The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released u… Read Full Bio ↴The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released under the name Ayreon. It was released on May 25, 2004. As with other Ayreon albums, it features guest appearances from several musicians previously unrelated to the project, including James LaBrie of Dream Theater, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine, and Devin Townsend, performing music arranged and written by Lucassen.
Concept and storyline
The album explores the idea of psychological rebirth, and follows the story a man who, after falling into a coma following a car accident, is confronted with his past, his emotions, and his current situation as he lays trapped inside his own mind. The circumstances surrounding the accident are mysterious, as the man ("Me", portrayed by James LaBrie) ploughed into a tree on a deserted road in broad daylight. Following this, he slips into a twenty-day coma, with each day represented by a single song. 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 world (including Fear portrayed by Mikael Åkerfeldt, Reason portrayed by Eric Clayton, and Pride portrayed by Magnus Ekwall); the presence of Me's Wife (Marcela Bovio) and Best Friend (Arjen Anthony Lucassen) 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 (Mike Baker), 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.
The story terminates with a sci-fi twist in contrast to the psychodrama of the album, but reminiscent of earlier Ayreon releases. The final song cuts suddenly to silence as it reaches a crescendo, and a computerised voice announces the shut-down of the Dream Sequencer. The voice of Forever then speaks the final words of the album, tying its events into the overall Ayreon plot that began with The Final Experiment.
Cast (in order of appearance):
• Arjen Anthony Lucassen as Best Friend
• Marcela Bovio as Wife
• James LaBrie as Me
• Mikael Åkerfeldt as Fear)
• Eric Clayton as Reason)
• Irene Jansen as Passion
• Magnus Ekwall as Pride
• Heather Findlay as Love
• Devon Graves as Agony
• Devin Townsend as Rage
• Mike Baker as Father
Concept and storyline
The album explores the idea of psychological rebirth, and follows the story a man who, after falling into a coma following a car accident, is confronted with his past, his emotions, and his current situation as he lays trapped inside his own mind. The circumstances surrounding the accident are mysterious, as the man ("Me", portrayed by James LaBrie) ploughed into a tree on a deserted road in broad daylight. Following this, he slips into a twenty-day coma, with each day represented by a single song. 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 world (including Fear portrayed by Mikael Åkerfeldt, Reason portrayed by Eric Clayton, and Pride portrayed by Magnus Ekwall); the presence of Me's Wife (Marcela Bovio) and Best Friend (Arjen Anthony Lucassen) 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 (Mike Baker), 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.
The story terminates with a sci-fi twist in contrast to the psychodrama of the album, but reminiscent of earlier Ayreon releases. The final song cuts suddenly to silence as it reaches a crescendo, and a computerised voice announces the shut-down of the Dream Sequencer. The voice of Forever then speaks the final words of the album, tying its events into the overall Ayreon plot that began with The Final Experiment.
Cast (in order of appearance):
• Arjen Anthony Lucassen as Best Friend
• Marcela Bovio as Wife
• James LaBrie as Me
• Mikael Åkerfeldt as Fear)
• Eric Clayton as Reason)
• Irene Jansen as Passion
• Magnus Ekwall as Pride
• Heather Findlay as Love
• Devon Graves as Agony
• Devin Townsend as Rage
• Mike Baker as Father
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The Human Equation
Ayreon Lyrics
Day Eight: School [Fear] It's time to leave your sheltered cage Face you deepe…
Day Eighteen: Realization Now you know the truth, what will you do? I still…
Day Eleven: Love Friday night, I had a few There she was, out of…
Day Fifteen: Betrayal This is what you dreamt about Director of the firm Will it…
Day Five: Voices I hear voices, they are talking about you Can you hear…
Day Four: Mystery [Best Friend] No, I can't seem to figure out what…
Day Fourteen: Pride I have always been creative, I don't understand Aspired to b…
Day Nineteen: Disclosure [Best Friend] My good friend, I hope you hear my…
Day One: Vigil Did he open up his eyes? Did he try to touch…
Day Seven: Hope Let me take you back To the time when we were…
Day Seventeen: Accident? [Reason] You're driving home, It's one PM You cannot functio…
Day Six: Childhood [Agony] You're alone in your bedroom Hiding from the world, …
Day Sixteen: Loser Look at you, lying there, defenceless and alone See I am…
Day Ten: Memories [Best Friend] It's been 10 days It shouldn't last this long …
Day Thirteen: Sign Faith has come to warn That you far to long forsaken…
Day Three: Pain I am pain I am real. I'm not a dream I'm the…
Day Twelve: Trauma Think hard, you are lying here in a hospital bed Disregard…
Day Twenty: Confrontation See his mouth, he tries to speak He cannot move, his…
Day Two: Isolation Me: I can't move, I can't feel my body I don't…