Ayreon - 'And The Druids Turn To Stone' (Universal Migrator)

The moon sheds no light on Salisbury plain
The day turns to night and the bonfires cease burning

The druids gather round and the chants fill the air
Their echoes resound and the living world stops turning

The magic words are spoken
As we leave the plain in silence
Now the circle stands alone
And the druids turn to stone

The dawn shines its light on Salisbury plain
The day floods the night with gilded rays of sunshine

The magic words were spoken
As we left the plain in silence
Then the circle stood alone
And the druids turned to stone

The rising sun is dancing on the edges of the stones
Casting shadows, creeping down the Avenue
Into the heart of the sarsen trilithons

I marvel at this mystery, beholder of the stars
A holy temple, a sacred burial ground
Guarding well its secrets from us all

"It is 50000 B.C. The world is almost empty; nature is still untouched by
man. Off in the distance, a clan of ape-like creatures gather near a cliff
side. But I am the first to stand. I must be..."

Τον Arjen Anthony Lucassen τον έμαθα ως τον κιθαρίστα των Vengeance ακούγοντας τους δίσκους "Take It or Leave It", "Arabia" (αργότερα άκουσα και τα προγενέστερα albums). Την δεκαετία του ενενήντα δημιούργησε το project των Ayreon όπου ο πυρήνας της μπάντας ήταν ο ίδιος και ο Ed Warby. Τους υπόλοιπους "ρόλους" κάλυπταν προσκεκλημένοι μουσικοί.

Το πρώτο album των Ayreon που άκουσα (και αγόρασα) ήταν το "Into the Electric Castle". Διπλό cd, concept δίσκος με δέκα προσκεκλημένους μουσικούς και εννέα τραγουδιστές. Ακολούθησε το "The Universal Migrator", το οποίο κυκλοφόρησε το καλοκαίρι του 2000 σε δύο... δόσεις (με έναν μήνα διαφορά μεταξύ τους), το "Part I: The Dream Sequencer" και το "Part II: Flight of the Migrator". Μας λέει χαρακτηριστικά ο δημιουργός:

«The Universal Migrator parts I and II is the 2-CD re-release of what were originally released as two single albums: The Dream Sequencer and Flight of the Migrator.

The Dream Sequencer

On Universal Migrator part I: The Dream Sequencer Arjen picks up the story of The Final Experiment and the year 2084. Over a hundred years have passed since the last world war destroyed all life on earth. This war was exactly what the main character Ayreon had already predicted in the 6th century (see the first Ayreon CD The Final Experiment).

As this final war was taking place, a number of Mars colonists witnessed the destruction on Earth from afar. For several years they managed to keep themselves alive with the supplies they had brought with them from Earth. But eventually the supplies ran out and the colonists were doomed to die. The main character in the story is the last surviving human being, a child of the first Mars colonists. He has never been on Earth.

During the initial period of Mars colonization, finding entertainment was somewhat of a problem. So clever technicians designed the Dream Sequencer, a machine that allowed the Colonists to travel back to their own youth by means of hypnoses, but also to their lives before; their pre-incarnations so to speak.

It is in this machine that the last Colonist relives his youth on Mars, and scenes from previous lives: his death as a woman on Earth during the war of 2084, the first moon landing of 1969, and his life as the standard bearer in the famous 17th century painting of Rembrandt: The Nightwatch.

He stood on the shores of England as Queen Elisabeth I, watching the English fleet sail out to stop the Spanish Armada, and as a Mayan girl he witnessed sacred ceremonies in Tikal. As the story unfolds, we discover that the Colonist once was the minstrel Ayreon and that, in another even earlier incarnation, he was present during the construction of Stonehenge. His soul’s first incarnation was the first human being on Earth.

Flight of the Migrator

The Universal Migrator Part II continues the story of the last man alive on Mars as he decides to venture further back in time. He wants to go all the way back to the time just before the universe was created, a time when there was nothing but chaos.

The Colonist witnesses the big bang and the creation of the first soul: The Universal Migrator. This soul divides itself into various new souls that each go in search of planets to inhabit. This is how they bring life to various planets and start different civilizations.

In the Dream Sequencer program the Colonist follows the soul that is headed for Earth. On his long journey through space, he passes astronomical phenomena such as quasars, pulsars, supernovas, black holes, and wormholes. He finally enters the solar system, but the Dream Sequencer program begins to overload.

The Colonist should never have ventured that far back in time. The Dream Sequencer tried desperately to wake the Colonist from his deep state of hypnoses, but it is too late; the Colonist dies in the machine. Then the Migrator speaks to him without words: “Eternity lies before you. You are the new Migrator!”»

Bruce Dickinson, Fabio Lione, Ralf Scheepers, Sir Russel Allen, Timo Kotipelto, Andi Deris, Floor Jansen, Damian Wilson, Lana Lane ακούμε (μεταξύ άλλων) σε μία εξαιρετική δουλειά, η οποία θα επανακυκλοφορήσει (Remixed & Remastered) σε λίγες ημέρες (18 Οκτωβρίου 2022) σε ψηφιακή μορφή και στα τελειώματα του φθινοπώρου (18 Νοεμβρίου 2022) σε φυσική μορφή. Ακούμε το τραγούδι "And The Druids Turn To Stone", με τον Arjen Anthony Lucassen να μας λέει σχετικά:

«And the Druids Turn To Stone is my personal favourite track from the Ayreon Universe live shows. Mainly because of the amazing vocal performance of my talented friend Damian Wilson.


I still remember that back when I sent him the demo for this song, he wasn’t totally convinced. Maybe in part because of the dangerously-close-to-Spinal-Tap lyrics about Stonehenge. Haha! But man, he surely elevated this song to great heights, showing off all aspects of his versatile and distinctive voice.

In the re-mixed version I tried to make the track sound more transparent and bring every little subtlety to the surface. Hope I succeeded!»