Arjen A. Lucassen - Star One
Eight years ago, the world of progressive metal was turned upside down by a record that was completely radical in every way. That album was “Space Metal” by Star One. One of many projects helmed by composer Arjen A. Lucassen, who is also the man behind Ayreon, Guilt Machine, and several more legendary progressive metal bands, Star one featured guest performances by some of the biggest names and most talented artists in the genre. Unfortunately, with Lucassen’s already hectic schedule, Star One was put on hold for a while and nobody knew if we would ever see another album to follow “Space Metal”. Lucky for us, the time has finally come to lay those fears to rest. “Victims of the Modern Age” is just what fans of progressive metal have been waiting for, and trust me, it is well worth the wait. Heavy and dark, the new collection of meticulously crafted songs by Lucassen is a must hear album for 2010. Metal Exiles caught up with Lucassen to chat about what it’s like to have to live with so much creative genius.
An Interview with Arjen A. Lucassen of Star One
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris
ME: Thanks for taking some time to talk to me, Arjen. This is personally a journalistic dream come true for me. As a fan of progressive metal, I have long been in awe of your work. There aren’t a whole lot of us prog-heads in the states, but we’re out there.
Lucasssen: Well, thank you for showing the interest in Star One. I really appreciate that. There are more progressive metal fans in the United States than you might think. It’s just not as in your face as some styles of metal, but never the less, the US is still my biggest market as far as the music is concerned.
ME: It’s been 8 years since the first Star One record, and we didn’t know if we would hear another. What cosmic forces aligned to make “Victims of the Modern Age” possible?
Lucassen: Every album I do is a reaction to the album before it. The album I did last was Guilt Machine, which was very atmospheric and rather spacey, so I just felt like making some noise again. “Victims of the Modern Age” is a very precise and straight forward album. It gets right to the point with catchy songs that are a little shorter in length. I wanted to make a heavy album with a lot of guitar driven songs, so that took me back to Star One.
ME: You said you didn’t want this album to be quite as spacey. What are some of the other things you approached differently when writing and recording “Victims of the Modern Age”?
Lucassen: Obviously, it does have that typical Star One sound. It’s almost like bringing the 70’s to this new age. This album is definitely darker and heavier than the last Star One record. Also, the songs are a little bit more down to Earth. The stories aren’t quite as complex this time, and the length of the songs are a bit shorter. I certainly wanted a straight forward, heavy album, and I think that I made one.
ME: Although it has been a while between Star One records, it’s not like you haven’t been busy. You have so many different projects and ideas. When do you have time for anything else? Is there ever a point when someone asks you what you have going on, and your reply is “Not much”?
Lucassen: No. That doesn’t happen to me. I will always have something that needs to be worked on, ideas to be fleshed out.
ME: Where does it all come from? The way I see it, you are more of a composer than just a musician who happens to write the songs for a band. When did you discover this talent?
Lucassen: I agree. I do consider myself much more like a composer, rather than simply a guitar player, or lyricist, or what have you. The first time I picked up a guitar and started playing, I wasn’t trying to be flashy or learn all of my scales right away. I picked it up[ and wrote a song. It wasn’t anything special, but it will always stick with me as one of my great accomplishments. I’ve always had that in me. There has always been, and always will be this strong desire to create. Music is a huge part of who I am as a person. I’ve never been much of a performing artist, even though I have played my fair share of live shows. That’s a lot of fun when you’re young and all, but for me, I enjoy the studio time, and the writing, composing and recording of the music much more.
ME: You work with a lot of top notch musicians on your projects. Do you feel as if putting the right people into the music is just as important as putting the right notes or riffs into it? For example, you work a lot with Russell Allen. When writing a song, do you also have his voice in mind when hashing out details?
Lucassen: Absolutely. I am fortunate enough to have four wonderful voices to work with on the Star One project. There’s the low voice of Dan (Swano), the clear voice of Damian (Wilson), the power voice of Russell (Allen) and the hi9gh voice of Floor (Jansen). When writing those songs, I knew that I had those secret weapons at my disposal, and they were a way for me to really build up those songs. In my opinion, these four are among the best vocalists in the world, and I am very lucky to have them as part of Star One.
ME: It must be nice to have made these friendships and built these relationships with so many talented people, so that when you go to make a record, you can call them up and have them lend a hand.
Lucassen: I am a perfectionist. There is no denying that. I have worked with the best and I am completely spoiled. It is a luxury position, and I fully recognize and appreciate that. I don’t take it for granted at all.
ME: You spoke before about how you aren’t that into doing live shows anymore, but do you have plans to do a few here and there for this release?
Lucassen: Well, I haven’t got any plans yet for any live shows. Given the scope of things, it is very difficult to get all of these musicians together, and I refuse to change anything. There’s that perfectionist. Russell is working on the new Symphony X album, and floor is touring with her band Revamp, so we would certainly have to wait for them to become available. Also, we have to take into consideration how time consuming it would be, not to mention financially stressing. You have to fly everyone over, put them up in hotels and spend at least a month rehearsing. The whole thing is very expensive and time consuming. I did it before when Star One released “Space Metal”, and it was only eight shows, but it took me a half a year to organize. So, as of right now, there are no plans for Star One in the live setting. If it so happens that we all have an opportunity to get together, maybe. However, I’m not making any promises.
ME: I’ve seen the Star One performances on the DVD in the Ayreon box set. I find it remarkable that you put just as much concentration into the live show as you do into the recordings. I guess that’s why it’s hard to do it a lot.
Lucassen: As I said, I am a huge perfectionist. My fans expect something, and I am determined to give it to them. Having said that, there is that solo part on “Dawn of a Million Souls” that is darn near impossible to recreate, so I happened to cut that out because it was just too crazy and difficult.
ME: You’ve been doing this for quite a long time. The state of metal, or rock music in general, has had it’s ups and downs over the past few decades. What are some of your likes and dislikes with the way things are in the music world?
Lucassen: I think things are going in the right direction again. For me, the 70’s was the greatest time for rock music. It was the 80’s that sort of screwed it up when everyone started using samplers and shit like that. Then there was the 90’s, when everything was a bit lost in the fact that metal was pretty much only in the underground, and what did pass as rock in the commercial world was fabricated and unoriginal. These days, people are becoming a little bit more open minded. Bands like Dream Theatre, Porcupine Tree and Opeth have had a lot to do with that. They took a couple of different styles and mixed them up, which opened up the door for more progressive or whatever type of bands to emerge. I like how things are going now. There is a new interest in more progressive and adventurous music.
ME: Thank you for your time, Arjen. It was indeed a great pleasure.
Lucassen: Thank you as well. I am very glad that you like the music I make. Cheers!
Buy “Victims of the Modern Age”
The Official Site of Arjen A. Lucassen
An Interview with Arjen A. Lucassen of Star One
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris
ME: Thanks for taking some time to talk to me, Arjen. This is personally a journalistic dream come true for me. As a fan of progressive metal, I have long been in awe of your work. There aren’t a whole lot of us prog-heads in the states, but we’re out there.
Lucasssen: Well, thank you for showing the interest in Star One. I really appreciate that. There are more progressive metal fans in the United States than you might think. It’s just not as in your face as some styles of metal, but never the less, the US is still my biggest market as far as the music is concerned.
ME: It’s been 8 years since the first Star One record, and we didn’t know if we would hear another. What cosmic forces aligned to make “Victims of the Modern Age” possible?
Lucassen: Every album I do is a reaction to the album before it. The album I did last was Guilt Machine, which was very atmospheric and rather spacey, so I just felt like making some noise again. “Victims of the Modern Age” is a very precise and straight forward album. It gets right to the point with catchy songs that are a little shorter in length. I wanted to make a heavy album with a lot of guitar driven songs, so that took me back to Star One.
ME: You said you didn’t want this album to be quite as spacey. What are some of the other things you approached differently when writing and recording “Victims of the Modern Age”?
Lucassen: Obviously, it does have that typical Star One sound. It’s almost like bringing the 70’s to this new age. This album is definitely darker and heavier than the last Star One record. Also, the songs are a little bit more down to Earth. The stories aren’t quite as complex this time, and the length of the songs are a bit shorter. I certainly wanted a straight forward, heavy album, and I think that I made one.
ME: Although it has been a while between Star One records, it’s not like you haven’t been busy. You have so many different projects and ideas. When do you have time for anything else? Is there ever a point when someone asks you what you have going on, and your reply is “Not much”?
Lucassen: No. That doesn’t happen to me. I will always have something that needs to be worked on, ideas to be fleshed out.
ME: Where does it all come from? The way I see it, you are more of a composer than just a musician who happens to write the songs for a band. When did you discover this talent?
Lucassen: I agree. I do consider myself much more like a composer, rather than simply a guitar player, or lyricist, or what have you. The first time I picked up a guitar and started playing, I wasn’t trying to be flashy or learn all of my scales right away. I picked it up[ and wrote a song. It wasn’t anything special, but it will always stick with me as one of my great accomplishments. I’ve always had that in me. There has always been, and always will be this strong desire to create. Music is a huge part of who I am as a person. I’ve never been much of a performing artist, even though I have played my fair share of live shows. That’s a lot of fun when you’re young and all, but for me, I enjoy the studio time, and the writing, composing and recording of the music much more.
ME: You work with a lot of top notch musicians on your projects. Do you feel as if putting the right people into the music is just as important as putting the right notes or riffs into it? For example, you work a lot with Russell Allen. When writing a song, do you also have his voice in mind when hashing out details?
Lucassen: Absolutely. I am fortunate enough to have four wonderful voices to work with on the Star One project. There’s the low voice of Dan (Swano), the clear voice of Damian (Wilson), the power voice of Russell (Allen) and the hi9gh voice of Floor (Jansen). When writing those songs, I knew that I had those secret weapons at my disposal, and they were a way for me to really build up those songs. In my opinion, these four are among the best vocalists in the world, and I am very lucky to have them as part of Star One.
ME: It must be nice to have made these friendships and built these relationships with so many talented people, so that when you go to make a record, you can call them up and have them lend a hand.
Lucassen: I am a perfectionist. There is no denying that. I have worked with the best and I am completely spoiled. It is a luxury position, and I fully recognize and appreciate that. I don’t take it for granted at all.
ME: You spoke before about how you aren’t that into doing live shows anymore, but do you have plans to do a few here and there for this release?
Lucassen: Well, I haven’t got any plans yet for any live shows. Given the scope of things, it is very difficult to get all of these musicians together, and I refuse to change anything. There’s that perfectionist. Russell is working on the new Symphony X album, and floor is touring with her band Revamp, so we would certainly have to wait for them to become available. Also, we have to take into consideration how time consuming it would be, not to mention financially stressing. You have to fly everyone over, put them up in hotels and spend at least a month rehearsing. The whole thing is very expensive and time consuming. I did it before when Star One released “Space Metal”, and it was only eight shows, but it took me a half a year to organize. So, as of right now, there are no plans for Star One in the live setting. If it so happens that we all have an opportunity to get together, maybe. However, I’m not making any promises.
ME: I’ve seen the Star One performances on the DVD in the Ayreon box set. I find it remarkable that you put just as much concentration into the live show as you do into the recordings. I guess that’s why it’s hard to do it a lot.
Lucassen: As I said, I am a huge perfectionist. My fans expect something, and I am determined to give it to them. Having said that, there is that solo part on “Dawn of a Million Souls” that is darn near impossible to recreate, so I happened to cut that out because it was just too crazy and difficult.
ME: You’ve been doing this for quite a long time. The state of metal, or rock music in general, has had it’s ups and downs over the past few decades. What are some of your likes and dislikes with the way things are in the music world?
Lucassen: I think things are going in the right direction again. For me, the 70’s was the greatest time for rock music. It was the 80’s that sort of screwed it up when everyone started using samplers and shit like that. Then there was the 90’s, when everything was a bit lost in the fact that metal was pretty much only in the underground, and what did pass as rock in the commercial world was fabricated and unoriginal. These days, people are becoming a little bit more open minded. Bands like Dream Theatre, Porcupine Tree and Opeth have had a lot to do with that. They took a couple of different styles and mixed them up, which opened up the door for more progressive or whatever type of bands to emerge. I like how things are going now. There is a new interest in more progressive and adventurous music.
ME: Thank you for your time, Arjen. It was indeed a great pleasure.
Lucassen: Thank you as well. I am very glad that you like the music I make. Cheers!
Buy “Victims of the Modern Age”
The Official Site of Arjen A. Lucassen
