AYREON — Universal Migrator, Part 2: Flight of the Migrator (review)

AYREON — Universal Migrator, Part 2: Flight of the Migrator album cover Album · 2000 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
adg211288
Flight of the Migrator is the continuation of Ayreon's Universal Migrator album, but where the first part, The Dream Sequencer was light, progressive and atmospheric, and not at all metal this second half brings the metal back with a vengeance. I actual think The Dream Sequencer has the better songs of the two, but we've still got a pretty solid offering here. It’s still progressive but this is aimed at metal fans first and foremost. There isn’t a lot of light music to be had here, though there is noticeably more light stuff than there was heavy on The Dream Sequencer.

Vocal wise we have again one singer per song, one song each sort of thing. And we have some great vocalists from the metal scene here. Symphony X’s Russell Allen on Dawn of a Million Souls, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson on Into the Black Hole, Rhapsody of Fire’s Fabio Lione on Through the Wormhole and Stratovarius’s Timo Kotipelto on Out of the White Hole. We also get the return of Robert Soeterboek and Ian Parry who once again provide great performances but once again get over-shadowed by the Ayreon newcomers.

Fittingly it is the songs that have the best singers that are also the best on the album. The best I have to say is Into the Black Hole. Dickinson’s vocals soar over great heavy metal riffs and the most progressive song structure on the album. Dawn of a Million Souls is a close second though. This and Through the Wormhole, Out of the White Hole and The New Migrator are far more rocking songs fit for head banging to. Chaos is also a great instrumental (aside from the spoken intro which is a part of the concept) intro for the album that defines the metal side of Ayreon. I normally detest intro songs but this one showcases what a talented musician Arjen Lucassen is with an excellent display of progressive lead guitar.

The only reason that I’m not giving this album a higher score is because of the fact that I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d have liked to. Not every song is a masterpiece and I prefer a bit more variety in my progressive metal albums, but overall I’d recommend it. Power metal fans will likely appreciate it the most because of the host of singers from the genre on Flight of the Migrator. As for me, part 1 is the better half. Solid album though, but on the lower end of the greatness of Ayreon's discography.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)
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