Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch Progressive Rock and Metal musician, songwriter, Record Producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He has created and been active on many projects, creating a bit of an Archive Panic for those who want to check it all out.
He started out as guitarist for the Dutch band Bodine from 1980 to 1984. From 1984 to 1992 he was a songwriter and composer for the band Vengeance, but then left to start a solo career. His debut solo album "Pools of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy" (1994), released under the name "Anthony" flopped. Success only came when his started his ambitious Ayreon project, which lead to eight Rock Opera albums built around the same concept.. Lucassen has worked on many other projects and is one of the few Progressive Metal musicians to actually be hailed as a "genius" by serious music critics. His 2012 solo album Lost in the New Real is the Surprisingly Improved Sequel to his debut album.
Discography:
- Pools Of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy (1994)
- Lost in the New Real (2012)
- Bold as Brass (1982)
- Three Times Running (1983)
- Vengeance (1984)
- We Have Ways to Make You Rock (1986)
- Take It or Leave It (1987)
- Arabia (1989)
- The Final Experiment (1995)
- Actual Fantasy (1996)
- Into the Electric Castle (1998)
- Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer (2000)
- Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight Of The Migrator (2000)
- The Human Equation (2004)
- 01011001 (2008)
- The Theory Of Everything (2013)
- The Source (2017)
- Tranistus (2020)
- Fate of a Dreamer (2001)
- Space Metal (2002)
- Victims of the Modern Age (2010)
- Revel in Time (2022)
- Embrace the Storm (2005)
- On This Perfect Day (2009)
- The Diary (2015)
- Golden Age of Music (2023)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen's work provides examples of:
- Concept Album: All his albums under the name Ayreon are part of the same concept.
- The Diary from his The Gentle Storm project is also this. The album is about two Dutch lovers exchanging letters while one of them is out at sea.
- Cover Version: On his second album Lost in the New Real many songs are original compositions, but others are covers of songs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Blue Öyster Cult and The Alan Parsons Project.
- Crossover: He has worked together with Within Temptation and many other bands. Some of these collaborations have led to new bands being formed, like The Gentle Storm.
- Gentle Giant: At 202 cm (about 6'8") this friendly introvert has to be one of the tallest rock musicians EVER.
- I Have Many Names: He has recorded under the names "Iron Anthony" (while being a member of Bodine) and "Anthony".
- I Am the Band: He is an accomplished singer and instrumentalist, playing all the musical parts on the first Ayreon: The Final Experiment album. He is a singer, guitarist, keyboard player, bassist, banjo player...
- Nice Guy: He's a very polite person, and actually takes the time to reply to a lot of fan comments.
- One-Word Title: He joined quite some bands with only one word in their title: Bodine, Vengeance, Ayreon and Ambeon.
- Progressive Metal and Progressive Rock: He is mostly pigeonholed in this genre, even though his music often crosses over to other genres.
- Rock Opera: He has made several records built around one continuing story.
- Shout-Out: The title of his 1994 debut, "Pools Of Sorrow, Waves of Joy" is a reference to a line from The Beatles' song "Across The Universe" from Let It Be.
- Special Guest: Dutch actor Rutger Hauer provides narration on Lucassen's solo album Lost in the New Real.
- Step Up to the Microphone: His older brother, Gjalt, speaks through a megaphone during "I'm The Slime" from Lost in the New Real.
- Symphonic Metal: Stream of Passion and The Gentle Storm.
