In September 2015, over the course of four sold-out shows, Ayreon's legendary progressive rock concept album The Human Equation was brought to life as a full-blown musical production at the Nieuwe Luxor theater in Rotterdam.
This limited run of performances was witnessed by die-hard fans from across the world, but now Arjen Lucassen's story can be witnessed by all, as a recording of the final night of those special evenings is being released as both a DVD & Blu-Ray package on June 17th, 2016. The Theater Equation is subtitled in nine different languages and includes nearly one-and-a-half hours of bonus content. Arjen comments:
"Even today as I write this, I am amazed and touched by how hard everyone worked and how much love and care they generously gave to make it all happen. Sometimes the dream becomes reality!"
The stage show stars Dream Theater frontman James LaBrie in his original roll as "Me" and features nearly the entire cast of vocalists from the original 2004 album. The main cast is supported by a specially put-together 19-strong Epic Rock Choir. This is a unique document of an undertaking that was surely once in a lifetime.
Cast: James LaBrie as 'Me' Devon Graves as 'Agony' Heather Findlay as 'Love' Eric Clayton as 'Reason' Magnus Ekwall as 'Pride', Marcela Bovio as 'Wife' Irene Jansen as 'Passion' Anneke van Giersbergen as 'Fear', Jermain van der Bogt (Wudstik) as 'Best Friend' Mike Mills as 'Rage/Father' Nienke Verboom as 'Nurse' Peter Moltmaker as 'Doctor' Anita van der Hoeven as 'Mom'
Band: Ed Warby: Drums Jeroen Goossens: Flutes and woodwinds Johan van Stratum: Bass Maaike Peterse: Cello Ben Mathot: Violin Marcel Coenen: Guitars Freek Gielen: Guitars Erik van Ittersum: Keyboards/synths Ruben Wijga: Keyboards/synths Epic Rock Choir
The Theater Equation will be available as a special edition 2CD+DVD Digipak, standalone Blu-ray, & audio-only Digital Download.
THE HUMAN EQUATION STORY
After a mysterious single-car accident, the victim - a man in his late 30s - lies comatose in the hospital. Before the accident he was a powerful businessman, wildly successful by any measure but also known for his cutthroat business tactics. Now he finds himself trapped in a prison that took him a lifetime to build: the prison of his own mind.
Guarding the prison are his emotions, which have taken on vivid personas inside his mind. Some are friends, some are foes, and they all have their own agendas. Some aim to trick him or dominate him, others to comfort or inspire him. But the one objective they all share is to force him to face up to the demons of his past and the deep truths about who he is and how he's lived his life, all of which he's conveniently ignored until now. Fear, Rage, Agony, Love, Passion, Reason and Pride take turns engaging the man in this emotional warfare.
Two people hold vigil at the man's bedside: his wife and his best friend. They are desperate to understand how the accident happened and to see even the tiniest sign that the man will regain consciousness. But the man's recovery is not their only concern: is it possible that he somehow found out their secret, and that the "accident" wasn't really an accident at all? Would he ever be able to forgive them?
Will the man have the strength to face the truth about himself and the ones he loves? The story unfolds over his twenty-day emotional struggle with Fear, Rage, Agony, Love, Passion, Reason and Pride, in which each day of coma is represented by a song. Arjen Lucassen Online www.arjenlucassen.com www.facebook.com/ArjenLucassenOfficial www.twitter.com/arjenlucassen
Frost*, the brainchild of keyboard player and song-writer Jem Godfrey, recently announced the release of their long-awaited new album Falling Satellites for May 27th, 2016. Joined by guitarist & vocalist John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, It Bites), drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) & bassist Nathan King (Level 42), Falling Satellites is the band's first album in 8 years & the follow-up to the acclaimed Experiments in Mass Appeal.
The band have released two live videos, taken from their DVD The Rockfield Files, one an early version of the track Heartstrings from the new album, and the other is fan-favorite Black Light Machine from Milliontown.
Jem had this to say:
"This was taken from our DVD The Rockfield Files, it's a very early version of the song that we were trying out to see if it would work live. It's interesting to see how much it's evolved since this version"
You can watch both videos below:
Heartstrings:
Black Light Machine:
Comprising 11 songs, the final 6 forming a 32-minute long suite, Falling Satellites also sees a guest appearance from Grammy-nominated guitar legend Joe Satriani, who Godfrey played with on the G3 tour in 2012.
The album will arrive on limited edition CD digipak (incl. 2 bonus tracks), gatefold 2LP + CD & digital download.
The full track-listing is as follows: 1. First Day 2. Numbers 3. Towerblock 4. Signs 5. Lights Out 6. Heartstrings 7. Closer To The Sun 8. The Raging Against The Dying Of The Light Blues 9. Nice Day For It... 10. Hypoventilate 11. Last Day 12. Lantern (bonus track) 13. British Wintertime (bonus track)
The band will also head out on tour in the UK in support of the new record, including an appearance at Ramblin Man Fair in July.
You can find the full list of confirmed dates below: 17th June - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh 18th June - Montgomery Hall, Wath-Upon-Dearne 19th June - The Robin 2, Bilson 23rd July - Ramblin' Man Fair, Maidstone 29th July - Thekla, Bristol 30th July - 02 Islington Academy, London 31st July - The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Swedish vintage style hard rock pioneers Spiritual Beggars are releasing their 9th studio album Sunrise to Sundown as of today in Europe (March 25th, 2016 in North America) via InsideOutMusic.
In the light of the album's release date, Spiritual Beggars are now also launching a new animated video for the song Dark Light Child. The clip was created by Costin Chioreanu / Twilight13Media, who also did the stunning artwork for Sunrise to Sundown.
Check it out here:
Spiritual Beggars - Sunrise to Sundown 1. Sunrise to Sundown 2. Diamond Under Pressure 3. What Doesn't Kill You 4. Hard Road 5. Still Hunter 6. No Man's Land 7. I Turn to Stone 8. Dark Light Child 9. Lonely Freedom 10. You've Been Fooled 11. Southern Star
The limited 2CD Mediabook and vinyl will be available as Imports on the InsideOut Music Shop.
The LP format comes on 180gr. vinyl (Standard black, but also on limited coloured runs of 500x copies on dark green vinyl and 200x copies on yellow vinyl!) with gatefold packaging and a double-sided poster as well as the full standard album on CD as bonus.
Limited edition 2CD Mediabook bonus disc: 1. Thumbsucker (Mountain cover) 2. Stoned Woman (Ten Years After cover) 3. Wise As A Serpent (Live at Roadburn Festival 2013) 4. Turn The Tide (Live at Roadburn Festival 2013) 5. Drum Intro / Dreamer (Live at Roadburn Festival 2013) 6. One Man's Curse (Live at Roadburn Festival 2013) 7. Kingmaker (Live at Roadburn Festival 2013)
Haken recently announced the release of their fourth full-length studio album Affinity, on April 29th, 2016. Now they are pleased to reveal the video for the first single taken from the album, titled Initiate. Check out the video here:
The band had this to say about the video:
"Initiate was the first tune from the album that got mixed by Jens. We all remember feeling incredibly excited from the very first listen. Affinity was finally coming to life! Initiate combines the atmospheric and the modern aspects of our sound and, as the album opener, sets the scene for what's to come."
In April of 2015, Stick Men put on four historic concerts in Japan, 2 in Osaka and 2 in Tokyo, with special guest, legendary King Crimson violinist David Cross. The live recording of the 2 Tokyo shows, titled Midori, was originally released as a double CD in Japan only, and now is available as well via MoonJune in a limited edition of 1000 copies only that will be only and exclusively sold via MoonJune's BandCamp and during the Stick Men's 2016 live shows.
This album is NOT available for distribution, it's not available on Amazon, or through any online wholesale outlets, and it's not available in stores. The physical double album is available only and exclusively via MoonJune's BandCamp and on Stick Men's upcoming live shows.
Tony Levin: Stick and Voice Pat Mastelotto: Acoustic and Electronic Drums and Percussion Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars® AU8, Soundscaping and Keyboard David Cross: Violin and Keyboard
