01011001

01011001
Studio album by
Ayreon
Released23 January 2008[1]
RecordedApril–November 2007
Genre
Length102:16
LabelInside Out Music
ProducerArjen Lucassen
Ayreon chronology
The Human Equation
(2004) 		01011001
(2008) 		Timeline
(2008)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen chronology
Live in the Real World
(2006) 		01011001
(2008) 		Elected
(2008)

01011001 is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's long-running Ayreon project. "01011001" is the binary representation of the ASCII value of the letter Y.

01011001 is a concept album[2] that tells the story of aliens called the "Forever", who create humanity, only to later endanger it by providing it with technology.[3]

Seventeen singers in total, including Lucassen himself, contributed to the album, more than any other Ayreon album.[4] Apart from Lucassen, only Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) and Floor Jansen (After Forever, Nightwish) had sung on previous Ayreon albums, on Into the Electric Castle and Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer respectively.

It also stars, among others, Bob Catley from Magnum, Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian, Jørn Lande, and Steve Lee from Gotthard in his final guest appearance before his death in 2010. The album was a commercial and critical success.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[5]
AllMusic[6]
Dangerdog.com[7]
Melodic.net[8]
Metal Storm[9]
Metal Storm (2)[10]
Record Collector[2]

AllMusic reviewer Cosmo Lee praised the album, saying that it has "pristine production [and] byzantine songs that feel like full albums."[6] He went on to say that "Music this over the top almost defies criticism. Reviewing it is like reviewing the world's tallest building. It doesn't care; it just goes on and on."[6] Exclaim's Laura Wiebe Taylor felt that the album had some great songs, such as "Liquid Eternity" and "E=mc2," but that some of the other songs were weaker, including "Newborn Race" and "Web of Lies."[11] She concluded her review by saying that "ultimately, 01011001 is a hard rock extravaganza."[11]

Chad Bower, in his review for About.com, said that 01011001 "has something for everyone," and that the album is "a musical tour de force that takes the listener on a musical journey with an interesting storyline and very well-written songs."[5] Record Collector's Tim Jones noted the differing styles of the album's songs, saying that "The Truth is in Here" is similar to the music of Blackmore's Night, that "River of Time" is reminiscent of Jethro Tull, and that "Beneath the Waves" reminded him of Pink Floyd.[2]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Arjen Anthony Lucassen; all music is composed by Lucassen except Anneke van Giersbergen who wrote her own vocal melodies in tracks 1 (disc 1) and 2 (disc 2), and Jonas Renkse who wrote his own vocal melodies in tracks 1 (disc 1), 2, 4 and 7 (disc 2)

CD 1 – "Y"
No.TitleVocalistsLength
1."Age of Shadows"
I. "Age of Shadows"
II. "We are Forever"
III. "Age of Shadows (reprise)"
Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Daniel Gildenlöw, Hansi Kürsch, Floor Jansen, Jonas P. Renkse, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jørn Lande10:47
2."Comatose"van Giersbergen, Lande4:26
3."Liquid Eternity"Renkse, Gildenlöw, Magali Luyten, Bob Catley, Englund, Lande, Jansen8:10
4."Connect the Dots"Ty Tabor, Arjen Anthony Lucassen4:13
5."Beneath the Waves"
I. "Beneath the Waves"
II. "Face the Facts"
III. "But a Memory..."
IV. "World Without Walls"
V. "Reality Bleeds"
Gildenlöw, Catley, van Giersbergen, Jansen, Lee, Lande, Kürsch, Englund8:26
6."Newborn Race"
I. "The Incentive"
II. "The Vision"
III. "The Procedure"
IV. "Another Life"
V. "Newborn Race"
VI. "The Conclusion"
Gildenlöw, Jansen, Englund, Renkse, Catley, Kürsch, Lande7:49
7."Ride the Comet"Lande, Jansen, Englund, Renkse, Catley, Luyten3:29
8."Web of Lies"Simone Simons, Phideaux Xavier2:50
Total length:50:13
CD 2 – "Earth"
No.TitleVocalistsLength
1."The Fifth Extinction"
I. "Glimmer of Hope"
II. "World of Tomorrow Dreams"
III. "Collision Course"
IV. "From the Ashes"
V. "Glimmer of Hope (reprise)"
van Giersbergen, Catley, Lee, Lande, Englund, Gildenlöw, Kürsch, Renkse, Jansen10:29
2."Waking Dreams"Renkse, van Giersbergen6:31
3."The Truth Is in Here"Lucassen, Liselotte Hegt5:12
4."Unnatural Selection"Englund, Lee, Lande, Catley, Kürsch, Renkse7:15
5."River of Time"Kürsch, Catley4:24
6."E=mc2"Wudstik, Marjan Welman5:50
7."The Sixth Extinction"
I. "Echoes on the Wind"
II. "Radioactive Grave"
III. "2085"
IV. "To the Planet of Red"
V. "Spirit on the Wind"
VI. "Complete the Circle"
Englund, Lee, Kürsch, Gildenlöw, Jansen, Renkse, Catley, Lande, van Giersbergen12:18
Total length:52:02

Personnel

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[12] 80
Belgian Albums Charts (Wallonia)[13] 96
Dutch Album Chart[14] 2
French Albums Chart[15] 90
German Albums Chart[16] 18
Swedish Albums Chart[17] 54
Swiss Albums Chart[18] 85

References

  1. ^ "01011001 by Ayreon". Bandcamp. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Jones, Tim (February 2008). "Ayreon – 01011001". Record Collector (346). ISSN 0261-250X. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001 Review". Metal.de (in German). 24 January 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Official release-note". Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
  5. ^ a b Bowar, Chad. "Ayreon – 01011001". About.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Lee, Cosmo. 01011001 at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  7. ^ "DangerDog.com review". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  8. ^ Roth, Kaj. "Ayreon – 01011001 Review". Melodic.net. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Ayreon – 01011001". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Ayreon – 01011001". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  11. ^ a b Wiebe Taylor, Laura (February 2008). "Ayreon 01011001". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001". ultratop.be (in French). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  14. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001". lescharts.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  16. ^ "charts.de". Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  17. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Ayreon - 01011001". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 January 2014.