Ayreon - "Timeline" Review

Artist/ Band: Ayreon
Title: Timeline
Label: InsideOut Music
Year of Release: 2009
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

Ayreon has a new release called Timeline, a 4 disc (3 CD/1DVD) box set which consists of tracks from Final Experiment- A Rock Opera to last year‘s release 01011001. It’s much more than a mere greatest hits or best of compilation, in fact it tells the entire “Ayreon” story complete with a new song exclusively for this compilation called "Epilogue: The Memory Remains". It gives a proper ending to the Ayreon story arc.. The man responsible is multi-instrumentalist/singer Arjen Anthony Lucassen, who provides guitars, bass, vocals and keyboards on all albums. The lead vocals, guitar & solo’s and other instruments are done by guest members

Timeline contains almost four hours of music, that were remastered just for this release. The DVD has about two hours of released and unreleased video clips, cool behind-the-scenes featurettes, 5.1 mixes of songs, and live versions done by Star One and Stream Of Passion (Arjen‘s other bands). Inside the beautiful packaging is a detailed timeline poster of Ayreon and a comprehensive 56-page booklet with new photos, lyrics, and notes on the story.

Timeline is an excellent way to both introduce newbies to the world of Ayreon as well as long time fans. To paraphrase, Arjen says this is not the end but rather a new beginning. Arjen will give Ayreon a rest to work on other projects. And when tihe time is right, Ayreon will return with a vengeance!

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on March 31st, 2009

Tracks:

CD1:

1995: The Final Experiment

1) Prologue 3:17

2) The Awareness 6:36

3) Eyes of Time 5:05

4) The Accusation (acoustic version taken from the Special Edition) 3:43

5) Sail Away to Avalon (single version) 3:40

6) Listen to the Waves 4:40

1996: Actual Fantasy (Revisited)

7) Actual Fantasy 1:31

8) Abbey of Synn 9:25

9) Computer Eyes 7:17

10) Back on Planet Earth 7:04

1998 Into the Electric Castle

11) Isis and Osiris 11:09

12) Amazing Flight 10:21

CD2:

1998 Into the Electric Castle

1) The Garden of Emotions 9:40

2) The Castle Hall 5:48

3) The Mirror Maze 6:23

4) The Two Gates 6:23

2000: The Universal Migrator parts I and II

5) The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B Cocq 7:42

6) Dawn of a Million Souls 7:44

7) And the Druids Turned to Stone 6:32

8) Into the Black Hole 10:17

9) The First Man on Earth 6:54

2004: the Human Equation

10) Day Two: Isolation 8:46

CD3:

2004: The Human Equation

1) Day Three: Pain 4:53

2) Day Six: Childhood 5:04

3) Day Twelve: Trauma 9:23

4) Day Sixteen: Loser 4:47

5) Day Seventeen: Accident? 5:41

2008: 01011001

6) Age of Shadows (edit) 5:39

7) Ride the Comet 3:39

8) The Fifth Extinction 10:27

9) Waking Dreams 6:23

10) The Sixth Extinction 12:16

2008: New previously unreleased Ayreon track

11) Epilogue: The Memory Remains 9:16

DVD:

1] The Stranger from Within (5.1, available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)

2] Valley of the Queens (available on Star One � Live on Earth)

3] Isis and Osiris (available on Star One � Live on Earth)

4] The Two Gates (available on Star One � Live on Earth)

5] Teaser: The Human Equation (available on the special edition of The Human Equation)

6] Day Eleven: Love (5.1, available on the special edition of The Human Equation)

7] Come Back to Me (available as CD ROM track on the EP Come Back to Me)

8] Loser (Star One version, previously unreleased)

9] Farside of the World (5.1, available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)

10] Back on Planet Earth (5.1, available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)

11] Featurette Actual Fantasy (available on Actual Fantasy Revisited)

12] Computer Eyes (available on Stream of Passion � Live in the Real World)

13] Day One: Vigil (available on Stream of Passion � Live in the Real World)

14] Day Three: Pain (available on Stream of Passion � Live in the Real World)

15] The Castle Hall (available on Stream of Passion � Live in the Real World)

16] Release Party 01011001 (previously unreleased)

17] Beneath the Waves (5.1, available on the special edition of 01011001)

18] Teaser 01011001 (available on the special edition of 01011001)

19] Featurette Epilogue: The Memory Remains (previously unreleased)

Reviewed Discography

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