Ayreon fans have had to wait no less than five years for this new rock opera. Arjen Anthony Lucassen, mastermind behind their epic double albums, was busy in the meantime and made a solo album and played in the band Guilt Machine. Left and right he also let it be known that he is looking for new forms for his rock operas, which will ultimately be his main works. The result The Theory Of Everything
… connects effortlessly with his best work and is eye-catching by the selection of guest musicians from the first wave of prog rock from the seventies: keyboardists Rick Wakeman (Yes) and Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer ), guitarist Steve Hackett (Genesis) and bassist / singer John Wetton (The Family, King Crimson and Asia among others). Perhaps also because of them The Theory Of Everything has gotten more of a seventies prog-vibe than the more metal-based earlier work. That ties in well with the trial and error story of a child prodigy seeking an all-encompassing theory. In short, a comprehensive prog rock album by eternal child prodigy Lucassen. (MR)more