01011001

01011001
Studio album by Ayreon
Released 25 January 2008
Recorded April - November 2007
Genre
Length 102:16
Label InsideOut Music
Producer Arjen Lucassen
Ayreon chronology
The Human Equation
(2004)The Human Equation2004		 01011001
(2008)		 Elected
(2008)Elected2008
Arjen Anthony Lucassen chronology
Live in the Real World
(2006) Live in the Real World2006		 01011001
(2008) String Module Error: Match not found2008		 Elected
(2008) Elected2008

01011001 is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's long-running Ayreon project. "01011001" is the binary representation of the ASCII value of the letter Y.

Seventeen singers in total (including Lucassen himself) contributed to the album, more than any other Ayreon album.[1] Of these, except Lucassen, only Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) and Floor Jansen (After Forever, Nightwish) have sung on previous Ayreon albums: van Giersbergen on Into the Electric Castle, Jansen on The Dream Sequencer.

It also stars, among others, Bob Catley from Magnum, Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian, Jørn Lande, and Steve Lee from Gotthard in his final guest appearance before his death in 2010; overall, it stars seventeen lead vocalists, more than any other Ayreon album. The album was a commercial and critical success.

Story

Through technological advancement, 'Forever', a race of aquatic beings living on Planet Y, has found the secret of longevity. They have advanced to the point that they have become completely dependent on machines and are losing their emotions. A passing comet on a collision course with Planet Earth provides the opportunity to revitalize their race; 'Forever' harness the comet to carry their DNA to a new home on Earth. When the comet and Earth collide, the cataclysmic impact exterminates the dinosaurs (the Fifth Extinction), but from the ashes of destruction, humans arise. At first, the experiment with seeded DNA seems successful: through the humans 'Forever' vicariously relive the emotions they experienced before the age of machines. In order to help mankind overcome their physical ailments and mental limitations, 'Forever' speeds up human evolution. But the result is tragic: people develop a similar technological dependency with their emotions waning just like 'Forever' and moral development not keeping pace with their capacity to invent. 'Forever' must find a way to save mankind from its imminent self-destruction… or should they?[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[3]
Allmusic[4]
Dangerdog.com[5]
Melodic.net[6]
Metal Storm[7]
Metal Storm (2)[8]
Record Collector[9]

Allmusic reviewer Cosmo Lee praised the album, saying that it has "pristine production [and] byzantine songs that feel like full albums."[4] He went on to say that "Music this over the top almost defies criticism. Reviewing it is like reviewing the world's tallest building. It doesn't care; it just goes on and on."[4] Exclaim's Laura Wiebe Taylor felt that the album had some great songs, such as "Liquid Eternity" and "E=mc2," but that some of the other songs were weaker, including "Newborn Race" and "Web of Lies."[10] She concluded her review by saying that "ultimately, 01011001 is a hard rock extravaganza."[10]

Chad Bower, in his review for About.com, said that 01011001 "has something for everyone," and that the album is "a musical tour de force that takes the listener on a musical journey with an interesting storyline and very well-written songs."[3] Record Collector's Tim Jones noted the differing styles of the album's songs, saying that "The Truth is in Here" is similar to the music of Blackmore's Night, that "River of Time" is reminiscent of Jethro Tull, and that "Beneath the Waves" reminded him of Pink Floyd.[9]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Arjen Anthony Lucassen; all music composed by Lucassen except Anneke van Giersbergen who wrote her own vocal melodies in tracks 1 (disc 1) and 2 (disc 2), and Jonas Renkse who wrote his own vocal melodies in tracks 1 (disc 1), 2, 4 and 7 (disc 2).

CD 1 – "Y"
No.TitleVocalistsLength
1."Age of Shadows"
  • I. "Age of Shadows"
  • II. "We are Forever"
    •
  • III. "Age of Shadows (reprise)"
Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Daniel Gildenlöw, Hansi Kürsch, Floor Jansen, Jonas P. Renkse, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jørn Lande10:47
2."Comatose"van Giersbergen, Lande4:26
3."Liquid Eternity"Renkse, Gildenlöw, Magali Luyten, Bob Catley, Englund, Lande, Jansen8:10
4."Connect the Dots"Ty Tabor, Arjen Anthony Lucassen4:13
5."Beneath the Waves"
  • I. "Beneath the Waves"
  • II. "Face the Facts"
  • III. "But a Memory..."
  • IV. "World Without Walls"
    •
  • V. "Reality Bleeds"
Gildenlöw, Catley, van Giersbergen, Jansen, Lee, Lande, Kürsch, Englund8:26
6."Newborn Race"
  • I. "The Incentive"
  • II. "The Vision"
  • III. "The Procedure"
  • IV. "Another Life"
  • V. "Newborn Race"
    •
  • VI. "The Conclusion"
Gildenlöw, Jansen, Englund, Renkse, Catley, Kürsch, Lande7:49
7."Ride the Comet"Lande, Jansen, Englund, Renkse, Catley, Luyten3:29
8."Web of Lies"Simone Simons, Phideaux Xavier2:50
Total length:50:13
CD 2 – "Earth"
No.TitleVocalistsLength
1."The Fifth Extinction"
  • I. "Glimmer of Hope"
  • II. "World of Tomorrow Dreams"
  • III. "Collision Course"
  • IV. "From the Ashes"
    •
  • V. "Glimmer of Hope (reprise)"
van Giersbergen, Catley, Lee, Lande, Englund, Gildenlöw, Kürsch, Renkse, Jansen10:29
2."Waking Dreams"Renkse, van Giersbergen6:31
3."The Truth Is in Here"Lucassen, Liselotte Hegt5:12
4."Unnatural Selection"Englund, Lee, Lande, Catley, Kürsch, Renkse7:15
5."River of Time"Kürsch, Catley4:24
6."E=mc2"Wudstik, Marjan Welman5:50
7."The Sixth Extinction"
  • I. "Echoes on the Wind"
  • II. "Radioactive Grave"
  • III. "2085"
  • IV. "To the Planet of Red"
  • V. "Spirit on the Wind"
    •
  • VI. "Complete the Circle"
Englund, Lee, Kürsch, Gildenlöw, Jansen, Renkse, Catley, Lande, van Giersbergen12:18
Total length:52:02

Personnel

Vocalists
Instrumentalists
Production
  • Arjen Anthony Lucassen – recording, production, mixing, and mastering
  • Joost van den Broek – engineering assistant
  • Jef Bertels – cover painting
  • Yvette Boertje – image for "The Truth Is in Here"
  • Felipe Machado Franco – lay-out and illustrations
  • Simone van Vegten – 3D illustrations

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[11] 80
Belgian Albums Charts (Wallonia)[12] 96
Dutch Album Chart[13] 2
French Albums Chart[14] 90
German Albums Chart[15] 18
Swedish Albums Chart[16] 54
Swiss Albums Chart[17] 85

References

  1. ↑ Official release-note
  2. ↑ "Ayreon – 01011001". ArjenLucassen.com. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 Bowar, Chad. "Ayreon – 01011001". About.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Lee, Cosmo. 01011001 at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "DangerDog.com review". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Roth, Kaj. "Ayreon – 01011001 Review". Melodic.net. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ayreon – 01011001". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ayreon – 01011001". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  9. 1 2 Jones, Tim (February 2008). "Ayreon – 01011001". Record Collector (346). ISSN 0261-250X. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  10. 1 2 Wiebe Taylor, Laura (February 2008). "Ayreon 01011001". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "ultratop.be - Ayreon - 01011001". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "ultratop.be - Ayreon - 01011001". ultratop.be (in French). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl - Ayreon - 01011001". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "lescharts.com - Ayreon - 01011001". lescharts.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "charts.de". charts.de. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "swedishcharts.com - Ayreon - 01011001". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "Ayreon - 01011001 - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
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