Ayreon — 01011001
InsideOut Music
www.insideoutmusic.com
Rating: A—

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is the angel to Steve Jobs' iTunes devil.

Not only does the Dutch metal master eschew the single-track ethos embraced by an iPod world, he takes the concept album and maximizes the very elements that make it godsend or godawful, depending on the listener.

Those packing patience and craving deep listening should savor 01011001, the seventh release by Lucassen's Ayreon project. A stellar cast chronicles man's struggle against technology in a universe threatening the very humanity it spawned. Or something. 

The title — the disc's name in binary computer code — echoes the emptiness against which the rock opera's characters rebel. Fleshing out Lucassen's vision is this prog-metal dream team. From Ty Tabor (King's X), Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) and Michael Romeo (Symphony X) to Anneke von Giersbergen (The Gathering) and Derek Sherinian (Planet X, Dream Theater), several artists fuel an epic not even Jim Steinman or Michael Lee "Meatloaf" Aday would attempt.

But what does it sound like? The guest lineup offers a clue. With the aforementioned players — not to mention Bob Catley (Magnum), Jorn Lande (Millenium, Masterplan), Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation) and Tom Englund (Evergrey) packing vocal firepower — the answer becomes clear: this is slick, progressive, highly orchestrated metal. 

Rather than collapse into aimless chops, Ayreon focuses on vocals and narrative, distancing its material from most others in the prog universe. Humor even rears its head. Check out Tabor bemoaning instant gratification on "Connect The Dots" ("No need to cook, I picked up fast food on the way/And it's fingerlicken' good.") Another passage echoes Porcupine Tree's isolation themes ("I checked the Mac, I left it on overnight/Downloading all the latest files/Peer-to-peer the torrent flows into my lap/And I disconnect.")

Clearly this double-disc set is not for the casual listener. This is headphone music, so dim the lights, lean back and enter a universe defying today's sound-byte culture. With apologies to Mr. Jobs, long live iProg.