STAR ONE – Space Metal (2CD Deluxe Edition Re-issue 2022)
Well-known for his albums by the progressive rock project Ayreon, in 2002 Dutch genius Arjen Lucassen surprised with a new venture: STAR ONE and its debut album ‘Space Metal’. Now we have ‘Space Metal (2CD Deluxe Edition Re-issue 2022)’, some kind of a 20th anniversary reissue including bonus material.
“Space Metal” isn’t a continuous story or a rock opera like the Ayreon albums. Yet it is still very much a concept album and a journey through Arjen’s mind and memory. He takes the listener on a trip where they relive those great science fiction space films that made such an impact on him.
To ensure to keep the involved voices, diverse he used very different sounding singers appearing in the same songs — different singers for different moods. Dan Swano (ex-Edge of Sanity, Nightingale) sings the low parts, Russell Allen (Symphony X and more) sings the powerful rough parts, Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold, Headspace) sings the high clear parts, and to top it off, Floor Jansen (Nightwish) sings the really high choruses.
Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon) sang the backing vocals with his huge smoky voice. Of course Ed Warby played the powerful drums, and Erik Norlander added his huge analog synth leads. Arjen also managed to get Jens Johansson (Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio, Stratovarius) who played some incredibly fast synth leads as well.
Arjen even succeeded in getting Hawkwind’s Dave Brock to make a guest vocal appearance, something no one has ever managed to do before.
CD 1
01 – Lift-off
02 – Set Your Controls
03 – High Moon
04 – Songs of the Ocean
05 – Master of Darkness
–A. “Master of Darkness”
–B. “Laserfight”
06 – The Eye of Ra
–A. “Gateway to the Stars”
–B. “The Eye of Ra”
–C. “The Seventh Sign”
07 – Sandrider
08 – Perfect Survivor
09 – Intergalactic Space Crusaders
10 – Starchild
–A. “One by Four by Nine”
–B. “Starchild”
–C. “A New Sun”
CD 2
01 – Hawkwind Medley
02 – Spaced Out (Bonus Track)
03 – Inseparable Enemies (Bonus Track)
04 – Space Oddity (Bonus Track)
05 – Spaced Out [Bonus Track] (alternative version)
Russell Allen – vocals
Damian Wilson – vocals
Dan Swanö – vocals
Floor Jansen – vocals
Ed Warby – drums
Dave Brock – lead and backing vocals in “Hawkwind Medley”
Jens Johansson – keyboards
Erik Norlander – keyboards
Robert Soeterboek – backing vocals
Gary Wehrkamp – guitar
Arjen Anthony Lucassen – guitars, keyboards, hammond organ on all tracks
Pre Order:
www.amazon.co.uk/Space-Metal-Reissue-2022-Digipak/dp/B09NGXSZ3G
