AYREON. If you don’t know them, that’s a true shame. Arjen Anthony Lucassen has been making epic (mostly sci-fi) space operas under this moniker since 1995, which means that he’s an old salt at prog rock operas these days, and his albums have done nothing but get better and better over the years. However, he is also a self-declared recluse and is well-known for being very stage-shy, so touring AYREON has never been in the cards, especially due to the magnitude of guests that would need to be included in the production. That said, back in the 2010s, someone had the brilliant idea to turn the 2004 album, “The Human Equation“ into a stage production that ran for 3 days in September 2015, known as “The Theater Equation.” Humble as can be, the production budget for the live release was very low, as Arjen hadn’t expected the show to be as popular as it was, even with an extra show added on the weekend’s Sunday. In fact, the show was so popular that Arjen‘s long-time girlfriend, Lori Linstruth, suggested they do a best-of show in 2017, “Ayreon Universe.” This further led to the live version of 1998’s “Into the Electric Castle,” and finally – after a break from the every-2-year schedule due to COVID – this year’s “Live Beneath the Waves,” wherein the 2008 release, “01011001” (also known as “Y”) was played in its entirety. Having been present at every show so far, there was, of course, no universe in which I’d be missing this one! We attended the show(s) on Saturday, September 16th, 2023, at the famous Poppodium 013 in Tilburg once again! Read the complete report below or check our out gallery here!
These AYREON shows have become a nearly full-town event at this point, with many of the locals often asking if you’re in town for “the festival,” despite there being only one band playing. Many restaurants, bars, and shops around 013 will partner up with the event for discounts on food or drinks, with coupon books being available for purchase before the events that can be used around town. This has expanded every year, with the square around 013 this year being a cacophony of life and noise and color as thousands of people traveled from all over the world to see the show once or more!
The production of these events has only gotten bigger over the years, with “The Theater Equation“ being the most different of all the performances due to it taking place in a theater in Rotterdam, as opposed to the famous 013 venue in Tilburg, where every other show has taken place ever since, as well as for having some light theatrical performances included. The rest of the shows have been pure heavy metal/progressive metal magnificence, parading world-class talent across the stage for 2½+ hours, and this was no different.
Before we talk about the show though, let’s see who was present this time around!
Cast
Tom Englund (EVERGREY) – Forever
Daniel Gildenlöw (PAIN OF SALVATION) – Forever
Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) – Forever
Jonas Renkse (KATATONIA) – Forever
Anneke van Giersbergen (VUUR) – Forever
Simone Simons (EPICA) – Simone
Wudstik – scientist
Marjan Welman – scientist
Liselotte Hegt (DIAL) – nurse
Maggy Luyten (NIGHTMARE) – Forever
Phideaux Xavier – PX
Arjen Lucassen (AYREON, STAR ONE, etc.) – Mr. L, average middle-class worker
Damian Wilson – Forever (largely replacing Jorn Lande)
Brittney Slayes (UNLEASH THE ARCHERS) – Forever (largely replacing Floor Jansen)
Mike Mills (TOEHIDER) – Forever (largely replacing Steve Lee)
John “Jaycee” Cuijpers (PRAYING MANTIS) – Forever (largely replacing Bob Catley)
Band
Marcella Bovio – choir
Irene Jansen – choir
Jan Willem Ketelaers – choir
Joost van den Broek – keys
Ed Warby – drums
Marcel Coenen – guitar
Timo Somers – guitar
Johan van Stratum – bass
Jeroen Goossens – flute
Ben Mathot – violin
Jurriaan Westerveld – cello
Now that we know who was present, let’s talk about the stage! The setups have always been very impressive, with the castle from “Electric Castle Live“ being perhaps the most impressive to date. This time, however, there was a lot of industrial-looking scaffolding for decoration that acted as a very suitable raiser for parts of the show: the string section was on the lower stage-right, with the drums at the bottom stage-left, both of which had visuals on small screens beneath them. Then, there was a raised central platform in the scaffolding, with Joost van den Broek‘s keyboard setup on the upper stage-right and the choir, comprised once more of Marcella Bovio, Irene Jansen, and Jan Willem Ketelaers, on the upper stage-left. Beyond that, there were several long, thin vertical screens that hosted various videos or images to enhance the music. The outer wall designs were large metalwork flats that had shapes in them. Some comments online called it a missed opportunity that there wasn’t a binary message in them, while others suggested that that space would have been better put to use by a few screens. As a short person in the land of the tall, I don’t disagree with this latter sentiment, as, despite the stage being very tall in 013, for short people like myself and our photographer, seeing the stage outside of the front row could be a problem if you weren’t right up front, on the stairs, or on the balcony.
The show opened, naturally, with “Age of Shadows” and a burst of flames. I was told that the players had come out in shirts with binary on the back to spell out “01011001,” though admittedly, I was in a spot where I couldn’t see anything for the first song or two, before I moved somewhere else, so I have to assume that was the case every night. The first singer I actually saw on stage was Tom Englund, followed by Mike Mills, followed by Daniel Gildenlöw. Sure enough, the cast was laid out before us as the Forever began to sing. This was a particularly spectacular opening track per AYREON‘s history, as both “Electric Castle Live” and “Ayreon Universe” opened with a storied song for a few singers and a solo song respectively. This song allowed most of the story’s main cast to appear, all while showing off the talent of some of the guests. Worth noting as well, that the first three vocalists all had really great stage chemistry and charisma together (or so the photographer told me, as she watched the matinee’s first show from the photo pit and saw everything).
With that in mind, it seemed like everyone had their pants blown off when Brittney Slayes appeared and started launching into Floor Jansen‘s parts (Floor was, presumably, not present because she either is about to have a baby or recently had one), hitting notes that perhaps some of us were aware that she could hit, but most of us were not. If there was a new god in AYREON‘s pantheon this time around, it was fucking Brittney out there slaying it (pun very much intended). However, let’s not forget how Anneke van Giersbergen made some true magic with the choir, nor how many chills Jonas Renkse brings whenever he’s on stage, or the power of Jaycee Cuijpers, whom we’ve never seen outside of these events. Hansi Kürsch is always a big thrill for those of us who live in a country where he doesn’t regularly play, and as someone who’s never listened to the man’s band, Daniel Gildenlöw was very impressive off the bat.
Two immediate show highlights followed with “Comatose” and “Liquid Eternity.” Regarding the former, I have seen this song performed live now three times, which means this is the fourth different male vocalist I’ve heard do this song with Anneke: Arjen sang it during a tour for THE GENTLE STORM once upon a time; Jonas took over for Jorn Lande during “Ayreon Universe,” and then this time around, Damian Wilson was in charge of the vocals. Every single time I’ve seen this song live, it’s been spectacular, and this was no different. I was very excited to hear yet another new, fantastic voice on the track to add to the list of legends that I’ve seen perform it! Also, the drum part in the beginning was done by Mike Mills – the fanclubs whispered of an oopsie in one of the shows where he dropped one of the drumsticks, but it seems like he didn’t miss a beat and covered it masterfully. Then “Liquid Eternity” is a powerful and punchy track, which also introduced Maggy Luyten to the stage, whom we haven’t seen since she knocked us off our feet during “Ayreon Universe” as well – her whisky rasp is something magnificent to behold. This track tends to always draw me back to “The Source“ because of its direct lineage and the references to it from that album, so the usage of those aforementioned vertical screens portray the bubbling vials of liquid eternity was perfection.
Worth mentioning already was how deeply elevated the string section was in this show. Ben Mathot and Jeroen Goossens are, of course, familiar from previous years and have been impressing us greatly year after year. Jurriaan Westerveld seemed like he might be a new face but he certainly lived up to the high standards the others have set! And, if you’ve read my previous reports from these shows, it should come as no surprise that I was delighted by the return of Marcel Coenen, who both shreds like a beast and makes amazing faces to match. His quirky skills were easily equaled by Timo Somers – another newbie in this group – who was making crazy faces pretty much all night, much to our amusement. Of course, we all know that Ed Warby and Johan von Stratum are legends and they were really kicking ass on this occasion too!
Another big surprise early on was when the album flashes to planet Earth for “Connect the Dots.” Originally sung by Ty Tabor of KING’S X fame, you can imagine that my face lit up and exploded into a massive grin and squeal of delight when Arjen Lucassen himself came out! Though he played his own part in “Electric Castle Live,” during the first show he only came on stage to wave at the end of the set, and in the “Ayreon Universe” shows, he was only present for a few songs in the encore. Any time you get to see Arjen singing or playing an instrument, it’s a rare treat, so this was an early highlight, especially since he was so animated! Oh, and of course he did a great job, despite his nerves.
“Beneath the Waves” is another multi-part song that showcased a ton of vocalists, with Damian being added in. There was a sublime moment during one of Hansi‘s parts where Brittney and Anneke were wailing from the central scaffolding platform that made all of my hair stand on end like I had just stuck my fingers into a socket. Truly, there are some artists (like Hansi and Damian) who are so popular and well-known in these shows, that the crowd just roars every time they walk on stage. It’s great! This track is a superb plethora of excellence and prog drama, electrified by the magnitude of talent involved in the show. This continued into “Newborn Race” and “Ride the Comet,” the latter of which we’ve heard before in “Ayreon Universe,” but was just as good this time around with Brittney and Tom accompanying Maggy and Jonas. Again, one more nod to the choir for this, because… just… goddamn. Like the strings, they help elevate the music so much.
Some nice props were brought in for a few parts as well, with a very old-school computer coming out for “Web of Lies,” which – from where I was standing – just managed to completely cover the face of the singer (full disclosure: I did not look at the cast before the show), so when Simone Simons appeared for her original role, it was yet another moment of delighted shock. She is, of course, yet another world-class vocalist. Her singing partner from the original, Phideaux Xavier, was indeed present, but in a recorded video that played on the screens. This makes sense – it would be a bit crazy to fly someone over from the US just to sing one line per night, but it was nice that they did have him nevertheless in some form!
The show didn’t stop for an intermission after the heavy first disc, despite how epic “The Fifth Extinction” is. It did have the most vocalists per song thus far, with contributions from all of the main cast save Maggy, so you may trust me when I say it was nothing short of a mind-blasting and boggling experience. This track also had some notably cool visuals to add some nice atmospheric texture, particularly on the screens beneath the strings and drums. “Waking Dreams” is one of the few songs we’ve heard before in its original form, so this time around, it both took us back to “Ayreon Universe,” while also offering a new set and setting for the experience. There was a neat little detail in the lighting, wherein the cold, blue lights for Jonas turned vivid pink every time Anneke came out for her parts.
“The Truth Is in Here” brought Arjen back to the stage for his original song… in an old-timey hospital bed! As I mentioned before, the use of props in some of these songs (namely, the ones that flash from Planet Y to Earth) really added a little more immersion to the already brilliant setting. Even better, but the original vocalist, Liselotte Hegt, was present to sing her part. Not only did they both sing and play their parts fantastically, but the interactions between the two of them were very sweet and rather touching (at least, when they were being themselves and not “in character” – in those cases, Liselotte was offering Arjen more medication and so forth, per the lyrics).
After that little interlude, we returned to the Forever – namely, all the guys – for “Unnatural Selection,” which is yet another powerful track that had all three of the replacement gentlemen together with three of the originals, making for a fully new and exciting take on the song! This was also supped up a bit by the inclusion of some crazy horizontal fog blasts. They seemed to go pretty low, so we were wondering if the central crowd was getting a face-full of it (the answer was yes, according to some people in the fanclub, though they said it was a refreshing blast due to the heat of the sold-out venue, so that’s a relief to hear). We’ve heard “River of Time” live once before, though that actually had guest vocalist Marko Hietala – formerly of NIGHTWISH fame – in the place of Bob Catley. I admitted to feeling like Marko (despite being one of my all-time favorite singers) wasn’t the best match for a lot of his parts in that show, so this time around, Hansi was paired with Damian and it seemed to have gone considerably better, as their voices harmonized much more comfortably.
A familiar face came out for “E=MC²“: Wudstik, who had replaced Arjen in “The Theater Equation” and did a great job of it. I had always wondered how he had been related to the AYREON universe and this answered my question: apparently, he was the original singer on this track, alongside Marjan Welman, who was also present for this show! Naturally, it’s always nice to hear the original vocalists, especially these incredible artists that us non-Dutch fans may never have heard of. Truly, the showcasing of talent is exceptional at these shows. Also, seriously, the high notes Wudstik could hit were shattering my mind a little bit – I had no idea he was that good.
The show began its wind-down as the album wrapped up with “The Sixth Extinction.” This track brought out almost all of the main Forever vocalists to show their stuff in this grand finale. In this track in particular, Tom and Mike were really making some magic together. I have to take a moment to tip my hat here – in the past, Mike has always been related to my biggest complaints at these shows, either for going too over-the-top or for not behaving in-keeping with the character, or whatever. Well, this time around, I bend the knee, because Mike Mills was absolutely flawless from start to finish. He put his all into everything but get too excited or hyper or anything. He was yet another highlight of the show for his incredible skill and versatility in replacing original vocalists. When he sang the line, “the meaning of life is to give life meaning,” even I almost started to cry. Then, those climactic final bursts where everyone just starts to let loose? Sheer and utter magic, nothing less.
Now, of course, we all know by now to wait expectantly for Arjen to come out and give his thanks, so after “01011001” was done playing, Arjen took the stage to the sound of much applause and screaming, and gave a humble speech. Saturday’s speech included a shout-out to “he who shall not be thanked,” his brother Gjalt, and we all gave Joost his traditional shouting of “LUL!” For those of you who haven’t been to a show before or who don’t know Dutch, this is Arjen affectionately calling his musical brother a “cock.” Both of these guys are involved in some longstanding inside jokes, naturally. Of course, Arjen is right about the most humble person on earth, calling himself a horrible bastard for forcing his fans to come to him, rather than him having to tour. When “01011001” was recorded, it was considered to be impossible to recreate live, but these guys certainly did it!
Of course, they always save a few extra treats for us in the end. Both of the first final tracks were really great choices: “This Human Equation” is a Simone original from “Transitus,” which allowed her another opportunity to sing, as she only had one part prior to this. As well, “Fate of Man” is related to the main reason Brittney was invited: she sang it originally on the most recent STAR ONE album (another of Arjen‘s projects). However, they caught me completely off-guard by having “The Day that the World Breaks Down” – the first track from “The Source“ – as the big encore finale, and holy fucking hell… where do I begin, especially when my notes mostly read “ASDF FUCK YES AHHH”? Damian was the first one up, in the place of James Labrie (DREAM THEATER), who did a gentle yet strong rendition of The Narrator’s part before Ben and Jeroen join in, and then the band added to the oomph. Daniel showed up to replace Tommy Karevik (ex-SEVENTH WONDER, KAMELOT) – he has a very different sound, but did a really solid job of the song. In a welcome surprise move, Jan was given a part to step out of the choir alongside Simone, while Maggy joined in afterwards in another replacement role. Jaycee took over Tobias Sammet‘s (EDGUY, AVANTASIA) spot as The Captain, and while he’s not as cocky as classic Toby, he did a very solid job of his songs, with a proper wail at the end of his part, just to show that he also rules. Hansi was able to play his original role, though the highlight of the song was maybe when Mike donned his TH-1 outfit from “Ayreon Universe” to do his insane QUEEN-esque vocals to the binary lyrics, while his face appeared all over the screens singing his own backing vocals (as is necessary due to the layering, thus making it extremely awesome). That little growl for the final “one” is the icing on the cake. Then comes my all-time favorite bass part in any song, ever, so you can imagine that I was in deep space nine on mushrooms at this point, my brain was so overloaded with joy and happiness. Tom and Anneke were fascinating choices in these two roles, and admittedly the former didn’t punch it up quite as much as I would have hoped (even if he sings it really well), but Anneke is so glorious every time her mouth opens that it very much still worked on the whole. Following some insanely flawless instrumental performances, we got a little taste of what some fans had been hoping for: Irene Jansen (and, of course, Marcella Bovio) replacing her sister’s original final vocal line. This was cool as hell for a few reasons: Irene has a very similar vocal sound to Floor, so a lot of fans had been wishing she had been Floor‘s replacement in this show. I do think that would have been awesome because I guarantee Irene would sound just like Floor, but I think that’s maybe kind of the point: if Irene replaced Floor, there’s a good chance that the casual listener would legitimately not know it wasn’t the original singer and there’s some weirdness that I can perceive in that sort of situation. I, for one, really love Irene as a singer on her own and don’t want her just known as Floor‘s sister/replacement. Plus, any time she and Marcella sing together, it’s transcendent, so having both of them tag-team this vocal part was, to me, a perfect way to end an amazing song and a phenomenal show.
Okay, so in summary? Fuck yes, best show of the year/decade so far, hands down, and tied for second place (in my humble personal opinion) of the AYREON live shows. For reference, “Ayreon Universe” has been declared The Best Show I’ve Ever Seen since it happened, due to the diversity of songs and the fact that it introduced me to a lot of my current favorite AYREON songs. “Electric Castle Live” was an amazing show but isn’t one of my favorite albums, so there are fewer songs that got me excited at that show. But, from the production side and story experience side of things, this was as good as The Second Best Show I’ve Ever Seen (which was “The Theater Equation,” of course), making this among the top 3 best live productions I’ve ever been so fortunate as to witness. Even my partner, who was a first-timer this year, said that despite not being well-versed in AYREON lore (he likes “The Source” and “Ayreon Universe” a lot, but that’s about it for his familiarity), declared this the best performance he’s ever seen, simply because no other show boasts what these shows serve up (except, maybe, AVANTASIA). But don’t take my word for it! You know there’s going to be an amazing live release of this show coming up, so keep your eyes peeled for whenever those preorders start – you’re not going to want to miss out on this one either!
Written by Bear Wiseman
Photos by Laureline Tilkin
Tracklist
- Age of Shadows (ft. Tom, Mike, Daniel, Hansi, Brittney, Jonas, Anneke, Jaycee)
- Comatose (ft. Anneke & Damian)
- Liquid Eternity (ft. Jonas, Daniel, Maggy, Damian, Tom, Brittney)
- Connect the Dots (ft. Arjen)
- Beneath the Waves (ft. Daniel, Damien, Anneke, Mike, Brittney, Hansi, Tom, Jaycee)
- Newborn Race (ft. Daniel, Brittney, Tom, Jonas, Damian, Hansi, Jaycee)
- Ride the Comet (ft. Jonas, Brittney, Tom, Maggy)
- Web of Lies (ft. Simone)
- The Fifth Extinction (ft. Anneke, Damian, Mike, Jaycee, Tom, Daniel, Hansi, Jonas, Brittney)
- Waking Dreams (ft. Jonas, Anneke)
- The Truth is In Here (ft. Arjen & Liselotte)
- Unnatural Selection (ft. Tom, Mike, Jaycee, Damian, Hansi, Jonas, Jaycee)
- River of Time (ft. Hansi & Damian)
- E=MC² (ft. Marjan & Wudstick)
- The Sixth Extinction (ft. Tom, Hansi, Daniel, Mike, Brittney, Damian, Jaycee, Jonas, Anneke)
- This Human Equation (encore) (ft. Simone)
- Fate of Man (encore) (ft. Brittney, Star One song)
- The Day that the World Breaks Down (ft. Damian, Daniel, Simone, Maggy, Jaycee, Hansi, Mike, Tom, Anneke, Marcella, Irene)
