#5 The Human Equation – Ayreon

Music Recommendation Post #5

Today I had to choose a whole album instead of picking a single song. Please let me explain why.

In terms of albums, there are inherently three types of albums. We have the collection album that collects a bunch of different artists in one place (Hits for Kids and similar). There are the band/artist albums that tend to follow a single theme or that showcases someone. These albums can be played in any order (this is your typical album). But lastly, and most importantly you have some albums that have songs that blend into each other, telling one long story across multiple songs. These albums need to be played in the correct order, or else you won’t get the correct experience.

EDIT: As feethebunny mentioned, this type of album is called “concept album”. I just didn’t know the term for it

Now, The Human Equation falls into the last categories of those. It’s an album of the type I tend to call “album experience”. You can’t just take out a song and have it stand on its own in the same way as any other single.

The Human Equation tells the story of a man that goes into a coma after crashing his car. He then proceeds to confront his emotions and his past and gets reborn a new man. It’s a very interesting story that could only be told through the unique style that this album is.

The thing that makes this album unique isn’t just that it’s telling a story in the same manner as an opera, but also that it’s a fusion of genres. At its core it’s a progressive rock album, however, it also uses elements from opera, metal, and several other genres. Going from soft to more intense. (also, for non-genre savvy people here. Progressive rock does not mean screaming, however, there is a sequence or two when he faces anger that has some screaming parts)

Anyways, this album is an absolute masterpiece and deserves to be listened to in its full length. I’ve listened through it multiple times myself and it’s one of my favorite albums of all time!

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YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ahdx5C9kSc&list=PLDp_PtuyOwCbt_MBte4PrbPbvygybjOP6

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/7yaoLta4YWbRsH2RuhYWAF?si=smoksY-3Tp2c0q2WxA9C2A