''Electric Castle Live and Other Tales'' is a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and DVD/Blu-ray by

Arjen Anthony Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

project

Ayreon Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electro ...

, that was released on March 27, 2020. It is a live version of the 1998 studio album ''

Into the Electric Castle ''Into the Electric Castle – A Space Opera'' is the third album of the progressive metal project Ayreon by Dutch songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Released in 1998, it was the band's first double al ...

'', performed as an actual rock opera, complete with

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...

; it is a recording of one of four live performances between September 13 and 15, 2019 in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

, to celebrate the original album's 20th anniversary in a way similar to ''

The Theater Equation ''The Theater Equation'' is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project Ayreon. ''The Theater Equation'' originally consisted of a four live performances, with cast, choir and small orchestra ...

'', with songs from other Lucassen projects performed once the songs from the albums were all performed. Lucassen and fellow singers

Anneke van Giersbergen Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...

Damian Wilson Damian Wilson (born 11 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Wilson works in the progressive metal genre and was the lead singer of Headspace and Threshold. He sang and toured with bands and projects for Star One, Ayreo ...

Edward Reekers Edward Reekers (born 24 May 1957, in Hengelo) is a Dutch singer and voice actor. Most notable is his work as lead singer for Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. Having been a fan of the band for years, Reekers joined Kayak in 1978. He replaced M ...

, Edwin Balogh,

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

, and George Oosthoek returned to reprise their roles from the original album, alongside drummer

Ed Warby Edward R. Warby (born 7 March 1968) is a Dutch musician, best known as the drummer for death metal band Gorefest and progressive rock/metal project Ayreon. He also appeared in the band Agressor in 1982 and joined the Eindhoven-based metal band ...

and flutist

Thijs van Leer Thijs van Leer (pronounced: ; born 31 March 1948) is a Dutch singer and keyboardist, best known as the founding member of the rock band Focus as its primary vocalist, keyboardist, and flautist. Born and raised in Amsterdam among a musical famil ...

. New additions include John "JayCee" Cuijpers of

Praying Mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

Simone Simons Simone Johanna Maria Simons (born 17 January 1985) is a Dutch singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, which she joined at the age of seventeen, releasing eight studio albums and touring the world ...

Epica Epica or EPICA may refer to: * Epica (band), a Dutch symphonic metal band * ''Epica'' (Kamelot album), 2003 * ''Epica'' (Audiomachine album), 2012 * The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) * The Epica Awards (International Adver ...

Marcela Bovio Marcela Alejandra Bovio García (born October 17, 1979) is a Mexican singer and violinist who is currently a member of the Dutch symphonic death metal band MaYaN. In 1995, she joined Hydra, a Mexican metal band, singing and playing violin. In ...

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

, and

Mark Jansen Mark Jansen (born 15 December 1978) is a Dutch guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. A prominent figure in the symphonic metal subgenre, he is known for his work with the bands After Forever (1995–2002), Epica (2002–present), and MaYaN (2010� ...

of both Epica and Mayan, with actor

John de Lancie John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor, television director, director, film producer, producer, writer, and comedian, best known for his role as Q (Star Trek), Q in various ''Star Trek'' series (1987–present); ...

acting as narrator. The performance of the album was followed by a selection of songs from other Lucassen projects.

Background and recording

After positive reactions to the Ayreon Universe shows, Lucassen decided to supervise a live version of ''

'' in a style similar to ''

'', to celebrate the album's 20th anniversary. The four ''Electric Castle Live and Other Tales'' shows were performed between September 13 and 15 of 2019 (with two performances on the last day) in

; unlike ''The Theater Equation'', which was performed as an unofficial series of shows titled ''Ayreon's The Human Equation Theater Experience'' with the recording being later released as an official Ayreon release, ''Electric Castle Live and Other Tales'' was performed as a series of official Ayreon shows. Singers

, Edwin Balogh,

, and George Oosthoek returned to reprise their roles from the original album, alongside drummer

and flutist Thijs van Leer; Lucassen also reprised his role as the Hippie, unlike in ''The Theater Equation'', in which he had been replaced by Jermain "Wudstik" van der Bog and only made a small appearance at the end. New additions include John "JayCee" Cuijpers of

, and

of both Epica and Mayan, with actor

acting as narrator. Actor

, of whom Lucassen was a long-time fan due to De Lancie's role as Q in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', was announced on October 8, 2018 as the playing the role of "The Voice" in the last performances, replacing

Peter Daltrey Peter James Daltrey (born 25 March 1946 in Bow, East London, England) is an English musician. He has been the lead singer and chief songwriter for the bands Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour. He is also a solo artist. Biography After the de ...

from the original album. After performing the album in its entirety, the cast performed several songs from other Lucassen projects: "Shores of India" from the album '' The Diary'' by his band

The Gentle Storm The Gentle Storm is a Dutch musical project by singer and lyricist Anneke van Giersbergen and composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, founder and leader of other musical projects such as Star One, Ayreon, Guilt Machine and Ambeon. The duo ha ...

with Van Giersbergen, "Ashes" from the album ''

Fate of a Dreamer ''Fate of a Dreamer'' is an album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen under the name Ambeon, released in 2001 by Dutch music label Transmission Records. All of the ten tracks feature Sampling (music), samples from and arrangements of Ayreon's songs, as not ...

'' by his former project Ambeon, "

Out in the Real World "Out in the Real World" is the only single by Stream of Passion, released on February 27, 2006, from their album ''Embrace the Storm''. As the whole album ''Embrace the Storm'', the song was written by Marcela Bovio and composed by Arjen Anthony ...

" from ''

Embrace the Storm Embrace the Storm is Stream of Passion's debut album released on October 24, 2005 by InsideOut Music. It was preceded by the single "Wherever You Are" (October 18, 2005) and was followed by the single "Out in the Real World" (February 27, 2006), ...

'' by his former band

Stream of Passion Stream of Passion is a Dutch progressive metal band with symphonic and gothic influences founded by guitarist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Mexican singer, violinist, and lyricist Marcela Bovio. They have released four studio albums. In ...

with Bovio and her ex-husband

Johan van Stratum Johan van Stratum (born 15 April 1982) is a Dutch bassist and a member of the progressive metal band VUUR. He was the bassist of Stream of Passion, and one of the two founding members to stay in the band until it disbanded in 2016. He also playe ...

(who performs bass on the live album), "Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin" from his solo album ''

Lost in the New Real ''Lost in the New Real'' (also referred to as ''Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Lost in the New Real'') is the second solo studio album by Dutch songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 23 April 2012. ...

'', and "Songs of the Ocean" from '' Space Metal'' by his project

Star One Star One was an Indian pay television network based in Mumbai. It was launched on 1 November 2004 and was it owned by Star TV and distributed worldwide by Fox International Channels. In November 2006, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky. S ...

with Wilson; they also performed a cover of

Kayleigh "Kayleigh" is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was released as the first single from the concept album '' Misplaced Childhood''. It was the band's most successful single in the UK, where it peaked at number-two an ...

", a song by

Marillion Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...

from Fish's time with the band.

Release

The album was available to pre-order in five editions: the Super Deluxe Wooden Box Set for €159,00, limited to 1500 copies worldwide, the 5-disc Earbook for €49,99, the Gold Vinyl Edition for €27,99 the 2CD + DVD edition for €17,99, and the Blu-Ray for €17,99; the Gold Vinyl Edition does not contain the tracks "Robby Valentine (piano solo)", "Kayleigh", and "Speech by Arjen & Joost". It also features a documentary chronicling the making of the shows and the events behind-the-scenes of the show themselves.

Track listing

Personnel

; Vocalists *

– Narrator *

(ex-

) – Highlander *

(

) – Indian *

(

Headspace Headspace may refer to: *Headspace (company), an online healthcare company specializing in meditation *Headspace (organisation), an Australian non-profit organization for youth mental health *Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container ...

Maiden uniteD Maiden uniteD is an acoustic project. Musicians from different bands join together to play an all-acoustic tribute to English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The songs are played with new arrangements. About In 2006, Joey Bruers was asked to perfor ...

, ex- Threshold) – Knight * Edwin Balogh – Roman *

(

VUUR VUUR ("fire", "passion" or "drive") is a Dutch progressive metal band formed in 2016 by singer and lyricist Anneke van Giersbergen and musicians she has worked with previously in bands like The Gentle Storm or her own solo band. The band is in ...

, ex- The Gathering) – Egyptian * John Jaycee Cuijpers – Barbarian *

– Hippie *

(ex-

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

) – Futureman * George Oosthoek – Death *

(

, ex-

After Forever After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jans ...

) - Death *

(

) - Backing vocals, lead vocals on "Out in the Real World" *

Dianne van Giersbergen Dianne van Giersbergen (born 3 June 1985) is a Dutch spinto soprano singer. She is the founder and frontwoman of the progressive metal band Ex Libris,Erwin Van Dijk, Sept. 2012, Ex LibrisInterview : Dianne van Giersbergen – Ex Libris (2010) ...

(

Ex Libris Ex Libris may refer to: *An Ex Libris (bookplate), a label affixed to a book to indicate ownership *Ex Libris (band), a Dutch metal band *Ex Libris (bookshop), a Swiss retail company * "Ex Libris" (''Charmed''), a 2000 episode of the television ser ...

, ex-

Xandria Xandria is a German symphonic metal band founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. Originally a project, Heubaum later restarted the project as a band in 1999, and has gone through various lineup changes. The German vocalist Lisa Middelhauve joined fo ...

) - Backing vocals * Jan Willem Ketelaers - Backing vocals * Robert Soeterboek - Vocals on "Songs of the Ocean" * Michael Mills (Toehider) - TH-1 (recorded intro to Other Tales section) *

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

- Voight Kampff (recorded intro to "Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin") ; Production * Arjen Anthony Lucassen – producing, mixing * Brett Caldas-Lima – mastering ; Instrumentalists *

– drums * Marcel Singor (

) –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Ferry Duijsens (VUUR) –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Bob Wijtsma (

) – guitar *

(VUUR, ex-Stream of Passion) – bass * Joost van den Broek (ex-

) –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Ben Mathot –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

* Jurriaan Westerveld –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

(

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

) –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* Robby Valentine -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

on "Robby Valentine" and "The Mirror Maze" * Arjen Anthony Lucassen - guitar on "Songs of the Ocean"

Charts

References

{{Authority control Science fiction concept albums 1998 albums Ayreon albums Rock operas Transmission (record label) albums