History Music / Ayreon

** With regard to Alpha Pegasi, they might have meant to say Alpha Andromedae, since they refer to Sirrah, which is another name for that star. M31 is also known as Andromeda. Then again, confusingly, they refer to "Sirrah '''in''' Alpha Pegasi", which gives the impression they think Alpha Pegasi is a constellation...
** It can be assumed that the comets were moved by the power available to the Forevers, though why they even needed them if that is the case is a mystery.
*** As a carrier/vehicle, most likely.

* BittersweetEnding: "Epilogue (The Memory Remains)" is this for the whole Forever saga.
* ClarkesThirdLaw
* ConceptAlbum: All of them.
* ContinuityNod
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: Many of the album covers are by artist Jef Bertels.
* EpicRocking: And how!

** MythArc: Though the albums are standalone for the most part, each continues the mystery of the Forever and the end of the world prophesied by Ayreon.

* LargeHam: Ayreon provides the perfect arena for the who's who of ProgressiveMetal to engage in HamToHamCombat with each other.

* MindScrew: '''EVERYTHING.'''

* RockOpera: Except ''Actual Fantasy''.
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Firmly on the Romanticism side. ''01011001'' is especially {{anvilicious}} about this, but the message is present on other Ayreon songs and albums too.

* SiameseTwinSongs: Lots.

* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: The Forever.
* {{Uncancelled}}: To the delight of many fans.
* WorldWarIII: Most prominent in "Waracle", "2084", and "The Sixth Extinction".

* BlindSeer[=/=]MadOracle: Ayreon.

* OminousMessageFromTheFuture: Merlin eventually finds [[spoiler:that EVERYTHING Ayreon had been seeing was this.]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: Well, Ayreon ''did'' try to tell everyone including Merlin, but [[CassandraTruth no one would listen]].

* RockOperaPlot: Surprisingly the ''only'' Ayreon rock opera to play this trope.

* RivalsTeamUp: [[CaptainObvious The Rival and the Prodigy]], and later [[LikeFatherLikeSon the Prodigy with his Father]].

* GenreShift: ''The Theory of Everything'' shifts away from the MindScrew ScienceFantasy themes, being more of a psychological drama grounded to reality. It's also LighterAndSofter and less guitar-oriented than most of the discography.

* ThrowingOffTheDisability: The end of Phase II. Subverted in Phase III, then an invoked subversion in Phase IV where the Prodigy isn't taking the PhlebotinumPills to fit in, but to be able to work on the Theory nonstop.

* LyricalDissonance: "Everybody Dies". The world goes boom, and you can dance to it.

** The Indian (Sharon den Adel) vis-à-vis Death (Robert Westerholt and George Oosthoek) in the second part of "Cosmic Fusion".

[[folder:''Ayreon: The Final Experiment'']]

!!Discography:
'''From the first storyline:'''
* 1995 - ''The Final Experiment''
* 1996 - ''Actual Fantasy''
* 1998 - ''Into the Electric Castle''
* 2000 - ''The Universal Migrator''

* 2004 - ''The Human Equation''
** 2014 - ''Music/TheTheaterEquation'' (live album which is basically the theatrical adaptation of ''The Human Equation'')
* 2008 - ''01011001''
* 2017 - ''The Source''

'''From the second storyline:'''
* 2013 - ''The Theory Of Everything''

'''Ayreon songs include (remember, thar be spoliers here):'''

----

* Floor Jansen (Music/AfterForever, Music/ReVamp, Music/{{Nightwish}}) - ''01011001'', ''The Source''

[[folder:''Into the Electric Castle: a Space Opera'']]

* SopranoAndGravel: "Cosmic Fusion" [[spoiler: where the Indian (soprano) comes face to face with Death himself (gravel)]].

* SopranoAndGravel: Floor Jansen and Jonas Renkse in "The Sixth Extinction".

* [[GratuitousForeignLanguage Gratuitous Arabic]]: In "Deathcry of a Race", Zaher Zorgati sings verses off [[AsTheGoodBookSays Genesis]] in Arabic.

* SopranoAndGravel: The Chemist provides the gravel in "Everybody Dies" where everybody else who sings is in the soprano role.

* AnachronicOrder: To experience the plot chronologically requires a [[http://ayreon.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_songs_in_chronological_order rather complicated playlist.]]

* AnachronicOrder: The first album is about a medieval blind man receiving the message sent back in time during the events of the seventh album; the eighth album is a prequel, and the plot it sets up was resolved back in the fourth, though this was not explained until the seventh. The third and sixth albums stand on their own, but take place somewhere during the events of the seventh album, though we have no way of knowing exactly when, because the third is an AnachronismStew which occurs in "the place of no-time and no-space," and though the sixth appears to take place entirely in the modern day, TheEndingChangesEverything.

* AnachronicOrder: The first album is about a medieval blind man receiving the message sent back in time during the events of the seventh album; the eighth album is a prequel, and the plot it sets up was resolved back in the fourth, though this was not explained until the seventh. The third and sixth albums stand on their own, but take place somewhere during the events of the seventh album, though we have no way of knowing exactly when, because the third is an AnachronismStew which occurs in "the place of no-time and no-space," and TheEndingChangesEverything for the sixth, which appears to take place entirely in the modern day.

* AnachronicOrder: The first album is about a medieval blind man receives a message sent back in time during the events of the seventh album; the eighth album is a prequel, and the plot it sets up was resolved back in the fourth, though this was not explained until the seventh.

* AnachronicOrder: The first album is about a blind minstrel in the days of King Arthur who receives the message sent back in time during the events of the seventh album; the eighth album is a prequel, and the plot it sets up was resolved back in the fourth, though this was not fully explained until the seventh.

* IncrediblyLamePun: "String Theory" is an instrumental track dominated by string instruments.

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: what the Mother and the Girl eventually think on the theory of everything.
* ThrowingOffTheDisability: The end of Phase II. Subverted in Phase III.

** "E=mc
is the apocalyptic version, as the scientists do fling signals to the past but nothing really improves, because [[spoiler:''The Final Experiment'']].

!!All tropes regarding the theatrical adaptation will go to Music/TheTheaterEquation.

* DisappearedDad: He's mentioned a lot as Me relives his live but the trope isn't subverted until "Day Sixteen: Loser".

* DownerEnding: The Prodigy leaves a note saying he and his Father have finally cracked the theory of everything. However, [[spoiler: the Father had killed himself that night; the Teacher, Mother, and Girl find the Prodigy catatonic and the latter two carry him away, agreeing that no one's ready to know what was on the blackboard. The Teacher meanwhile notices there are ''two'' handwriting styles on there...]]
* FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome: Zigzagged from Phase II onward. The Prodigy does improve his confidence and mental clarity [[spoiler:thanks to his Father slipping him PhlebotinumPills]] but then relapses to confusion and withdrawal after leaving home, and pounces at the opportunity to come back to that state again.
* FunctionalAddict: Invoked by the Prodigy when the Rival convinces the former that he could replicate the drug.
* GenreShift: ''The Theory of Everything'' shifts away from the MindScrew ScienceFantasy themes, being more of a psychological drama grounded to reality. It's also LighterAndSofter and a bit more instrument-oriented than most of the discography.

* InsufferableGenius: The Father, the Prodigy (Phase III and IV), and especially the Rival.

* LastNoteNightmare: Inverted and played straight. Listen closely and amidst the noises of the sea you'll hear distorted whispers in the very beginning and the very end of the album. And then it stops altogether...

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: It's a mystery whether the Girl knows the Prodigy is on the spectrum but she does find his introversion kinda cute. The Rival likes her but he's too much of a JerkAss for their part of the love triangle to even get started.
* SlippingAMickey: [[spoiler:The Father secretly drugs his son to [[ThrowingOffTheDisability try to treat his autism]]]]. When the Prodigy finds out, he leaves.

* AncientAstronauts

* IncrediblyLongNote: More recent material has seen bouts of this, e.g. Jørn Lande near the end of "Newborn Race", Tommy Karevik in "Patterns", and Sara Squadrani in "Quid Pro Quo".

** "E=mc
is the apocalyptic version, as the scientists do fling signals to the past but nothing really improves, because [[spoiler:''The Final Experiment'']].

* ThrowOffTheDisability: The end of Phase II. Subverted in Phase III.

* IncrediblyLongNote: More recent material has seen bouts of this, e.g. Jørn Lande near the end of "Newborn Race", Tommy Karevik in "Patterns", and Sara Squadrani in "Quid Pro Quo".

** "E=mc
is the apocalyptic version, as the scientists do fling signals to the past but nothing really improves, because [[spoiler:''The Final Experiment'']].

* LastNoteNightmare: Inverted and played straight. Listen closely to the ending and amidst the noises of the sea you'll hear distorted whispers in the very beginning and the very end of the album. And then it stops altogether...

* BraveScot: Highlander. The brave part is subverted once he's already in the castle.

* ItsAllAboutMe: The barbarian oh so very much.

* SchmuckBait: The
* SopranoAndGravel: "Cosmic Fusion" [[spoiler: where the Indian (soprano) comes face to face with Death himself (gravel)]]. It does ''not'' end well.

* MadOracle: [[TouchedByVorlons Mr. L]], who's sadly institutionalized as of "The Truth Is in Here".

** "E=mc
" is the apocalyptic version, as the scientists do fling signals to the past but nothing really improves, because [[spoiler:''The Final Experiment'']].

* SelfBackingVocalist: Taken UpToEleven by Anneke in the "We Are Forever" part of "Age of Shadows", chanting "zero, one, zero" "off, on, off" "no, yes, no"). The verses respectively translate to "help help", "forever" and "sos sos".

* GenreShift: ''The Theory of Everything'' shifts away from the MindScrew ScienceFantasy themes, being more of a psychological drama grounded to reality.
* HollywoodAutism: Inevitable given that its inspirations were the likes of ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' and ''Film/RainMan''.

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: It's a mystery whether the Girl knows the Prodigy is on the spectrum but she does find his introversion kinda cute. The Rival likes her too but he's too much of a JerkAss for their part of the love triangle to even get started.

* 2000 - ''Universal Migrator Part I: The Dream Sequencer''
* 2000 - ''Universal Migrator Part II: Flight of the Migrator''

!!Notable guest vocalists include:

* AfterTheEnd: ''The Universal Migrator''
* AncientAstronauts
* AnyoneCanDie: The Electric Castle. "Indeed, some may die."
* ArcWords: From ''The Theory of Everything'' : "A future to build/A role to fulfill/Something to give/A reason to live"
* ArtifactTitle: Ayreon himself only prominently appears in ''The Final Experiment'', where he is the protagonist. However, he makes a cameo in "Carried by the Wind" from ''Universal Migrator Part I.''

* [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]: The last man alive, possibly the Forevers.
* AuthorAvatar: Some fan theories have it that Mr. L is supposed to be Arjen Lucassen himself, mostly because they have the same last initial (and Mr. L is played by Arjen Lucassen in the one song he appears in). Taken a step further by [[Music/LostInTheNewReal a later solo album]] which although not technically an Ayreon album, has many nods to it and revisits Mr L
* BilingualBonus: If you count binary as a language, anyway. The title of the album ''01011001'' maps to 89 in decimal numbers. 89 is ASCII code for Y - the name of the planet that the Forevers live on. Also, the song "Age of Shadows/We Are Forever" has a few verses of binary or pseudo-binary ([[SelfBackingVocalist multiple Annekes]] chanting "zero, one, zero" "off, on, off" "no, yes, no"). The verses respectively translate to "help help", "forever" and "sos sos".
** The binary chanted by the android TH1 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFuMKdrzPqU The Day That The World Breaks Down]] translates to "trustTH1".
** In "Deathcry of a Race", Zaher Zorgati sings verses off Genesis (''the'' Biblical Genesis) in Arabic.
* BittersweetEnding:[[spoiler:the ending of ''Flight of the Migrator''. The last human being dies alone in the Dream Sequencer. In his final moments, The Universal Migrator speaks to him in his mind and tells him that his soul will become the new Migrator and spread life to other worlds in the Universe]].
** [[spoiler: At the end of ''The Theory of Everything'' the Prodigy finally solves the Theory, but slips into a catatonic state and his father is dead]].
** [[spoiler: At the end of ''The Source'' the survivors of Alpha turned themselves into The Forevers and start a new civilization on Y. But despite their vows to not use technology this time, they fall back into their old habits of technology dependence.]]
* BlindSeer: Ayreon.
* CarefulWithThatAxe: At the end of "Loser", the comical folk song is interrupted by Devin Townsend screaming like a banshee:
--> '''Father:''' My ex wives all sue me, and with half my kids in jail, I'll still come out laughing, because me, I never fail. Loser!
--> '''Rage:''' '''''NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! KILLING IT FROM AFAR, GO TELL IT IN A BAR. YOU'RE KILLING IT FROM AFAR, MY FATHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!'''''

* CloudCuckooLander: The Hippie
* ColorfulSong: The Hippie's part in ''Across the Rainbow Bridge''.

* CreatorBreakDown: After Arjen lost his senses of taste and smell, the poor man went into a depression for some time. See Darker and Edgier.
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: The Forevers
* DarkReprise: ''One Small Step''. "As I lie here in this cold tank..."
* DarkerAndEdgier: The Ayreon albums were somewhat dark to begin with, but they've been getting progressively grimmer in tone since Universal Migrator. On the other hand, see Lighter and Softer.
* DepopulationBomb: At the end of ''01011001''.
* DisappearedDad: Me's father in ''The Human Equation''; the Colonist's father in ''Universal Migrator''
* DownerEnding: The ones that aren't bittersweet.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:The Father in ''The Theory of Everything'']]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Although good albums in their own right, ''The Final Experiment'' and ''Actual Fantasy'' are a bit odd to listen to later on. The music is softer and more electronic than other albums, the production's a bit below his later works, and their noticeably shorter than the double albums he'd later be known for.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt
* EpicRocking
* FanService: ''Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator'' is particular FanService for those who are fond of power metal, as many famous metal vocalists (Timo Kotipelto, Fabio Lione and Bruce Dickinson in particular) lend their voices to that album. (Ironically, Arjen went on record as saying this was his least favourite album...)
* FishPeople: [[spoiler: the Forevers]]
* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: first, they try to fling a light into the ''past'', and when that doesn't work, the Migrator becomes the "light"
* ForeShadowing: Almost every line the Prophet sings in ''The Source'' counts, doubles as FutureShadowing in a lot of cases due to the release order of albums.
* FunctionalMagic: Merlin, the Stonehenge druids.
* GenreShift: ''The Theory of Everything'' shifts away from the MindScrew ScienceFantasy themes, being more of a psychological drama grounded to reality. ''The Source'' shifts right back to the original style, leaving it an open question which route potential future albums might lean towards.
* GhostInTheMachine: "Me" in ''The Human Equation''.
* HamToHamCombat: Abundant. For a particularly awesome example, check out the four-way melee between Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Daniel Gildenlow and Jorn Lande starting at 3:00 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr0OvPyoisw The Fifth Extinction.]]
** Mike Baker vs. Devin Townsend in "Day Sixteen: Loser".
** [[BloodKnight The Barbarian]] (Jay van Feggelen) and the [[BraveScot Highlander]] ([[Music/{{Marillion}} Fish]]) In 'The Decision Tree', magnificently singing about [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy which one of them is a better warrior]].
** ''The Theory of Everything'' has this a few times, most notably on the tracks "Collision" in Phase 3 and "The Argument, Pt. 2" in Phase 4.
* HeavyMithril: They're sci-fi/fantasy.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: We gave them dreams, and what did they dream?
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Ayreon in the song "Nature's Dance". It's [[BlessedWithSuck understandable]].
* ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: the Dream Sequencer and the machinery used in the Final Experiment.
* ItsAllAboutMe: The barbarian oh so very much.
* KarmaHoudini: The Rival on ''The Theory of Everything''.
* LargeHam:
** Both Bruce Dickinson and Jay van Feggelen (the Barbarian) come to mind. Bruce even has the line "Feed me light!"
** Steve Lee on ''01011001'' comes to mind too. "The AGE of SHAAADOWS has beguuun!!!" Particularly ironic since he's supposed to be playing a character incapable of feeling emotions.
** Ayreon provides the perfect arena for the who's who of prog metal to compete to out-ham each other.
* LighterAndSofter: Music/LostInTheNewReal to the joy of many fans.
** ''The Theory of Everything'', compared to the previous Ayreon album ''01011001''.
* LuddWasRight
* MadOracle: Ayreon and Mr. L. [[spoiler: Bonus points for being each other's (p)reincarnates.]]
* MagicFromTechnology: the Dream Sequencer [[spoiler: and the Electric Castle.]]
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler: Did the Prodigy's father return as a ghost to help his son, or was he a side effect of the drugs that the Prodigy was taking?]].
* MetalScream: Shows up occasionally, for example on "Loser" from ''The Human Equation''.

* MusicalisInterruptus: On ''The Human Equation'', "Day Twenty: Confrontation" is interrupted [[spoiler: by a Forever]]. Not just [[spoiler:''a'' Forever. It's "Forever" of the Stars - the same one that was in ''Into the Electric Castle''.]]
* MythArc: Though the albums are stand alone for the most part, each continues the mystery of the Forevers and the end of the world prophecied by Ayreon.
* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Folk progressive rock pop neoclassical metal.
* NotSoDifferent: The Father and the Prodigy from ''The Theory of Everything""
->'''Father:''' "I was driven and blind, not so unlike yourself!"
* OutOfOrder: Listening to the albums out of order won't spoil anything. Listening to the storyline from beginning to end, however, requires some skipping around between the albums. The timeline of events in the Ayreon universe is described on [[http://img15.nnm.me/c/f/8/4/7/606ff7d8f46f1c3f6fbe571953a.jpg a poster]] that came with the ''Timeline'' compilation. With this in mind, plus updates, the chronological order of the albums and songs goes something like this:
** ''The Source''
** The first disc of ''01011001'' (excluding "Connect the Dots" and "Web of Lies"), "The Fifth Extinction," "Waking Dreams," "Unnatural Selection," "Connect the Dots," and "Web of Lies"
** ''Into the Electric Castle''
** "The Truth is in Here," "River of Time," and "E=MC^2" from ''01011001''
** ''The Final Experiment''
** "The Sixth Extinction" from ''01011001''
** ''The Human Equation''
** ''Universal Migrator Part I: The Dream Sequencer''
** ''Universal Migrator Part II: Flight of the Migrator''
** "Epilogue: The Memory Remains" from ''Timeline''
* PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs: Such as [[spoiler: the careless trajectory of a child's lost meteorite?]]
* {{Reincarnation}}: [[spoiler: Ayreon == Hippie == L == Colonist == Universal Migrator == Elizabeth I, among others]]
* ProgressiveMetal
* RivalsTeamUp: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Rival and the Prodigy work together.]]
** The Prodigy and his Father in "The Breakthrough".
** The President and The Opposition Leader in ''The Source''.
* RockOpera

* RunningGag: the many ways Arjen has come up with not to thank his brother.
* SceneryPorn: Due to the quality of the music, most albums have this to some extent, ''Universal Migrator Part I'' is so atmospheric it's hard not to imagine what the songs are describing.
* SchmuckBait: The golden gate in ''Into the Electric Castle''. The Barbarian assumes it must be the correct gate due to its opulent appearance and charges through. [[spoiler: He then falls screaming into Oblivion and dies.]]
* SopranoAndGravel: Floor Jansen and Jonas Renkse in ''01011001'', the Indian [[spoiler: and Death]] in ''Into the Electric Castle''
* TheStoner: Hippie.
* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: The Forevers.
* TitleDrop - ''01011001'' has a TitleDrop of the previous album (almost) in "The Sixth Extinction": "We must resolve this human equation..." Voices can also be heard chanting "0...1...0...1..." in "Age of Shadows/We Are Forever" on the same album. ''Actual Fantasy'' has two title drops both in "Actual Fantasy" and at the start of "Beyond the Last Horizon". ''The Final Experiment'' and ''The Universal Migrator'' also have [[TitleDrop Title Drops]] in them. However, if you listen closely, (or read the lyrics,) you will find that they do not spell out the title (01011001, or Y), but rather the word "help" in ASCII binary code. The "off"/"on" part spelling "forever" is probably a better example.
* TheEndingChangesEverything: ''The Human Equation'' ends with [[spoiler: the reveal that the entire album was a Dream Sequencer program being run by none other than Forever of the Stars as a way of rediscovering emotion.]]
* TheGreatOffscreenWar: WorldWarIII. However, we do get a very brief glimpse of what probably was one of the last battles in the intro of 2084.
* TouchedByVorlons: Mr. L.
* TranshumanAliens: [[spoiler: In ''The Source'', the Alphans artificially evolve into the Forevers to adapt to their new home planet.]]

* UnhappyMedium: Ayreon and Mr. L.

* WhamLine: In ''March of the Machines'', a CallForward is made to the events of ''01011001'', hinting that the Forevers' utopia isn't built to last.

** The very last words on ''The Human Equation''; see TheEndingChangesEverything above.
-->[[spoiler: '''Forever of the Stars:''' Emotions...I remember...]]
* WorldWarIII

* Jonas Renske (Music/{{Katatonia}}) - ''01011001''

* BigBrotherIsWatching: The E-Police.
* BilingualBonus: If you count binary as a language, anyway. The title of the album ''01011001'' maps to 89 in decimal numbers. 89 is ASCII code for Y - the name of the planet that the Forevers live on. Also, the song "Age of Shadows/We Are Forever" has a few verses of binary or pseudo-binary (voices chanting "zero, one, zero" "off, on, off" "no, yes, no"). The verses respectively translate to "help help", "forever" and "sos sos".
** The binary chanted by the android TH-1 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFuMKdrzPqU The Day That The World Breaks Down]] translates to "trustTH1"

* BlindSeer: Ayreon

* DepopulationBomb: At the end of ''01011001''

* HamToHamCombat:
** Frequently. But for a particularly awesome example, check out the four-way melee between Tom Eglund, Steve Lee, Daniel Gildenlow and Jorn Lande starting at 3:00 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr0OvPyoisw The Fifth Extinction.]]
** Mike Baker vs. Devin Townsend in "Day Sixteen: Loser"

* MadOracle: Ayreon and Mr. L.

* MindScrew: Pretty much everything.

* OutOfOrder: Listening to the albums out of order won't spoil anything. Listening to the storyline from beginning to end, however, requires some skipping around between the albums. The timeline of events in the Ayreon universe is described on [[http://img15.nnm.me/c/f/8/4/7/606ff7d8f46f1c3f6fbe571953a.jpg a poster]] that came with the ''Timeline'' compilation. With this in mind, the chronological order of the albums and songs goes something like this:

** The announcement that the 2017 album ''The Source'' would be a return to the timeline further muddies waters; the album serves as a prequel to the entire story, revealing a few of the gaps left in the story as of ''01011001''.

** The President and The Opposition Leader in ''The Source''

* SopranoAndGravel: Floor Janssen and Jonas Renske in ''01011001'', the Indian [[spoiler: and Death]] in ''Into the Electric Castle''

* UnrealisticBlackHole: Well, yeah--it's ''singing''!

-->'''The Biologist:''' [[spoiler: The Age of Shadows will begin!]]

* ArtifactTitle: Ayreon was the main character in the first album, and ''The Dream Sequencer''.