Artist : Ayreon

Album : Transitus

Release Date : 25-09-2020

Added : 16-11-2020

With with an impressive number of videos, we were looking forward to this latest album 'Transitus' and, once again, 'Arjen Anthony Lucassen' put on a great spread for this new baby of his project 'Ayreon'. After 'The Source' in 2017, he will have took three years for the master of progressive to offer us a new story and, this time, we are no longer in the world of science fiction but he chose to return in the 1800s to tell us the story of an impossible love between a bourgeois named Daniel (performed by 'Tommy Karevik' from 'Kamelot') and a black maid 'Abby' (performed by 'Cammie Gilbert' from 'Ocean of Slumber' who released a new album in 2020, 'Ocean of Slumber') and, as we are now used to, Arjen invited an impressive number of artists, with first, names well known to his fans like 'Marcela Bovio', 'Dianne Van Giersbergen' or 'Simone Simons' or 'Michael Mills' or even his faithful keyboardist 'Joost Van Den Broek' but also new artists like 'Paul Manzi' or 'Johanne James' (the drummer of 'Threshold' singing for the occasion) or the actor 'Tom Baker' who officiates as narrator.

Detail each composition would require too long a chronicle and it is for this reason that I will tell you about the strong points which marked me with first of all, the fact that this opus was conceived as a kind of piece theater and, given the history, we get closer to a 'Romeo and Juliet' with a whole cast of actors who evolve around our two protagonists 'Abby' and 'Daniel' and who were chosen by 'Arjen' like in a movie cast. Therefore, even if some will find the spoken parts too long, the narration of 'Tom Baker' is essential for the story and allows the connection between the different episodes. From a musical point of view, 'Transitus' offers a nice variety between each title and we feel that Arjen composed them always having this desire to adapt the music to the story. Take the example of the first title 'Fatum Horrificum' which is made up of 6 fairly short parts, each one has its own style and we go from an epic atmosphere with 'Graveyard' to the recitative '1884' which sets the scene with an accompaniment worthy of a fantastic film with its scary atmosphere then, 'Daniel And Abby' develops a much more calm 'Floydian' instrumental section which reminds me of the sounds of a 'Atom Heart Mother'; as for 'Fatum' which follows, we are taken with grandiose choirs in a kind of 'Carmina Burana', then 'Why ?!' which introduces one of our two heroes 'Daniel' is in a more dramatic frame while 'Guilty', with its catchy tempo, is lighter while remaining very expressive thanks to the vocal interpretations. This variety does not harm to the whole at any time because, the other strong point of this album is its accessibility which will certainly make that the fans of a more sought-after progressive will not be completely satisfied which gives the impression that one of Arjen's objectives has been to try with 'Transitus' to reach to a fairly large audience thanks to melodies that immediately touch you as in the three following tracks, 'Listen to My Story' in which the shock trio 'Simone Simons'/'Marcela Bovio'/'Caroline Westendorp' offers us a remarkable performance, then 'Two Worlds Now One' which is typically in the vein of a progressive rock of the 70s which has become universal with of course references to 'Pink Floyd' and finally, 'Talk of the Town' with its folk tones and heady melody that can make one think of his project 'The Gentle Storm'. Finally, as we are now used to, the whole is filled with remarkable arrangements with artists who bring their talent with this mixed of electric and acoustic instruments and, even if the saturated guitar riffs are a little less present, we have even the opportunity to have energetic titles like the dynamic 'Get Out! Now! ' with a masterful solo of 'Joe Satriani' reminiscent of the great moments of hard rock of the 70s but, in the end, it is in the vocal parts that the magic operates with artists who play their role to the full and become actors full-fledged : we can cite for example 'Condemmned Without A Trial' with eight singers passing the buck in a masterful vocal battle or 'Daniel's Funeral' and 'Henry's Plot' with two beautiful duets between 'Amanda Somerville' and 'Paul Manzi' or even 'This Human Equation' in which we find the trio of singers 'Simone Simons'/'Marcela Bovio'/'Caroline Westendorp' in another admirable vocal battle and of course the emotional exchanges between 'Cammie Gilbert' and 'Tomy Karevik' as in 'Hopelessly Slipping Away' without forgetting one of my favorites, the duet between 'Cammie Gilbert' and 'Amanda Somerville' in 'Message from Beyond' which increases a little more the emotional cursor. Note that to complete the album, Arjen added a comic that was made by the Chilean artist 'Felix Vaga' which is available with the CD/DVD Earbook version which brings another artistic dimension.

In summary, it is still a great vintage of the 'Ayreon' project that 'Arjen Anthony Lucassen' offers us with an impressive work at the vocal level showing once again that he has this gift to compose musical works tailor-made for all these artists of great talent and 'Transitus', even if it contains compositions that may be more accessible overall, is of an immense richness which necessarily requires taking your time to discover all the nooks and crannies and appreciate it at its true value...

Line Up / Musicians

Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Guitar, Bass, Keybords, Glockenspiel, Dulcimer, Piano), Tom Baker (storyteller), Tommy Karevik (Vocal - Daniel), Cammie Gilbert (Vocal – Abby), Marcela Bovio (Vocal – Furie, Servante, Villageoise), Paul Manzi (Vocal – Henry), Amanda Somerville (Vocal – Lavinia), Johanne James (Vocal – Abraham), Caroline Westendorp (Vocal – Furie, Servante, Villageoise), Simone Simons (Vocal – Ange de la mort), Michael Mills (Vocal – La statue), Dee Snider (Vocal – Père de Daniel), Dan J. Pierson (Vocal, Villageois), Jan Willem Ketelaars (Vocal, Villageois), Lisette Van Den Berg (Vocal, Villageoise), Marjan Welman (Vocal, Villageoise), Will Shaw (Vocal, Villageois), Wilmer Waarbroek (Vocal, Villageois), Dianne Van Giersbergen (Vocal), Joost Van Den Broek (Hammond, Piano, Fender rhodes), Juan Van Emmerloot (Drums), Ben Mathot (Violin), Jeroen Goossens (Vents), Jurriaan Westerveld (Cello), Alex Thyssen (Cor), Hellscore (Choirs), Joe Satriani (Guitar), Marty Friedman (Guitar), Patty Gurdy (Hurdy Gurdy), Thomas Cochrane (Trumpet, Trombone)