Ayreon

Ayreon is the name of one of many musical projects by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen.

Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica to form what some call a completely new style of music. The majority of Ayreon's albums are dubbed "rock operas" due to the fact that the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, each represented by a unique vocalist.

Ayreon's music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music (guitars, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, electric organs) mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music (i.e. mandolins, violins, violas, celli, flutes, sitars and didgeridoo). Lucassen writes the music and the lyrics, sings and plays instruments on all of the Ayreon albums, alongside many guest musicians.

==History=

The first Ayreon CD, released in 1995, is The Final Experiment, a story of a man in 6th century Britain, the minstrel Ayreon. Perhaps because he has been blind since birth, Ayreon has a sixth sense that allows him to receive mes...