggest reacting to the performances at Ayreon Universe concert, especially the following Intergalactic Space Crusaders, River of Time, Merlin's Will, Valley of the Queens, Ride the Comet, Star of Sirrah, And the Druids Turn to Stone, Age of Shadows & Everybody Dies.
Russell Allen from SymphonyX worked as guest with Floor in her band Revamp, check their cooperation in the song "Sweet Curse" Also Tobias Sammet (Germany) did a few songs with Floor for Avantasia
I love Sweet Curse. My all time favorite song that Floor sings and the version with Russell is the best. I also love his collaboration with Anette Olzon (Nightwish's second singer) th-cam.com/video/0_z0rCIvZjU/w-d-xo.html.
Did you know Floor was a biologist on Planet Alpha? She managed to escape and came via water Planet Y (hence her great lungs) to planet Earth where she got lost and joined a metal band called After Forever. The rest is history....
Ayreon is a prog rock/metal opera project of Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. He writes the songs and invites guest singers and musicians. Mostly a studio project , they have put together a few live shows, with another coming this fall. He writes concept albums, telling a story across multiple records. From the 2017 album, The Source, the record is the first chronologically in the story arc, with this song being the first track. Sir Joost van den Broek works with Arjen often, he is a musician and producer himself. He was the keyboardist in After Forever (04-09) with Floor, played with and produced ReVamp (Floor's band before Nightwish), and has produced the last 3 EPICA albums. He does a lot of work on the Ayreon live concerts as well. The 11 vocalists are: James LaBrie (Dream Theater) as The Historian Tommy Karevik (Kamelot, Seventh Wonder) as The Opposition Leader Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me) as The Chemist Simone Simons (Epica) as The Counselor Nils K. Rue (Pagan's Mind) as The Prophet Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia) as The Captain Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) as The Astronomer Mike Mills (Toehider) as TH-1 Russell Allen (Symphony X) as The President Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) as The Diplomat Floor Jansen (Nightwish, ex-After Forever, ex-ReVamp) as The Biologist. If you would like more from Ayreon, try the following songs from the Ayreon universe live show- Everybody Dies, Star of Sirrah, Valley of the Queens, or the show closer Eye of Ra with all 16 singers on stage. This show is pretty much a best of Ayreon and another of Arjen's projects ,Star One.
Yes, this is the way. I hope you get to Ayreons live songs with this cast. Its like heavy metal musical theater basically. Look for Everybody Dies, its wild. That you havent really heard dream theater must be remedied. Try Honour Thy Father.
I wouldn`t be surprised to see Lucas himself commenting her! He does it often. He`s such a cool guy that he does not issue any copyright strikes on his songs and just enjoys reaction videos!
Ah, Cosmic, another rabbit hole :-) You will love what Arjen Anthony Lucassen has created through the years, and the rare live events have been recorded on dvd/youtube. You will see a crowd of great musicians that participated during these live events through the years. Highly recommended. Apart from Ayreon, there is Star One (with songs that relate to scifi movies and series), the recent Supernatural Revolution, and Gentle Storm.
I will also throw in Stream of Passion, a band he helped create for one of his vocal discoveries, Marcela Bovio. She is originally from Mexico and answered a singer search he did for the Ayreon album The Human Equation. She is an amazing singer and second only to Floor in her power and versatility. Stream of Passion existed from 2005 until 2016. Marcela recently announced the band was reforming for a few concerts Spetember of this year and releasing an EP. They recently dropped a new single and music video. th-cam.com/video/xbUN-G3TUx4/w-d-xo.html.
and hey, if you feel you have to close your eyes to expand the experience, then do it ! It is a VIDEO, it can be paused, rewinded ,played again over and over, but that MOMENT you close your eyes by listening to new music is unique and doesn´t come back ...
Hey! Been subscribed for a while and really enjoy your Nightwish reactions. I knew this had been recommended and have been waiting for you to get to it. So glad you enjoyed it. I think you’ll like their other stuff, too. Ayreon is not really a band, per se, but a musical project of Dutch composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer Arjen Lucassen. All Ayreon albums tell a story and Arjen recruits top-notch vocalists from all over the world to sing the parts of the different characters in the story. Due to the logistics of getting everyone together in the same place at the same time, live performances have been few and far between. Luckily, though, the ones that have occurred are available on video. I’d recommend your next Ayreon adventure be the live version of Everybody Dies. ☮️
I just started diving into Arjen's work in the last couple years. Had never heard of him prior. So glad I discovered him and his material. So awesomely impressive!!! And seems to be a really nice guy to boot.
This song is several rabbitholes, because Aryeon is a spectacular project full of excellent music, and every singer in this song has their own bands/projects that are really good.
In one way, I'm happy that people are discovering this - yet same time sad that the world doesn't realize the incredible modern composition master and a form of modern rock/prog as in old days would've been an opera singing a story with many levels. I've got the autographed full set of Transitus - watching the full video experience with music will be the best couple of hours spent. Trust me, try it out
Ayreon's music is such a wonderful rabbit hole to fall down. I'd suggest a couple of tracks to try: 'Into the Black Hole' live from Ayren Universe ( th-cam.com/video/LIvnxsb83No/w-d-xo.html ) and 'Intergalactic Space Cusaders, again a live track from Ayreon Universe ( th-cam.com/video/yO6TisCHGhA/w-d-xo.html ). Both are outstanding and you're sure to enjoy. If you feel you're ready, them there's always 'Everybody Dies' ( th-cam.com/video/9AAXtUdM7xE/w-d-xo.html ) which could blow your socks off! Plan B might be 'Isis and Osiris' ( th-cam.com/video/Z6YFbgMzkZY/w-d-xo.html ). Enjoy!
One of my favorite songs, period, and Arjen is one of my musical heroes. Thanks for taking a look at this one. I’ve seen four of these singers live (James LaBrie, Tommy Rogers, Tommy Karevick, and Russel Allen).
Story goes on.. Live! The Alphans lose the struggle and must flee the doomed planet Alpha, all they can save is the loyal andoid TH-1 and the "fluid" aka "Liquid eternity" you see enter the thigh of an exile. Up to a new planet! Check out "Everybody dies"and "Star of Sirrah." Live. See Tommy Karevik sing live. And Hansi Kürsch again. And Michael Mills. And Maggy Luijten with all those gritty notes. And the chorus ladies with Marcela Bovio, Lisette van den Berg and Irene Jansen, sister of...
Nice reaction! New subscriber here. Ayreon is great. Now you should take in Everybody Dies. A lot of the same vocalists (particularly Tommy Karavek and Hansi), and more of Floor. Also - her sister Irene is one of the backup singers! I love Tommy Karavek of Kamelot - the first singer. What a great, unique voice. I also liked Michael Erikson's passionate voice. The red headed female singer, Simone Simons, is a Dutch singer and front woman of Epica. She and Floor Jansen are old friends and their bands Nightwish and Epica are similar as they are both symphonic metal, with Epica being a little harder. I see from your playlists that you've taken the Nightwish plunge. I can't suggest enough that you also start down the Epica rabbit hole. A good place to start is Sancta Terra from the Epica Retrospect concert where Floor sings WITH Simone (double your pleasure, double your fun). Then follow up with Unleashed (same concert), Design Your Universe (same concert) and Kingdom of Heaven Part 3 from Epica's Omega Alive virtual concert. You will be amazed. You're welcome.
Arjen Lucassen is such a great composer ! I love seeing how you travel this metal path, discovery after discovery ! As for the singers, it could be very nice to see you reacting t o Kamelott with frontman Tommy Karevic.
You opend a door to literally hundreds of bands and singers. over 90 singers and dozens of musicians . Ranging from Bruce dickinson , to dee snider , to Fish , to Floor jansen .
Ayreon is awesome, everything Arjen Lucassen does is fantastic and had his special and very recognisable sound. He has played with all the greats, especially in the more atmospheric and symphonic metal genre, and I think that tells a lot. He can build entire universes. Most of all he is a lovely man, a bit shy but so kind. A great rabbit hole to dive into! I really hope you follow up with some of the suggestions that were already made. Thank you for sharing another great reaction video! Edit: as a "metal elitist" ( ;) ) I'm sure you're familiar with Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth, right? And Devin Townsend? They also sang a character on The Human Equation, My all time favourite album from Ayreon. Do recommend!
Great reaction. There is a lot to take in. The second singer is Tommy Kerevik from Kamelot. I don't know why Kamelot isn't the biggest band in the world. I think their music would appeal to so many people who might dismiss them because they are "metal."
Ayreon is like if you mixed everything you dug from 70s prog and 80s heavy metal into a big pot and created wonderful things from the mixture. Arjen is a treasure.
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody and if you just want songs rather than a continuous story arc then one of Arjen's other projects called Star One is also amazing!
I seriously think Arjen's music saved my life. I was in a bad place and on my way to attempt something, when the thought that I would never be able to listen to Ayreon again made me think maybe death wouldn't be what I want. The joy and passion and talent that goes into his musical projects always elevates my mood. Music is an antidepressant for me, and his music is just joyful, full of incredible voices on every single project. It was very worthwhile to check out all the Ayreon and Star One albums, Guilt Machine, the DVDs of the live shows, all of it. You would probably enjoy some of the music of the bands mentioned in the video that you haven't heard yet, like Dream Theater and Symphony X, and also Circus Maximus, the singer was there but Arjen didn't name drop his band. So many great songs by those bands, but you could start with "Glass Prison" by Dream Theater, "Iconoclast" by Symphony X, "Why Am I Here" by Circus Maximus.
You’re about to fall into a big rabbit hole and you’ll never want to climb out of it again. Next, the two live concerts : Ayreon Universe live The electric castle live and other tales The theater equation.
This song should be called "The day your music world blows up"😂, mine did, when I first heard this song !!!! 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. Each Ayreon album tells a different story, but all, with the exceptions of Actual Fantasy, The Theory of Everything, and Transitus, take place in the same fictional, science fiction universe; additionally, Lucassen's solo album Lost in the New Real is also set in the Ayreon universe. Ayreon's music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music. Lucassen writes the music and the lyrics, sings and plays most of the instruments on all of the Ayreon albums, alongside many guest musicians. His most regular collaborator is drummer Ed Warby. The binary code means "Trust TH-1" The singers in order of appearance are: James LaBrie from Dream Theater Tommy Karevik from Kamelot, Seventh Wonder Tommy Rogers from Between the Buried and Me Simone Simons from th most epic Epica Nils K. Rue from Pagan's Mind and Eidolon Tobias Sammet from Edguy and here mentioned Avantasia Hansi Kürsch the „Bard from Walhalla“ from Blind Guardian Mike Mills playing a computer and singing binary from Toehider Russell Allen from Symphony X Michael Eriksen from Circus Maximus and last but not least the incredible Valkyrie Goddess Floor Jansen from Nightwish The Easy way to go from here is through Ayreon Universe Live concert (There is a full Concert setlist in YT ). In any case, Here is a link : th-cam.com/play/PLJGn3wi7b7b606GfoKAdOgm6rtX9OliRc.html !!!! NWSU/FloorFan/Epican/Ayreonaut ✌🤓🤘.
Great reaction. Ayreon is a project of Dutch composer Arjen Lucassen. He is well know and respected within the European heavier music scene and being asked to sing or perform on one of his albums or projects is considered a huge honor. All of the Ayreon albums are rock operas with back stories and characters played by individual singers. Most Ayreon albums exist within the same sci fi backstory that explores the history of humanity and how we came to be on Planet Earth. The Source is the prequel story to the previous albums. The humans on plane Alpha gave control of their society to computers, the Frame, to solve their environmental problems. The Frame decides the best way to solve the problem is to kill off all the humans that are causing the problems. The Alphans in this song are debating what to do and in Everbody Dies the 10 people from this song plus Michael Mills character, TH-1 and android, leave on the Starblade for a water planet to keep humanity alive. To survive on the water planet they drink a drug called Liquid Eternity which allows them to breathe underwater and communicate telepathically. It also makes them eternal and they become known as The Forever. As time goes on they lose their human emotions. To try and experience them again they seed a comet with Human DNA and send it to earth, the song Ride the Comet. The Electric Castle album has The Forever bringing a group of humans to a place and put them in situations to see how they react. Obviously even more details about each song but that should get you started.
Also not sure if you picked up on that you know Simone Simmons who you have seen previously in Epica. She is also in the Ayreon live show Into the Electric Castle and other tales in the role of the Indian. You can see her singing a choral piece by herself from the balcony in the song Amazing Flight which has the bonus of Arjen singing the role of the Hippie which he totally nails. th-cam.com/video/r5IitoFXc7E/w-d-xo.html. She also plays a sassy, sexy Angel of Death on the Transitus Album. Checkout the music videos for Daniel’s Descent into Transitus Medley (th-cam.com/video/ozmTXh2CBWw/w-d-xo.html) and This Human Equation (th-cam.com/video/lKwaBJmSUps/w-d-xo.html). Bonus, the narrator on the album is Tom Baker from Dr. Who fame.
Arjen and Joost played in Floor's frst band After Forever (allso the guitarists of Epica) I am proud of our little country (NO we re NOT a part of Germany grrrr) But besides Dutch musicians he also has the best singers and mucians all over the world in his project
if it ain't dutch it ain't much... Welcome in the amazing world of Arjen A. Lucassen Aka Ayreon Universe (Ayreon, Ambeon, Star One, Supersonic Revolution, Guilt Machine, Gentle Storm, Stream of Passion).... Enjoy this 100+ artist thick rabbit hole….!!!!!
When you said this is like a movie, we’ll it is, all albums are interconnected stories in the Ayreon universe. I would recommend the The Human Equation album just to listen to, with the likes of James labrie, Devin Townsend, Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth), Mike Baker and so many more.
@holgerhupfer9651 Yep.. of course I just was introduced to this song and had no idea who TH1 was. I thought I was incorrect in my assumption of binary>>hex>>acsii but afterwards I looked up the song info and saw TH1 was one of the characters.
So, you said you know of but hadn't listen to Dream Theatre and Symphony X. 2 of my favourite bands outside Nightwish and Maiden I Recommend: Dream Theatre: "Metropolis Part 1-The Miracle and the Sleeper" Symphony X: "Set the World on Fire (Lie of Lies)
Ayreon is my favorite, but do yourself a favor, check out a few songs from each of the artists featured to open up whole new worlds of music! Personal favorites would be Symphony X - The Odyssey and Kamelot - pretty much anything but March of Mephistopheles is classic and awesomr
Recommended Video’s Ayreon - Everybody Dies (Ayreon Universe) th-cam.com/video/9AAXtUdM7xE/w-d-xo.html Ayreon - Star of Sirrah (Universe) th-cam.com/video/3dEHQNAZsIo/w-d-xo.html Ayreon - Intergalactic Space Crusaders (Universe) th-cam.com/video/mDjomu33Xzc/w-d-xo.html Ayreon - The Eye Of Ra (Universe) th-cam.com/video/odcO0SciTUY/w-d-xo.html Ayreon - Twisted Coil (Electric Castle And Other Tales) th-cam.com/video/gcHn0kCgmAs/w-d-xo.html Ayreon - And The Druids Turned To Stone (Ayreon Universe) th-cam.com/video/lR-foGKsus0/w-d-xo.html
A little something that might be worth your time, even if you won't understand a single word, is ' GÅTE feat. DJERV - Svarteboka (Official Music Video) '. Veteran band with a veteran guest vocalist on this particular song. Not exactly metal, but with a nice little tie-in to Dimmu Borgir due to the guest vocalist.
Cosmic, has this become your full time job? Your release schedule is crazy. I can barely keep up! Since requests are welcome, I'd like to offer a few bands that are regulars on my playlists now, but bands that don't get the love they deserve in the reaction channels. Everyone seems to be making the rounds of the same bands with the large fanbases. You've hit on several already, and will inevitably get sucked into the Falling in Reverse, Electric Callboy, etc rabbit holes as well. Don't get me wrong, all great bands deserving of many, many listens. I'd like to offer a few songs that may not get requested otherwise. No, they probably won't draw the same views as others, but you might end up being the catalyst to draw more attention to some of these. In no order of preference: ELUVEITIE - Rebirth (OFFICIAL VIDEO) - Folk Metal mixing harsh and female fronted clean vocals. I think right up your alley. ORBIT CULTURE - "Mute The Silent" (Official Music Video) - I swear, if I didn't tell you otherwise, you'd think James Hetfield from Metallica had a new, heavier, band. TEMPERANCE - Pure Life Unfolds (Official Video) | Napalm Records - Symphonic metal band, this song has a really catchy hook. FELLOWSHIP - Oak and Ash (Official Video) - I'm a sucker for Power Metal, and this is probably the best new power metal band in several years. The entire album doesn't have a single "skip" song on it. SCARDUST feat. PATTY GURDY - "CONCRETE CAGES" (Official Music Video) - "Progressive" metal with some awesome solos, great vocals, hot women, and interesting message, and of course, Patty Gurdy playing the hurdy gurdy instrument which just sounds awesome.
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody That's awesome! Congrats. Reminds me of when my eBay side hustle finally went full time. It's so amazing to be self-employed....except the taxes. The government detests us.
So Dream Theater is a must listen to expand that musical realm of yours. In fact you might well check out each of the singers bands that you don’t already know. Arjen only selects from the best!!!.
Why some people don't love metal 🤘💀🤘we got the most talented beautiful and smart musicians ( and kookies) 😂 cheers bro keep walking we are whit you 🤘💀🇨🇷
Yay, Ayreon! I've heard this song many times, but just now halfway into the track it gave me Andrew Lloyd Webber vibes. IMO Jesus Christ Superstar is one of the best, if not THE best musical ever written. I'm an Epicurean materialist, so I have nothing with religion. It's purely the music and the songs. Love it.
There you go, here you have another sea of music to dive deep into i was going into this song totally blind, and my reaction was pretty similar to yours :) smiling from left to right ear - music is great btw, i want to ask if you know the bands "Shadow of Intent", "Insomnium" and "Bloodred Hourglas"
The Netherlands For The Win. OMG I love Arjen Anthony Lucassen. OMG you are in for an imense s load of ear candy. Alsoo more from Scandinavia and Finland, Italy alsoo has nice Metal Bands.
You are definitely learning a couple things very quickly about this whole European whether it's progressive metal or its symphonic metal whatever you want to call it it's all very epic and every other Ayreon is pretty much going to be live and that's the other thing these bands are so much better live and the singers oh my God it's definitely something that separates a lot of these European countries I'm sorry to say it but I have to these singers in Europe Asia Canada South America if you ask me they are so much better than the singers from the United States.
More Ayreon please!!! This project is gold ! Next , maybe " Everybody dies " Greetings from nwAse Sweden
Greetings from West Virginia! I added it to my list!
@thecosmicwolffreacts You will LOVE "Everybody Dies", I know I do! A live performance, so rare for Ayreon.
i concur ;)
I concur! (Yes, the live version)
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody Oh yes yes yes. "Everybody Dies" is beyond amazing and will introduce you to several more amazing vocalists that you can spin off on. Kamelot, Blind Guardian, etc. Plus, there's a vocalist you are already familiar with towards the end. ;)
Here is a list of the composer and singers in order of appearance:
Arjen Lucassen - Composer - Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon.
James Labrie - Lead singer for Dream Theater.
Tommy Karevik - Lead singer of Kamelot and Seventh Wonder.
Tommy Rodgers - Lead singer of Between the Buried and Me.
Simone Simons - Lead singer of Epica.
Nils K. Rue - Lead singer of Pagan's Mind and also worked with Eidolon.
Tobias Sammet - Lead singer of Edguy & Avantasia.
Hansi Kürsch - Lead singer of Blind Guardian and Demons & Wizards.
Mike Mills - Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and main songwriter for Toehider.
Russell Allen - Lead singer of Symphony X and Allen/Lande.
Michael Eriksen - Lead singer of Circus Maximus.
Floor Jansen - Lead singer of After Forever, ReVamp & now Nightwish.
Instrumentalists
Joost van den Broek (ex-After Forever) - grand piano and electric piano
Maaike Peterse (Kingfisher Sky) - cello
Ed Warby - drums
Ben Mathot - violin
Jeroen Goossens (ex-Pater Moeskroen) - flute, wind instruments
Arjen Anthony Lucassen - electric and acoustic guitars, all other instruments (composer)
Next I would suggest reacting to the performances at Ayreon Universe concert, especially the following Intergalactic Space Crusaders, River of Time, Merlin's Will, Valley of the Queens, Ride the Comet, Star of Sirrah, And the Druids Turn to Stone, Age of Shadows & Everybody Dies.
Russell Allen from SymphonyX worked as guest with Floor in her band Revamp, check their cooperation in the song "Sweet Curse"
Also Tobias Sammet (Germany) did a few songs with Floor for Avantasia
I love Sweet Curse. My all time favorite song that Floor sings and the version with Russell is the best. I also love his collaboration with Anette Olzon (Nightwish's second singer) th-cam.com/video/0_z0rCIvZjU/w-d-xo.html.
@@rnowak85 All time favorite song? Can not choose between "No Honey for the Damned" and "Precibus"..... (precibus has that growling❤)
Did you know Floor was a biologist on Planet Alpha? She managed to escape and came via water Planet Y (hence her great lungs) to planet Earth where she got lost and joined a metal band called After Forever. The rest is history....
Floor sister is singing to, we are there this jear again in 013
Ayreon is a prog rock/metal opera project of Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. He writes the songs and invites guest singers and musicians. Mostly a studio project , they have put together a few live shows, with another coming this fall. He writes concept albums, telling a story across multiple records. From the 2017 album, The Source, the record is the first chronologically in the story arc, with this song being the first track.
Sir Joost van den Broek works with Arjen often, he is a musician and producer himself. He was the keyboardist in After Forever (04-09) with Floor, played with and produced ReVamp (Floor's band before Nightwish), and has produced the last 3 EPICA albums. He does a lot of work on the Ayreon live concerts as well.
The 11 vocalists are:
James LaBrie (Dream Theater) as The Historian
Tommy Karevik (Kamelot, Seventh Wonder) as The Opposition Leader
Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me) as The Chemist
Simone Simons (Epica) as The Counselor
Nils K. Rue (Pagan's Mind) as The Prophet
Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia) as The Captain
Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) as The Astronomer
Mike Mills (Toehider) as TH-1
Russell Allen (Symphony X) as The President
Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) as The Diplomat
Floor Jansen (Nightwish, ex-After Forever, ex-ReVamp) as The Biologist.
If you would like more from Ayreon, try the following songs from the Ayreon universe live show- Everybody Dies, Star of Sirrah, Valley of the Queens, or the show closer Eye of Ra with all 16 singers on stage. This show is pretty much a best of Ayreon and another of Arjen's projects ,Star One.
You'll really enjoy Everybody Dies Live from Ayreon Universe show.
Could quite possibly coming soon....very soon
Ayreon live, Everybody Dies ,,,, you will enjoy !!
Ayreon, another project in which you can often admire Floor and her sister Irene.
im here for it!
Try Valley of the Queens with three great female vocalists. Another Ayreon great piece.
for sure!
Yes! THIS!
Absolutely. The only bad thing about that track is that it ends too soon.
@@ElgynsToy Yeah, I hate that it only two minutes.
“Everybody Dies” is another great one from Ayreon (air-e-on)!
Yes, this is the way. I hope you get to Ayreons live songs with this cast. Its like heavy metal musical theater basically. Look for Everybody Dies, its wild.
That you havent really heard dream theater must be remedied. Try Honour Thy Father.
which version should I react to?
This has more tangents of artists and bands to explore than most can cope with in a lifetime. Mr Arjen Lucassen yet another genius composer!
If you watch the "Universe" concert, its a sort of a "best of' gig". Then watch "The Electric Castle ".
I wouldn`t be surprised to see Lucas himself commenting her! He does it often. He`s such a cool guy that he does not issue any copyright strikes on his songs and just enjoys reaction videos!
thats so cool!
Ah, Cosmic, another rabbit hole :-) You will love what Arjen Anthony Lucassen has created through the years, and the rare live events have been recorded on dvd/youtube. You will see a crowd of great musicians that participated during these live events through the years. Highly recommended. Apart from Ayreon, there is Star One (with songs that relate to scifi movies and series), the recent Supernatural Revolution, and Gentle Storm.
I love the whole concept of this epic music theatre! Its really brilliant!
Supersonic Revolution !!!
I will also throw in Stream of Passion, a band he helped create for one of his vocal discoveries, Marcela Bovio. She is originally from Mexico and answered a singer search he did for the Ayreon album The Human Equation. She is an amazing singer and second only to Floor in her power and versatility. Stream of Passion existed from 2005 until 2016. Marcela recently announced the band was reforming for a few concerts Spetember of this year and releasing an EP. They recently dropped a new single and music video. th-cam.com/video/xbUN-G3TUx4/w-d-xo.html.
Arjen (old Dutch name) turned his name in Ayreon, a project with so many excellent mucisians. He's awesome.
I loved this!
and hey, if you feel you have to close your eyes to expand the experience, then do it !
It is a VIDEO, it can be paused, rewinded ,played again over and over, but that MOMENT you close your eyes by listening to new music is unique and doesn´t come back ...
Exactly!
Hey! Been subscribed for a while and really enjoy your Nightwish reactions. I knew this had been recommended and have been waiting for you to get to it. So glad you enjoyed it. I think you’ll like their other stuff, too. Ayreon is not really a band, per se, but a musical project of Dutch composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer Arjen Lucassen. All Ayreon albums tell a story and Arjen recruits top-notch vocalists from all over the world to sing the parts of the different characters in the story. Due to the logistics of getting everyone together in the same place at the same time, live performances have been few and far between. Luckily, though, the ones that have occurred are available on video. I’d recommend your next Ayreon adventure be the live version of Everybody Dies. ☮️
I appreciate the support CJ! it means so much! I will for sure check out more! I'm ready for it
I concur! Ayreon is great as are all Arjen Lucassen’s projects!!
I just started diving into Arjen's work in the last couple years. Had never heard of him prior. So glad I discovered him and his material. So awesomely impressive!!! And seems to be a really nice guy to boot.
he really does seem awesome! This is gonna be a fun journey!
The Mike Mills part may be the most amazing thing I have ever seen a musician do.
This song is several rabbitholes, because Aryeon is a spectacular project full of excellent music, and every singer in this song has their own bands/projects that are really good.
In one way, I'm happy that people are discovering this - yet same time sad that the world doesn't realize the incredible modern composition master and a form of modern rock/prog as in old days would've been an opera singing a story with many levels. I've got the autographed full set of Transitus - watching the full video experience with music will be the best couple of hours spent. Trust me, try it out
Ayreon's music is such a wonderful rabbit hole to fall down. I'd suggest a couple of tracks to try: 'Into the Black Hole' live from Ayren Universe ( th-cam.com/video/LIvnxsb83No/w-d-xo.html ) and 'Intergalactic Space Cusaders, again a live track from Ayreon Universe ( th-cam.com/video/yO6TisCHGhA/w-d-xo.html ). Both are outstanding and you're sure to enjoy. If you feel you're ready, them there's always 'Everybody Dies' ( th-cam.com/video/9AAXtUdM7xE/w-d-xo.html ) which could blow your socks off! Plan B might be 'Isis and Osiris' ( th-cam.com/video/Z6YFbgMzkZY/w-d-xo.html ). Enjoy!
thanks so much Richard for the guidance!
One of my favorite songs, period, and Arjen is one of my musical heroes. Thanks for taking a look at this one. I’ve seen four of these singers live (James LaBrie, Tommy Rogers, Tommy Karevick, and Russel Allen).
Yet another rabbit hole to explore. Everyone will keep you very busy, just wait and see. So much good music out there.
Thanks for coming along! how are you today?
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody Doing good, and loving watching you enjoy so many different bands. Having a hard time keeping up tonight ;)
@@WNYretiree lol I've had some time on my hands so hitting yall with alot hahaha
Story goes on.. Live! The Alphans lose the struggle and must flee the doomed planet Alpha, all they can save is the loyal andoid TH-1 and the "fluid" aka "Liquid eternity" you see enter the thigh of an exile. Up to a new planet! Check out "Everybody dies"and "Star of Sirrah." Live. See Tommy Karevik sing live. And Hansi Kürsch again. And Michael Mills. And Maggy Luijten with all those gritty notes. And the chorus ladies with Marcela Bovio, Lisette van den Berg and Irene Jansen, sister of...
Tobias Sammet id from Avanrasia
Floor did 2 songs with avsntasia,Misplaced among the angels and Kill the pain away
Nice reaction! New subscriber here. Ayreon is great. Now you should take in Everybody Dies. A lot of the same vocalists (particularly Tommy Karavek and Hansi), and more of Floor. Also - her sister Irene is one of the backup singers!
I love Tommy Karavek of Kamelot - the first singer. What a great, unique voice. I also liked Michael Erikson's passionate voice. The red headed female singer, Simone Simons, is a Dutch singer and front woman of Epica. She and Floor Jansen are old friends and their bands Nightwish and Epica are similar as they are both symphonic metal, with Epica being a little harder.
I see from your playlists that you've taken the Nightwish plunge. I can't suggest enough that you also start down the Epica rabbit hole. A good place to start is Sancta Terra from the Epica Retrospect concert where Floor sings WITH Simone (double your pleasure, double your fun). Then follow up with Unleashed (same concert), Design Your Universe (same concert) and Kingdom of Heaven Part 3 from Epica's Omega Alive virtual concert. You will be amazed. You're welcome.
I actually have a reaction to that Epica song! Appreciate your guidance and the support friend!
Arjen Lucassen is such a great composer ! I love seeing how you travel this metal path, discovery after discovery ! As for the singers, it could be very nice to see you reacting t o Kamelott with frontman Tommy Karevic.
I got so much fun videos coming!
You opend a door to literally hundreds of bands and singers. over 90 singers and dozens of musicians . Ranging from Bruce dickinson , to dee snider , to Fish , to Floor jansen .
Welp, Marcus...you ready for an adventure?
Mike Mills! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! .... His band Toehider. How do you hide toes? Kick A$$ really hard! 11 singers and yes, a journey and a half!
Much like a Nightwish song, Aryeon tracks are something you'll find something new every time.
And this is like his "Ghost Love Score".
That look of astonishment and incredulity on your face - loved it.
much love Normora!
Ayreon is awesome, everything Arjen Lucassen does is fantastic and had his special and very recognisable sound. He has played with all the greats, especially in the more atmospheric and symphonic metal genre, and I think that tells a lot. He can build entire universes. Most of all he is a lovely man, a bit shy but so kind. A great rabbit hole to dive into! I really hope you follow up with some of the suggestions that were already made. Thank you for sharing another great reaction video!
Edit: as a "metal elitist" ( ;) ) I'm sure you're familiar with Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth, right? And Devin Townsend? They also sang a character on The Human Equation, My all time favourite album from Ayreon. Do recommend!
Great reaction. There is a lot to take in. The second singer is Tommy Kerevik from Kamelot. I don't know why Kamelot isn't the biggest band in the world. I think their music would appeal to so many people who might dismiss them because they are "metal."
I got some reactions coming for kamelot
wow, you are one of the few reactors of this song, who recognized Hansi from the first....I'm a Blind Guardian fan!
I love the album "Somewhere Far Beyond" Perfect Album in my opinion
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody perfectly true! I also like twist in the myth...a very good but underrated album
The whole live ‘Universe’ concert is epic❣️
Ayreon is like if you mixed everything you dug from 70s prog and 80s heavy metal into a big pot and created wonderful things from the mixture. Arjen is a treasure.
I'm enjoying them!
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody and if you just want songs rather than a continuous story arc then one of Arjen's other projects called Star One is also amazing!
I seriously think Arjen's music saved my life. I was in a bad place and on my way to attempt something, when the thought that I would never be able to listen to Ayreon again made me think maybe death wouldn't be what I want. The joy and passion and talent that goes into his musical projects always elevates my mood. Music is an antidepressant for me, and his music is just joyful, full of incredible voices on every single project. It was very worthwhile to check out all the Ayreon and Star One albums, Guilt Machine, the DVDs of the live shows, all of it. You would probably enjoy some of the music of the bands mentioned in the video that you haven't heard yet, like Dream Theater and Symphony X, and also Circus Maximus, the singer was there but Arjen didn't name drop his band. So many great songs by those bands, but you could start with "Glass Prison" by Dream Theater, "Iconoclast" by Symphony X, "Why Am I Here" by Circus Maximus.
dude, music...is soul medicine
You’re about to fall into a big rabbit hole and you’ll never want to climb out of it again.
Next, the two live concerts :
Ayreon Universe live
The electric castle live and other tales
The theater equation.
I'm here for it!
This song should be called "The day your music world blows up"😂, mine did, when I first heard this song !!!!
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.
Each Ayreon album tells a different story, but all, with the exceptions of Actual Fantasy, The Theory of Everything, and Transitus, take place in the same fictional, science fiction universe; additionally, Lucassen's solo album Lost in the New Real is also set in the Ayreon universe. Ayreon's music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music. Lucassen writes the music and the lyrics, sings and plays most of the instruments on all of the Ayreon albums, alongside many guest musicians. His most regular collaborator is drummer Ed Warby.
The binary code means "Trust TH-1"
The singers in order of appearance are:
James LaBrie from Dream Theater
Tommy Karevik from Kamelot, Seventh Wonder
Tommy Rogers from Between the Buried and Me
Simone Simons from th most epic Epica
Nils K. Rue from Pagan's Mind and Eidolon
Tobias Sammet from Edguy and here mentioned Avantasia
Hansi Kürsch the „Bard from Walhalla“ from Blind Guardian
Mike Mills playing a computer and singing binary from Toehider
Russell Allen from Symphony X
Michael Eriksen from Circus Maximus
and last but not least the incredible Valkyrie Goddess Floor Jansen from Nightwish
The Easy way to go from here is through Ayreon Universe Live concert (There is a full Concert setlist in YT ). In any case, Here is a link :
th-cam.com/play/PLJGn3wi7b7b606GfoKAdOgm6rtX9OliRc.html !!!!
NWSU/FloorFan/Epican/Ayreonaut ✌🤓🤘.
Hi, if you watch closely you can say that Tommy Karevik sings with his hands in this video...
Great reaction. Ayreon is a project of Dutch composer Arjen Lucassen. He is well know and respected within the European heavier music scene and being asked to sing or perform on one of his albums or projects is considered a huge honor. All of the Ayreon albums are rock operas with back stories and characters played by individual singers. Most Ayreon albums exist within the same sci fi backstory that explores the history of humanity and how we came to be on Planet Earth. The Source is the prequel story to the previous albums. The humans on plane Alpha gave control of their society to computers, the Frame, to solve their environmental problems. The Frame decides the best way to solve the problem is to kill off all the humans that are causing the problems. The Alphans in this song are debating what to do and in Everbody Dies the 10 people from this song plus Michael Mills character, TH-1 and android, leave on the Starblade for a water planet to keep humanity alive. To survive on the water planet they drink a drug called Liquid Eternity which allows them to breathe underwater and communicate telepathically. It also makes them eternal and they become known as The Forever. As time goes on they lose their human emotions. To try and experience them again they seed a comet with Human DNA and send it to earth, the song Ride the Comet. The Electric Castle album has The Forever bringing a group of humans to a place and put them in situations to see how they react. Obviously even more details about each song but that should get you started.
Also not sure if you picked up on that you know Simone Simmons who you have seen previously in Epica. She is also in the Ayreon live show Into the Electric Castle and other tales in the role of the Indian. You can see her singing a choral piece by herself from the balcony in the song Amazing Flight which has the bonus of Arjen singing the role of the Hippie which he totally nails. th-cam.com/video/r5IitoFXc7E/w-d-xo.html. She also plays a sassy, sexy Angel of Death on the Transitus Album. Checkout the music videos for Daniel’s Descent into Transitus Medley (th-cam.com/video/ozmTXh2CBWw/w-d-xo.html) and This Human Equation (th-cam.com/video/lKwaBJmSUps/w-d-xo.html). Bonus, the narrator on the album is Tom Baker from Dr. Who fame.
Jeesh I have so much music to listen too! I'm excited for it
1st 🤘
My DUDE!!! much love and all you do!
This is a good start to listen to them
You are always first in my book Gabriel
Arjen and Joost played in Floor's frst band After Forever (allso the guitarists of Epica) I am proud of our little country (NO we re NOT a part of Germany grrrr) But besides Dutch musicians he also has the best singers and mucians all over the world in his project
if it ain't dutch it ain't much... Welcome in the amazing world of Arjen A. Lucassen Aka Ayreon Universe (Ayreon, Ambeon, Star One, Supersonic Revolution, Guilt Machine, Gentle Storm, Stream of Passion).... Enjoy this 100+ artist thick rabbit hole….!!!!!
When you said this is like a movie, we’ll it is, all albums are interconnected stories in the Ayreon universe. I would recommend the The Human Equation album just to listen to, with the likes of James labrie, Devin Townsend, Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth), Mike Baker and so many more.
I love that!!! I will forsure check out more
Thanks
Hallo, there is also a life version "Ayreon Universe" greetings from the Netherlands.
Thanks.. I'm still in PTSD zone (8 years now..), the thanks was for your final words..
much love to you, sending you love and hope
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody
Thx man, warning for other People, i've become numb because i've seen sooo many therapists ... got ditched again this week...🙏😰
I'm such a nerd that when the binary code appeared i immediately paused it to deciper the code 😂 great reaction as always Cosmic!
haha thats awesome dude! haahhah
TRUST TH1
@holgerhupfer9651 Yep.. of course I just was introduced to this song and had no idea who TH1 was. I thought I was incorrect in my assumption of binary>>hex>>acsii but afterwards I looked up the song info and saw TH1 was one of the characters.
Ayreon - just love it ❤❤❤
So, you said you know of but hadn't listen to Dream Theatre and Symphony X.
2 of my favourite bands outside Nightwish and Maiden
I Recommend:
Dream Theatre: "Metropolis Part 1-The Miracle and the Sleeper"
Symphony X: "Set the World on Fire (Lie of Lies)
Yes tray the tower of hope, or the electric castelle
Ayreon is my favorite, but do yourself a favor, check out a few songs from each of the artists featured to open up whole new worlds of music!
Personal favorites would be Symphony X - The Odyssey and Kamelot - pretty much anything but March of Mephistopheles is classic and awesomr
I got some kamelot coming
Recommended Video’s
Ayreon - Everybody Dies (Ayreon Universe) th-cam.com/video/9AAXtUdM7xE/w-d-xo.html
Ayreon - Star of Sirrah (Universe) th-cam.com/video/3dEHQNAZsIo/w-d-xo.html
Ayreon - Intergalactic Space Crusaders (Universe) th-cam.com/video/mDjomu33Xzc/w-d-xo.html
Ayreon - The Eye Of Ra (Universe) th-cam.com/video/odcO0SciTUY/w-d-xo.html
Ayreon - Twisted Coil (Electric Castle And Other Tales) th-cam.com/video/gcHn0kCgmAs/w-d-xo.html
Ayreon - And The Druids Turned To Stone (Ayreon Universe) th-cam.com/video/lR-foGKsus0/w-d-xo.html
"Heard of Dream Theater but never listened to them" -> Oh boy, you're in for another musical ride. Start with e.g. "The Glass Prison"
CW, go back and watch your own video for the last note of Michael Mills' a capella solo. You and he look like mirror images! 😮
wait for real!?!?! lol Ok I will!
The irony of him saying he's "reacting to (Ar-Yun)" because, it's true, you Will be reacting to Arjen in a way!😅
A little something that might be worth your time, even if you won't understand a single word, is ' GÅTE feat. DJERV - Svarteboka (Official Music Video) '. Veteran band with a veteran guest vocalist on this particular song. Not exactly metal, but with a nice little tie-in to Dimmu Borgir due to the guest vocalist.
ohhhh that does sounds interesting, I would totally check it out!
Cosmic, has this become your full time job? Your release schedule is crazy. I can barely keep up!
Since requests are welcome, I'd like to offer a few bands that are regulars on my playlists now, but bands that don't get the love they deserve in the reaction channels. Everyone seems to be making the rounds of the same bands with the large fanbases. You've hit on several already, and will inevitably get sucked into the Falling in Reverse, Electric Callboy, etc rabbit holes as well. Don't get me wrong, all great bands deserving of many, many listens.
I'd like to offer a few songs that may not get requested otherwise. No, they probably won't draw the same views as others, but you might end up being the catalyst to draw more attention to some of these. In no order of preference:
ELUVEITIE - Rebirth (OFFICIAL VIDEO) - Folk Metal mixing harsh and female fronted clean vocals. I think right up your alley.
ORBIT CULTURE - "Mute The Silent" (Official Music Video) - I swear, if I didn't tell you otherwise, you'd think James Hetfield from Metallica had a new, heavier, band.
TEMPERANCE - Pure Life Unfolds (Official Video) | Napalm Records - Symphonic metal band, this song has a really catchy hook.
FELLOWSHIP - Oak and Ash (Official Video) - I'm a sucker for Power Metal, and this is probably the best new power metal band in several years. The entire album doesn't have a single "skip" song on it.
SCARDUST feat. PATTY GURDY - "CONCRETE CAGES" (Official Music Video) - "Progressive" metal with some awesome solos, great vocals, hot women, and interesting message, and of course, Patty Gurdy playing the hurdy gurdy instrument which just sounds awesome.
I had some extra time this week lol Im slowing down for sure hahha. I will be going full time though, so im happy!
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody That's awesome! Congrats. Reminds me of when my eBay side hustle finally went full time. It's so amazing to be self-employed....except the taxes. The government detests us.
Anthony luccasson is a genius
Arjen likes to use Floor as his closer....
So Dream Theater is a must listen to expand that musical realm of yours. In fact you might well check out each of the singers bands that you don’t already know. Arjen only selects from the best!!!.
Why some people don't love metal 🤘💀🤘we got the most talented beautiful and smart musicians ( and kookies) 😂 cheers bro keep walking we are whit you 🤘💀🇨🇷
hahaha We do! Much love Jose!
Yay, Ayreon! I've heard this song many times, but just now halfway into the track it gave me Andrew Lloyd Webber vibes. IMO Jesus Christ Superstar is one of the best, if not THE best musical ever written. I'm an Epicurean materialist, so I have nothing with religion. It's purely the music and the songs. Love it.
You where not ready for it 😂
it rocked me
There you go, here you have another sea of music to dive deep into
i was going into this song totally blind, and my reaction was pretty similar to yours :) smiling from left to right ear - music is great
btw, i want to ask if you know the bands "Shadow of Intent", "Insomnium" and "Bloodred Hourglas"
I have some of those bands on my list! Dude, this song was a trip!
The Netherlands For The Win. OMG I love Arjen Anthony Lucassen. OMG you are in for an imense s load of ear candy. Alsoo more from Scandinavia and Finland, Italy alsoo has nice Metal Bands.
I'm here for it! I appreciate you being about of this journey with me!
🤗🍒🤘🏻
You are definitely learning a couple things very quickly about this whole European whether it's progressive metal or its symphonic metal whatever you want to call it it's all very epic and every other Ayreon is pretty much going to be live and that's the other thing these bands are so much better live and the singers oh my God it's definitely something that separates a lot of these European countries I'm sorry to say it but I have to these singers in Europe Asia Canada South America if you ask me they are so much better than the singers from the United States.
you are speaking facts! my favorite band is Opeth, I love most music that isn't from US
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody and you have only scratched the surface my brother!!!!!
😊💙🇫🇮🪄🎼✨💯🤘
I gave the 998th like. That's all xD
HELL YE
Never heard Dream Theater? [quietly steals back "elitist" badge]
Lol heard of but frlt that they were inferior to my grand perspective...lol this is sarcasm hahha
If your not watching...then neither am I 😢 bye
huh? lol
Hm, it's time to dive into the HUGIEST rabbit hole of Dream Theater)
i'm actually scared to do it lol
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody don't be scared, there's no way out😂
you never heard Dreamtheater?
then maybe they are your next reaction video? 😉
I avoided em for some reason...I know...I true crime
Dude, you heard of Dream Theater and Symphony X but never listen to them? 😮 You got to crawl off that rock you've been under. 🤘🤘🤘
Iam indeed hahhaa dude. Im embarresd to admit some of this haha
@@TheWolffAndTheMelody they are two great rabbit holes. Be prepared to some greatness.