| 2018 marks the 20th Anniversary of the phenomenal Into The Electric Castle by Ayreon. After being out of print for several years, the album will make a welcome return to vinyl (180g 3LP) via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Like all Ayreon projects it featured a stellar cast of guests; Fish, Sharon den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edward Reekers, Anneke van Giersbergen and Jay van Feggelen. Talking about the significance of the record Arjen Lucassen explains: "Although my first Ayreon album, 'The Final Experiment' was an (unexpected) success, my second album, 'Actual Fantasy', wasn't received with the same enthusiasm. So I had to make sure that my third release would be absolutely mind-blowing, otherwise it could well have meant the end of Ayreon! Even though it was a bit risky, I decided to make it a no-holds barred, totally over-the-top musical adventure. I poured my heart and soul into it, and enlisted the best instrumentalists and singers that I could find in the world at that time. When making this album I was unconstrained by any musical or stylistic boundaries, and incorporated many of my favorite musical styles. 'Into the Electric Castle' received an overwhelmingly positive reception from both the press and the fans. This album firmly established the Ayreon name." |
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