One thing all great art has in common is that it can be experienced over and over again and still lend itself to a new and greater appreciation each time. Such is the case with The Theory of Everything, the latest from prog-mastermind Arjen Lucassen’s Ayreon. After five long years, Ayreon is finally back with a new record that will leave listeners stunned featuring Arjen’s signature dreamlike-keyboard playing, aggressive guitar tones, impressive and complex songwriting, as well as another all-star cast of guest musicians (see Full Album Review). While the two previous Ayreon releases, The Human Equation and 01 maintained a similar feel, Ayreon returns with a slightly different approach on this record, featuring greater use of instrumentation, and a very human and emotionally charged storyline. Metal Exiles had the pleasure of speaking with Arjen Lucassen recently as he shared with us an inside look into the creative process behind Ayreon and the new record.
An interview with Arjen Lucassen
By John Knowles
Metal Exiles: What made you decide that now was the right time to bring back Ayreon and release another album?
Arjen Lucassen: Well the thing is I could never do two Ayreons in a row, because they take too much out of me, creatively and emotionally, so I always have to do a few projects in between. Like simpler projects, you know, not with all so many singers and not with all these complex stories and stuff like that. So in between I did a Guilt Machine album, which was an atmospheric album with just one singer. I did Star One, which was a metal album with just four singers. And after that I did a solo album – a very eclectic solo album with many different styles on it. To my surprise it was a big success and sold really well, and to the surprise of the record company as well. They were kind of like: well it’s a solo album, it’s not really prog, it’s not really our style but we’ll release it anyway. And actually it was a big success, contrary to the two albums before, because Guilt Machine did not do so well, and the last Star One didn’t do as well as the first Star One. So that was great and I had so much fun doing the solo album. The album really recharged by battery, but after I did the solo I album I was really ready for a new Ayreon.
Metal Exiles: So it’s really just a matter of when you feel ready, there will be another one?
Arjen: That’s it! I never plan ahead. I never do that, because I limit myself. Because if I’m like, “okay next time I’m going to do this...” and then I get ideas for other stuff, I limit myself. So I never know what’s going to happen next. I just start and then see where my inspiration will guide me.
Metal Exiles: I woke up this morning to an email that read, “The Theory of Everything Now on Spotify” What are your thoughts on this new form of Internet streaming?
Arjen: It’s always a double-edged sword of course. On the one side I love the fact that so many people get to hear it now, because that’s the reason I make music, to please the people and to get great reactions out of them. That makes my day when I get mail from people saying that I changed their lives; they were maybe feeling really depressed and then they played my music. So on that side it’s good. On the other side we musicians get, don’t laugh, 0.00029 cents per stream, which means that you have to stream it like 5 million times to get a minimum income. So the income on it is really, really ridiculous. It’s a couple of Euros, you know, you can buy ice cream. So that’s completely shitty. So yeah, two sides.
Metal Exiles: It’s crazy just how low the revenue is.
Arjen: Yes it is. I know Century Media didn’t put their stuff on Spotify for such a long time because it was so ridiculous. But you know, you have to join the others. It’s not a lot, that’s for sure.
Metal Exiles: Why did you make the decision to not contribute vocals on this new record?
Arjen: Mainly because I did the solo album, which were two CDs of just my voice so I figured people had enough of my voice after that. And also for this album I needed really good singers, and really emotional singers. I mean, I kind of like my own voice but I’m not a great singer technically speaking. So I really needed very good singers, technically and emotionally this time.
Metal Exiles: You have been very busy between Ayreon albums. When ideas spark, how do you determine what outlet it will be a part of? More specifically, when you had the initial idea for The Theory of Everything, how did you decide it would be used for Ayreon?
Arjen: Usually I don’t know, usually I just start writing and I start recording little things and then the project kind of unfolds itself. This time however I had just one idea, and I went into the studio with just one idea, and this one idea was just very much Ayreon. It was the little Hammond riff (which starts “The Theory of Everything”), and it was clear that it was Ayreon. So this time right from the beginning I knew it was going to be an Ayreon album. I worked very differently compared to other times. This time I just went into the studio and just started recording. So all the tracks were recorded chronologically, which was the first time I did that really.
Metal Exiles: You’ve described the storyline in previous interviews, but how would you describe the deeper meaning behind the new album? Is there a real life implication for the listener to take away from the story?
Arjen: Even as I kid I never liked messages in music. I wanted to be entertained; I didn’t want to be educated. I love stuff like War of the Worlds or Tommy and I don’t think there’s any message in there. So I never try to put messages in my music. I just want to entertain people. Having said that, there’s a lot to read between the lines, it’s not just a simple superficial story. There’s really a lot of emotional, relational stuff in my lyrics, but its not in-your-face. If you want to read it, or if you want to take something out of it you can. And also I don’t want to guide the people too much, I want them to make up their own minds. I think that’s also why the ending of my story is very cryptic. I get emails about it every day from fans who say, “Hey, please explain it to me.” I have to say no, go ahead and make up your own ending and do what your happy with. I don’t like it when lyrics are really in-your-face saying, “I believe in this, and I want YOU to believe in this too.” That’s really not my thing. If others want to do that great, but its just not my thing.
Metal Exiles: You mentioned cryptic, it’s kind of like a good movie, you just let the listener, or viewer, kind of decide the ending for them.
Arjen: Absolutely, I mean I remember how great I felt after 2001: A Space Odyssey. The ending is like, oh my God, what happened here? It keeps you thinking. But of course you have to give the people something; I don’t like movies where you give the people nothing. But if you give them something then at the end you can twist it a little bit. The Shining also comes to mind where at the end you see him frozen there, and you see the photo of the 20s and he’s in there too, and you’re like, what – what is this? I love stuff like that, or Donnie Darko is another movie like that. It makes you think, you know, and it makes you come up with your own interpretations, and I like that.
Metal Exiles: In your examples there you mentioned Kubrick twice! That’s awesome! Now, you’ve just mentioned that there are some very real emotions and relationships in the story. Were any of those drawn from maybe some personal experience?
Arjen: I think so, yes. I think there’s a little bit of myself in all these characters. I’m very reclusive, so the idea on The Theory of Everything of working in a very secluded lighthouse, that really attracts me. I’m also very competitive. I’ve always been extremely competitive, which makes me a perfectionist, and also makes me impossible to work with. I guess that’s why I work alone (laughs). So I think I’ve got something of “The Rival” there. I’m also very driven in what I do, which puts something of “The Father” in me, so yes I think there’s a lot of myself in there.
Metal Exiles: You’ve spoken before of your wish list of musicians you would like to work with. Who are some others that you would love to work with in the future, and would you consider working with past artists on an Ayreon album again or do you wish to stick to new faces each time?
Arjen: For past artists, definitely. That was just a rule on this album that I wanted to work with only new singers. And it was the same rule on The Human Equation. I just did that twice where I was like, no this time I would like to work with only singers that I’ve never worked with before. Singers like Russell Allen, I mean he’s just the best singer in the world. The idea of never working with him again doesn’t attract me. So there are definitely amazing singers that I have worked with that I would want to work with again. As far as my wishlist, believe it or not there’s like 200 hundred names on it. A lot of them I will never be able to get, because either they’re too famous or they wouldn’t like my music at all. So it’s a long list, and of course on top of the list are singers that I grew up listening to, and to be able to work with my heroes is a dream come true.
Metal Exiles: You’ve now worked with many different singers and musicians. Do you try to allow the different vocalists and performers to bring their own unique qualities to the songs?
Arjen: Yes, very much so. I kind of learned to do that, because in the beginning when I started Ayreon I wanted them to do exactly what I wanted. I wanted them to stick to the melodies, but then you work with amazing singers like Bruce Dickenson, or Fish from Marillion, or the really big names, they do what they want, they’re not going to listen to me. And then you notice that, Oh my God, this is getting way better than what I originally had. So I really learned to let them go for it and let them add a lot of input because I am a fan of them, that’s the reason I asked them, so I definitely want them to be happy with what they do. You feed off of each other’s ideas, which is why I always fly them to my studio so we’re all in the studio together and I grab my acoustic guitar so we can say “lets try it like this” and “no why don’t we do it like this,” you know. So basically they get guide vocals from me, but I always tell them “it is just guide vocals so you know approximately what to do or where to sing, but once you’re here we’re going to write almost new songs.” It really makes the product a lot better in the end.
Metal Exiles: You’ve pointed out the mastering process for this new album was completed by a friend; and as you’ve said it does sound amazing. Did you make any other changes to your sound such as amp choices, effects, instrument changes, etc?
Arjen: Well the choice this time around was to have less going on at the same time. My previous album, 01, had all these walls. There were these walls of keyboards, and this wall of 12 guitars. This time I wanted to go back to the 70s a little bit, where when there was a guitar player you could hear him play, you know. It wasn’t like 12 guitars on top of each other, it was really a guy playing. So I wanted the sound to be way more transparent. If you hear a guitar you are hearing one guitar, or you’re hearing one guitar in the left channel and one in the right channel. That way there’s way more space for the other instruments. A lot of people tell me that there’s way more keyboards on this album, but it’s really not true it’s just that they come to the front more because there are less guitars. People also say that there’s way more acoustic instruments like violin and cellos and flutes. It’s always been there but now there’s space for it. There’s still a lot going on of course but it’s never at the same time. So I think that’s a big difference from the previous album at least.
Metal Exiles: You know what I noticed listening to it was just how punchy the bass and drums were this time around. It came out into the mix quite a bit and maybe that’s due to what you were saying, because there is now room for it.
Arjen: That’s it! You’ve got way more space for it. For instance, look at Led Zeppelin, the old albums, there was just Jimmy Page’s guitar in one channel, and John Paul Jones’ bass in the middle and that was it. So there was so much room for John Bonham’s drums you know, and that’s why they sound so great. I mean if you put a whole Marshall stack guitar wall on that drum sound will just disappear. But I also recorded the drums in a very good studio, and Ed [Warby] is getting better and better as a drummer with each session I do with him so I guess that plays a big part in it too.
Metal Exiles: Do you feel like you make a conscious effort to feature a relatively unknown singer with each Ayreon release? Such as Eric Clayton, Marjan Welman, and now Michael and Sara.
Arjen: I always like to make a combination of like, 70s heroes who I grew up listening to, along with new people who are well known, like in this case Tommy, Christina, and Marco. But also it’s always very cool to give unknown stars a chance, people who I listen to and think, Oh my God! Like Michael Mills, he should be known all over the world, he’s a genius. So I find these people usually through reading in obscure magazines where they talk about bands, then I go to Youtube and I check everything out and I just contact them. So that’s usually the way I do it.
Metal Exiles: I know music videos, and concerts have not been something you do with Ayreon. Any plans to further promote the album in these ways, or in another capacity?
Arjen: That’s kind of the weird thing with Ayreon, usually you make the album and then you start promoting it through touring and stuff like that. It’s weird though for Ayreon, I mean you release the album and then that’s it. There’s no promotion after that, I mean there’s the interviews and stuff, but there’s no touring and there’s no theater plays. I know that if I would tour or if I would bring this to the theater, it would be a lot bigger and more known. But I see myself as a composer and as a producer, and that’s what I like doing and that’s what I’m best at. I don’t see myself as a performing artist. So preferably I would just like to dive into the next project again. So this is it, I don’t play live anymore. Maybe one day someone will do a theater production or something but I would just like to work on something new and be creative, that’s more my thing than to perform.
Metal Exiles: This new album marks a departure from the previous sci-fi story ark that tied together the previous albums. Do you see yourself exploring the world of The Theory of Everything again in the future?
Arjen: Well, as I’ve mentioned I don’t plan ahead so I really have no idea. It would be cool to make a sequel to this. I do have some ideas, and you could even take this Theory of Everything and you could go back to the sci-fi realm with some kind of a weird solution. But maybe it’s cool to leave the story as it is and leave it open and quite cryptic. I think it will all depend. I will probably do one or two other projects now, and then I’ll start thinking about Ayreon and see how I feel then. Its not like I left sci-fi behind, because I love sci-fi, it’s just that I wanted to do something different this time. I’m sure that I’ll go back to the whole sci-fi thing, because ever since I saw Star Trek as a little boy that has been my passion.
Metal Exiles: Over the years you have put together some challenging music and incredible projects and I’m sure most artists would be perfectly content with such accomplishments. As the visionary you are, have you thought about what the future may hold for you? Are there any musical goals, visions, or new ideas you wish to fulfill someday?
Arjen: Sure, I have thought of those things. I can’t really think of anything at the moment. But basically every new project that I do is a challenge for me. I make sure that the project is a challenge, like this time it was a challenge not to do science fiction. It was a challenge to do four long tracks; it was a challenge to work differently in the studio. So with very project that I do I am looking for a challenge. But there’s not like one, ultimate dream that I would love to do. I think with every album that I do I make a dream come true, and of course with this album I worked with past members of Yes; Genesis; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; and King Crimson, which is like the four bands I listened to as a kid. Those are dreams that have been made to come true, and they really are dreams that have come true because I really dreamt about that stuff in the last 10 years. I dreamt about meeting Keith Emerson and him saying, “Oh, I’ll play on your album.” And of course it would be great, you know if someone would make a movie about one of my albums. Of course it would be great if someone would set up a theater play with actors and stuff like that for this album, or The Human Equation, or whatever. But I would not want to be involved, because I’m kind of a recluse, and I don’t really like to socialize with people much, but I would go to the performance, you know and sit in the front row with my Kleenex in my hand (laughs). But it’s not an ultimate dream or something. I think working with any of these 200 people that I mentioned to you would be the dreams that I would want to see come true.
Metal Exiles: What do you do when you are not working on creating or recording new music? What do you like to do in your free time? Any other creative pursuits?
Arjen: Music is really my creative thing, because watching TV shows is not very creative of course. But that’s what I love to do. In the evening I love to watch TV shows. Every evening I’ve got this line up. Right now I’m watching the final season of Breaking Bad. I like to watch an episode every evening and I’m really looking forward to it. I love that, and usually during dinner I’ll watch an old show, like now I’m watching Monk. It’s great stuff, and I enjoy that, something funny. And after Monk I’m going to lie on the couch with my girlfriend and we’ll watch Breaking Bad. And after that I watch a little bit of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman...science stuff. So yes, it’s not very rock n’ roll I’m afraid, but that’s my life.
Metal Exiles: I find that very relatable! You will absolutely love the ending of Breaking Bad. Anything else you’d like to share about the new album?
Arjen: What I usually say is that a lot of people will have to get used to it. If you don’t give it a chance, if you listen to it only one time, you will probably think, “What kind of mess is this? I don’t see any structure...” and there is no structure, you know its not like verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, chorus. There are in fact no choruses. There are four long tracks at more than 20 minutes. But people that do give it a chance, who do listen to it twice or three times, they all say, “Oh my God, I love it, and I see the structure now, I put my headphones on and I read the booklet, and I’ve become part of the story, and I’m recognizing all the patterns that have been repeated now.” So that’s all I’m hoping with this one you know, its like give it a chance and even if you don’t like it after one listen it will grow on you. So that’s just the thing I hope, that it will get the chance with people to grow.
Metal Exiles: From my experience it’s like all great art, meaning it lends itself to repeat listens to be fully appreciated, but its so rewarding in the end. Arjen, thank you so much for your time and for the music you create. Take care!
Arjen: Take care, goodbye.
BUY The Theory of Everything
BUY The Theory of Everything on VINYL!
Official Arjen Lucassen Website
Youtube Clip
An interview with Arjen Lucassen
By John Knowles
Metal Exiles: What made you decide that now was the right time to bring back Ayreon and release another album?
Arjen Lucassen: Well the thing is I could never do two Ayreons in a row, because they take too much out of me, creatively and emotionally, so I always have to do a few projects in between. Like simpler projects, you know, not with all so many singers and not with all these complex stories and stuff like that. So in between I did a Guilt Machine album, which was an atmospheric album with just one singer. I did Star One, which was a metal album with just four singers. And after that I did a solo album – a very eclectic solo album with many different styles on it. To my surprise it was a big success and sold really well, and to the surprise of the record company as well. They were kind of like: well it’s a solo album, it’s not really prog, it’s not really our style but we’ll release it anyway. And actually it was a big success, contrary to the two albums before, because Guilt Machine did not do so well, and the last Star One didn’t do as well as the first Star One. So that was great and I had so much fun doing the solo album. The album really recharged by battery, but after I did the solo I album I was really ready for a new Ayreon.
Metal Exiles: So it’s really just a matter of when you feel ready, there will be another one?
Arjen: That’s it! I never plan ahead. I never do that, because I limit myself. Because if I’m like, “okay next time I’m going to do this...” and then I get ideas for other stuff, I limit myself. So I never know what’s going to happen next. I just start and then see where my inspiration will guide me.
Metal Exiles: I woke up this morning to an email that read, “The Theory of Everything Now on Spotify” What are your thoughts on this new form of Internet streaming?
Arjen: It’s always a double-edged sword of course. On the one side I love the fact that so many people get to hear it now, because that’s the reason I make music, to please the people and to get great reactions out of them. That makes my day when I get mail from people saying that I changed their lives; they were maybe feeling really depressed and then they played my music. So on that side it’s good. On the other side we musicians get, don’t laugh, 0.00029 cents per stream, which means that you have to stream it like 5 million times to get a minimum income. So the income on it is really, really ridiculous. It’s a couple of Euros, you know, you can buy ice cream. So that’s completely shitty. So yeah, two sides.
Metal Exiles: It’s crazy just how low the revenue is.
Arjen: Yes it is. I know Century Media didn’t put their stuff on Spotify for such a long time because it was so ridiculous. But you know, you have to join the others. It’s not a lot, that’s for sure.
Metal Exiles: Why did you make the decision to not contribute vocals on this new record?
Arjen: Mainly because I did the solo album, which were two CDs of just my voice so I figured people had enough of my voice after that. And also for this album I needed really good singers, and really emotional singers. I mean, I kind of like my own voice but I’m not a great singer technically speaking. So I really needed very good singers, technically and emotionally this time.
Metal Exiles: You have been very busy between Ayreon albums. When ideas spark, how do you determine what outlet it will be a part of? More specifically, when you had the initial idea for The Theory of Everything, how did you decide it would be used for Ayreon?
Arjen: Usually I don’t know, usually I just start writing and I start recording little things and then the project kind of unfolds itself. This time however I had just one idea, and I went into the studio with just one idea, and this one idea was just very much Ayreon. It was the little Hammond riff (which starts “The Theory of Everything”), and it was clear that it was Ayreon. So this time right from the beginning I knew it was going to be an Ayreon album. I worked very differently compared to other times. This time I just went into the studio and just started recording. So all the tracks were recorded chronologically, which was the first time I did that really.
Metal Exiles: You’ve described the storyline in previous interviews, but how would you describe the deeper meaning behind the new album? Is there a real life implication for the listener to take away from the story?
Arjen: Even as I kid I never liked messages in music. I wanted to be entertained; I didn’t want to be educated. I love stuff like War of the Worlds or Tommy and I don’t think there’s any message in there. So I never try to put messages in my music. I just want to entertain people. Having said that, there’s a lot to read between the lines, it’s not just a simple superficial story. There’s really a lot of emotional, relational stuff in my lyrics, but its not in-your-face. If you want to read it, or if you want to take something out of it you can. And also I don’t want to guide the people too much, I want them to make up their own minds. I think that’s also why the ending of my story is very cryptic. I get emails about it every day from fans who say, “Hey, please explain it to me.” I have to say no, go ahead and make up your own ending and do what your happy with. I don’t like it when lyrics are really in-your-face saying, “I believe in this, and I want YOU to believe in this too.” That’s really not my thing. If others want to do that great, but its just not my thing.
Metal Exiles: You mentioned cryptic, it’s kind of like a good movie, you just let the listener, or viewer, kind of decide the ending for them.
Arjen: Absolutely, I mean I remember how great I felt after 2001: A Space Odyssey. The ending is like, oh my God, what happened here? It keeps you thinking. But of course you have to give the people something; I don’t like movies where you give the people nothing. But if you give them something then at the end you can twist it a little bit. The Shining also comes to mind where at the end you see him frozen there, and you see the photo of the 20s and he’s in there too, and you’re like, what – what is this? I love stuff like that, or Donnie Darko is another movie like that. It makes you think, you know, and it makes you come up with your own interpretations, and I like that.
Metal Exiles: In your examples there you mentioned Kubrick twice! That’s awesome! Now, you’ve just mentioned that there are some very real emotions and relationships in the story. Were any of those drawn from maybe some personal experience?
Arjen: I think so, yes. I think there’s a little bit of myself in all these characters. I’m very reclusive, so the idea on The Theory of Everything of working in a very secluded lighthouse, that really attracts me. I’m also very competitive. I’ve always been extremely competitive, which makes me a perfectionist, and also makes me impossible to work with. I guess that’s why I work alone (laughs). So I think I’ve got something of “The Rival” there. I’m also very driven in what I do, which puts something of “The Father” in me, so yes I think there’s a lot of myself in there.
Metal Exiles: You’ve spoken before of your wish list of musicians you would like to work with. Who are some others that you would love to work with in the future, and would you consider working with past artists on an Ayreon album again or do you wish to stick to new faces each time?
Arjen: For past artists, definitely. That was just a rule on this album that I wanted to work with only new singers. And it was the same rule on The Human Equation. I just did that twice where I was like, no this time I would like to work with only singers that I’ve never worked with before. Singers like Russell Allen, I mean he’s just the best singer in the world. The idea of never working with him again doesn’t attract me. So there are definitely amazing singers that I have worked with that I would want to work with again. As far as my wishlist, believe it or not there’s like 200 hundred names on it. A lot of them I will never be able to get, because either they’re too famous or they wouldn’t like my music at all. So it’s a long list, and of course on top of the list are singers that I grew up listening to, and to be able to work with my heroes is a dream come true.
Metal Exiles: You’ve now worked with many different singers and musicians. Do you try to allow the different vocalists and performers to bring their own unique qualities to the songs?
Arjen: Yes, very much so. I kind of learned to do that, because in the beginning when I started Ayreon I wanted them to do exactly what I wanted. I wanted them to stick to the melodies, but then you work with amazing singers like Bruce Dickenson, or Fish from Marillion, or the really big names, they do what they want, they’re not going to listen to me. And then you notice that, Oh my God, this is getting way better than what I originally had. So I really learned to let them go for it and let them add a lot of input because I am a fan of them, that’s the reason I asked them, so I definitely want them to be happy with what they do. You feed off of each other’s ideas, which is why I always fly them to my studio so we’re all in the studio together and I grab my acoustic guitar so we can say “lets try it like this” and “no why don’t we do it like this,” you know. So basically they get guide vocals from me, but I always tell them “it is just guide vocals so you know approximately what to do or where to sing, but once you’re here we’re going to write almost new songs.” It really makes the product a lot better in the end.
Metal Exiles: You’ve pointed out the mastering process for this new album was completed by a friend; and as you’ve said it does sound amazing. Did you make any other changes to your sound such as amp choices, effects, instrument changes, etc?
Arjen: Well the choice this time around was to have less going on at the same time. My previous album, 01, had all these walls. There were these walls of keyboards, and this wall of 12 guitars. This time I wanted to go back to the 70s a little bit, where when there was a guitar player you could hear him play, you know. It wasn’t like 12 guitars on top of each other, it was really a guy playing. So I wanted the sound to be way more transparent. If you hear a guitar you are hearing one guitar, or you’re hearing one guitar in the left channel and one in the right channel. That way there’s way more space for the other instruments. A lot of people tell me that there’s way more keyboards on this album, but it’s really not true it’s just that they come to the front more because there are less guitars. People also say that there’s way more acoustic instruments like violin and cellos and flutes. It’s always been there but now there’s space for it. There’s still a lot going on of course but it’s never at the same time. So I think that’s a big difference from the previous album at least.
Metal Exiles: You know what I noticed listening to it was just how punchy the bass and drums were this time around. It came out into the mix quite a bit and maybe that’s due to what you were saying, because there is now room for it.
Arjen: That’s it! You’ve got way more space for it. For instance, look at Led Zeppelin, the old albums, there was just Jimmy Page’s guitar in one channel, and John Paul Jones’ bass in the middle and that was it. So there was so much room for John Bonham’s drums you know, and that’s why they sound so great. I mean if you put a whole Marshall stack guitar wall on that drum sound will just disappear. But I also recorded the drums in a very good studio, and Ed [Warby] is getting better and better as a drummer with each session I do with him so I guess that plays a big part in it too.
Metal Exiles: Do you feel like you make a conscious effort to feature a relatively unknown singer with each Ayreon release? Such as Eric Clayton, Marjan Welman, and now Michael and Sara.
Arjen: I always like to make a combination of like, 70s heroes who I grew up listening to, along with new people who are well known, like in this case Tommy, Christina, and Marco. But also it’s always very cool to give unknown stars a chance, people who I listen to and think, Oh my God! Like Michael Mills, he should be known all over the world, he’s a genius. So I find these people usually through reading in obscure magazines where they talk about bands, then I go to Youtube and I check everything out and I just contact them. So that’s usually the way I do it.
Metal Exiles: I know music videos, and concerts have not been something you do with Ayreon. Any plans to further promote the album in these ways, or in another capacity?
Arjen: That’s kind of the weird thing with Ayreon, usually you make the album and then you start promoting it through touring and stuff like that. It’s weird though for Ayreon, I mean you release the album and then that’s it. There’s no promotion after that, I mean there’s the interviews and stuff, but there’s no touring and there’s no theater plays. I know that if I would tour or if I would bring this to the theater, it would be a lot bigger and more known. But I see myself as a composer and as a producer, and that’s what I like doing and that’s what I’m best at. I don’t see myself as a performing artist. So preferably I would just like to dive into the next project again. So this is it, I don’t play live anymore. Maybe one day someone will do a theater production or something but I would just like to work on something new and be creative, that’s more my thing than to perform.
Metal Exiles: This new album marks a departure from the previous sci-fi story ark that tied together the previous albums. Do you see yourself exploring the world of The Theory of Everything again in the future?
Arjen: Well, as I’ve mentioned I don’t plan ahead so I really have no idea. It would be cool to make a sequel to this. I do have some ideas, and you could even take this Theory of Everything and you could go back to the sci-fi realm with some kind of a weird solution. But maybe it’s cool to leave the story as it is and leave it open and quite cryptic. I think it will all depend. I will probably do one or two other projects now, and then I’ll start thinking about Ayreon and see how I feel then. Its not like I left sci-fi behind, because I love sci-fi, it’s just that I wanted to do something different this time. I’m sure that I’ll go back to the whole sci-fi thing, because ever since I saw Star Trek as a little boy that has been my passion.
Metal Exiles: Over the years you have put together some challenging music and incredible projects and I’m sure most artists would be perfectly content with such accomplishments. As the visionary you are, have you thought about what the future may hold for you? Are there any musical goals, visions, or new ideas you wish to fulfill someday?
Arjen: Sure, I have thought of those things. I can’t really think of anything at the moment. But basically every new project that I do is a challenge for me. I make sure that the project is a challenge, like this time it was a challenge not to do science fiction. It was a challenge to do four long tracks; it was a challenge to work differently in the studio. So with very project that I do I am looking for a challenge. But there’s not like one, ultimate dream that I would love to do. I think with every album that I do I make a dream come true, and of course with this album I worked with past members of Yes; Genesis; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; and King Crimson, which is like the four bands I listened to as a kid. Those are dreams that have been made to come true, and they really are dreams that have come true because I really dreamt about that stuff in the last 10 years. I dreamt about meeting Keith Emerson and him saying, “Oh, I’ll play on your album.” And of course it would be great, you know if someone would make a movie about one of my albums. Of course it would be great if someone would set up a theater play with actors and stuff like that for this album, or The Human Equation, or whatever. But I would not want to be involved, because I’m kind of a recluse, and I don’t really like to socialize with people much, but I would go to the performance, you know and sit in the front row with my Kleenex in my hand (laughs). But it’s not an ultimate dream or something. I think working with any of these 200 people that I mentioned to you would be the dreams that I would want to see come true.
Metal Exiles: What do you do when you are not working on creating or recording new music? What do you like to do in your free time? Any other creative pursuits?
Arjen: Music is really my creative thing, because watching TV shows is not very creative of course. But that’s what I love to do. In the evening I love to watch TV shows. Every evening I’ve got this line up. Right now I’m watching the final season of Breaking Bad. I like to watch an episode every evening and I’m really looking forward to it. I love that, and usually during dinner I’ll watch an old show, like now I’m watching Monk. It’s great stuff, and I enjoy that, something funny. And after Monk I’m going to lie on the couch with my girlfriend and we’ll watch Breaking Bad. And after that I watch a little bit of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman...science stuff. So yes, it’s not very rock n’ roll I’m afraid, but that’s my life.
Metal Exiles: I find that very relatable! You will absolutely love the ending of Breaking Bad. Anything else you’d like to share about the new album?
Arjen: What I usually say is that a lot of people will have to get used to it. If you don’t give it a chance, if you listen to it only one time, you will probably think, “What kind of mess is this? I don’t see any structure...” and there is no structure, you know its not like verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, chorus. There are in fact no choruses. There are four long tracks at more than 20 minutes. But people that do give it a chance, who do listen to it twice or three times, they all say, “Oh my God, I love it, and I see the structure now, I put my headphones on and I read the booklet, and I’ve become part of the story, and I’m recognizing all the patterns that have been repeated now.” So that’s all I’m hoping with this one you know, its like give it a chance and even if you don’t like it after one listen it will grow on you. So that’s just the thing I hope, that it will get the chance with people to grow.
Metal Exiles: From my experience it’s like all great art, meaning it lends itself to repeat listens to be fully appreciated, but its so rewarding in the end. Arjen, thank you so much for your time and for the music you create. Take care!
Arjen: Take care, goodbye.
BUY The Theory of Everything
BUY The Theory of Everything on VINYL!
Official Arjen Lucassen Website
Youtube Clip
