''The Theater Equation'' is a live album 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 t ...

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. In ...

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, elect ...

. ''The Theater Equation'' originally consisted of a four live performances, with cast, choir and small orchestra, of the 2004 album ''

The Human Equation ''The Human Equation'' is the sixth album from the progressive rock project Ayreon by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 25 May 2004 via Inside Out Music. As with other Ayreon albums, it features guest appearances from several mu ...

'', 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, a ...

. It is the first Ayreon live release, although Ayreon songs had previously been featured on live albums by two of Lucassen's other musical projects ('' Live on Earth'' by

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. ...

and ''

Live in the Real World ''Live in the Real World'' is the first live Compact Disc, CD and DVD album by Netherlands, Dutch/Mexico, Mexican progressive metal band Stream of Passion, created by Arjen Anthony Lucassen. It features not only songs from their debut album ''Em ...

'' by

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. ...

), and marks the first time an Ayreon album was performed live in its entirety. ''The Theater Equation'' consisted of four shows, all played in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

between September 18 and 20, 2015, with the last performance being the one recorded for the album. The project, directed by Lucassen's former manager Yvette Boertje, originally was to consist of three fan-made concerts performed under the title ''Ayreon's The Human Equation Theater Experience''; however, after some of the original cast and musicians showed interest in the project, the organizers decided to make it a greater venture. Despite using the Ayreon name on promotional material with the blessing of Lucassen, ''The Theater Equation'' shows were not official Ayreon concerts; however, the recording was released as an official Ayreon product. The ''Ayreon Universe'' shows, which took place in 2017, were the first official Ayreon concerts. Most of the cast of the original album was featured on the tour, including

James LaBrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Onta ...

of Dream Theater (Me),

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 ...

of Stream of Passion (Wife), former

Mostly Autumn Mostly Autumn are an English rock band. The group formed in 1995 and have built their reputation through constant touring, never signing to a major label. They produce music heavily influenced by 1970s progressive rock. According to the BBC, ...

member Heather Findlay (Love), Eric Clayton (Reason), and

Irene Jansen Irene Jansen is a Dutch singer. She sang on the Ayreon album ''The Human Equation'', portraying the character Passion. She was also the live backing vocalist of Star One during their tour in 2003, and played the character Morgana in two Gary Hug ...

(Passion). Despite the announcement that he would not take part of the shows due to his reluctance to play live and that he will only support the project as a support advisor, Lucassen performed the part of the Forever of the Stars; his original, more significant part as Best Friend was performed by Wudstik. Some other regular collaborators of Lucassen joined the project, including 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 singer

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 ...

who replaced

Mikael Åkerfeldt Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)Mikael Åkerfeldt
, Op ...

as Fear. It also featured a choir, nicknamed the "Epic Rock Choir", that Lucassen hired during production to perform choirs for the album '' The Diary'' by his and van Giersbergen's new project The Gentle Storm.

Synopsis

After a car accident, a man ("Me") falls into a coma, and, in his head, is confronted with his past, his

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is currently no scientific ...

s, and his current situation as he lays trapped inside his own mind. The circumstances surrounding the accident are mysterious, as Me ploughed into a tree on a deserted road in broad daylight. Following this, he slips into a twenty-day coma. While each day is represented by a single song on the album the theater show uses stylistic means like several repetitions. Each song follows a slightly different format, though there are major common themes, such as the presence of Me's manifest emotions in his

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

world including

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

, and Pride; the presence of Me's Wife, his Best Friend, a doctor and a nurse at his bedside; and the past events that Me is forced to reflect on. The plot builds from Me’s early broken state to his eventual rebirth as a new and better man. His own dark past, in which he suffered beneath an abusive Father, was driven to become merciless by school bullies, and eventually betrayed his closest friend for his own benefit; is intertwined with the plot surrounding Wife and Best Friend, eventually revealing the cause of the accident: Me had witnessed the two sharing an intimate moment, and had swerved his car into a tree in his despair. The three eventually come clean and forgive each other, leading Me to conquer his negative emotions and escape his nightmarish prison. After the final song a computerised voice announces the shut-down of the Dream Sequencer. Later the voice of a

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama * ''Forever'' (1992 film), an American ...

(Arjen Anthony Lucassen) then speaks the final words "The Human Equation.... I remember", tying its events into the overall Ayreon plot that began with the album ''

The Final Experiment ''The Final Experiment'' (originally ''Ayreon: The Final Experiment'') is the debut studio album by the Dutch progressive metal project Ayreon, released in 1995. Originally with no artist noted, at the suggestion of the record label the subject wa ...

''.

Track listing

Sources:

Personnel

Cast

;Returning from ''The Human Equation'' *

( Dream Theater) as Me *

(

) as Wife *

as Passion * Magnus Ekwall ( The Quill) as Pride * Heather Findlay (ex-

) as Love * Devon Graves (

Deadsoul Tribe Deadsoul Tribe were an Austrian progressive metal band founded by Devon Graves (known as 'Buddy Lackey') from Psychotic Waltz. Biography Deadsoul Tribe was formed by Devon Graves in 2000. Graves was originally the vocalist for another progressi ...

Psychotic Waltz Psychotic Waltz is a progressive metal band formed in El Cajon, California in 1988. Biography The first incarnation of the band was under the name Aslan, after a character in the novel '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' by C. S. Lewis. W ...

) as Agony * Eric Clayton ( Saviour Machine) as Reason ;New * Jermain "Wudstik" van der Bogt as Best Friend *

(ex- The Gathering) as Fear * Mike Mills (

Toehider Toehider are a progressive rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Their influences include progressive rock, pop, hard rock, metal and folk. Toehider was founded in 2008 by Michael Mills. After the release of their debut EP ''Toe Hider'' in the sam ...

) as Rage and Father * Anita van der Hoeven as Mom * Peter Moltmaker as Doctor * Nienke Verboom as Nurse * Katinka van der Harst as Nurse *

as Forever of the Stars * Epic Rock Choir -

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Instrumentalists

; Returning from ''The Human Equation'' * Joost van den Broek (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 ...

) - musical director *

(

Gorefest Gorefest was a Dutch death metal band from Goes in Zeeland. It was founded in 1989 by Jan-Chris de Koeijer, Frank Harthoorn, Alex van Schaik and Marc Hoogendoorn. History Within two months of existence Gorefest recorded their first demo. A ...

Hail Of Bullets Hail of Bullets was a Dutch old school death metal supergroup from Rotterdam. The band's lyrical content deals with the Second World War, and is based upon the research of vocalist Martin van Drunen, who has been described as the band's "reside ...

) - drums * Jeroen Goossens - flutes and

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

;New * Marcel Coenen ( Sun Caged) -

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 strin ...

* Freek Gielen - guitar * Johan van Stratum (

) - bass * Erik van Ittersum - keyboards * Ruben Wijga (

ReVamp Revamp may refer to: Changes *Revamp, informal term for maintenance, repair, and operations *Revamp, informal term for editing of natural-language text * Revamp (gaming), informal term for boost or renovation of a game's UI, system stats, items, ...

) - keyboards * 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 regu ...

* Maaike Peterse (

Kingfisher Sky Kingfisher Sky is a Dutch progressive metal band from Netherlands, created and led by drummer Ivar de Graaf (formerly of Within Temptation). History The history of Kingfisher Sky started in 2001, after drummer Ivar de Graaf left Within Temptati ...

) -

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

Charts

References

External links

Official Ayreon Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theater Equation, The 2016 live albums Ayreon albums