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| 01011001 | 
 enlarge | Artist: Ayreon
Label: Inside Out Music
Category: Music
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $13.63
You Save: $6.35 (32%)
New (42) Used (10) from $9.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 25303
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79682
UPC: 693723796826
EAN: 0693723796826
ASIN: B000YKOY1W
Release Date: January 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Most orders shipped within 24 hours. All items include original artwork and packaging. We do not ship to Brazil, sorry. Satisfaction Guaranteed!
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Age Of Shadows (incl. We Are Forever) | | • | Comatose | | • | Liquid Eternity | | • | Connect The Dots | | • | Beneath The Waves: Beneath The Waves / Face The Facts / But A Memory... / World Without Walls / Reality Bleeds | | • | Newborn Race: The Incentive / The Vision / The Procedure / Another Life / Newborn Race / The Conclusion | | • | Ride The Comet | | • | Web Of Lies |
Disc 2
| • | The Fifth Extinction: Glimmer Of Hope / World Of Tomorrow Dreams / Collision Course / From The Ashes / Glimmer Of Hope (reprise) | | • | Waking Dreams | | • | The Truth Is In Here | | • | Unnatural Selection | | • | River Of Time | | • | E=MC_ | | • | The Sixth Extinction: Echoes on the Wind / Radioactive Grave / 2085 / To the Planet of Red / Spirit on the Wind / Complete the Circle |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Arjen Lucassen has again assembled an all star supporting cast for what will become the true magnum opus by Ayreon, the rock opera 01011001 . It is the story of planet Y (which is the album title in binary computer code) and the struggle for emotional survival in an age of increased technological dependence.
Assisting in the storytelling are some of rock s major luminaries including Ty Tabor (King s X), Michael Romeo (Symphony X), Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings),Derek Sherinian (Planet X), Ed Warby (Gorefest), Hansi Kuersch (Blind Guardian), and Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering).
Available as 2CD version, a Special Edition with bonus DVD and as a Ltd. Ed. 2-CD with bonus DVD version in high class DVD box packaging.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Exceeds All Expectations - A Great Album! February 5, 2008
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
My first encounter with the music of Arjen Lucassen was his last release, THE HUMAN EQUATION. I picked that CD up solely because James LaBrie of Dream Theater was singing on it. I was immediately impressed with the depth of story, the virtuosity of musicians and the masterful way that Lucassen pulled so many top flight people together to make, what amounts to a prog-rock opera. It was one of the best purchases I made a few years ago. I guess the only complaint I had at the time was the growling on a few of the tracks...a particular musical style I've personally never really appreciated.
It was with great anticipation that I bought 01011001. I wasn't sure if it would be a continuation of the Human Equation story or something completely different. This time around, it's a brilliant and powerful science fiction epic of a grand scale. I understand the story is related to his previous album UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PT 1-2. (Looks like I have another CD to buy.)
I was blown away with this album from the first moment. The assembled musicians are perfectly cast, and the music is incredible! I was expecting a good album, but got a great one. This is the must-buy album of the year for any and all progressive rock fans.
I purchased the Special Edition box set with a DVD included. I have to say that the "Beneath The Waves" video is amazing and wonderful to watch, but much of the rest of the DVD is dross. There is a tedious video showing interviews with many of the singers and musicians, talking about how they met Arjen, or how Arjen emailed them, or how Arjen picked them up at the airport, or how great it is to work with Arjen.....I got really bored with it really quickly. Unless you are really into that kind of thing, I can easily recommend that you save the extra $10 or so, and just pick up the music.
But you must, must, must get the music...you won't be sorry!
Arjen does it again! January 29, 2008
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Arjen Lucassen, who by this point must be considered as one of the best concept album writers of all time, has managed to capture the best elements of "Into The Electric Castle" and "The Universal Migrator" with this stellar (literally) new release, "01011001". Using a vocal cast just as renowned as the one on "The Human Equation", this Ayreon album tells the story of a planet and a population close to the edge due to increasing reliance on technology and medicine.
Arjen skipped out on the usual introductory narration this time, and opens the album up with "The Age of Shadows", possibly the heaviest Ayreon opener yet. Then, the album takes a melancholy turn, reminiscent of the softer songs on fellow prog champions Porcupine Tree's newest album "Fear of a Blank Planet".
Those who missed the instrumental section on "The Human Equation" will be glad to see their return with "0101101". The production values are closer to "The Human Equation" than anything else, but the songs are written more in the style of "Electric Castle" and "Migrator", with longer vocal parts and long instrumentals. Thanks to the aid of many top-gun progressive musicians, Symphony X's Michael Romeo and ex-Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian among them, "0101101" should not be a disappointment to the progressive fans who were hooked with "Electric Castle" or "Migrator".
The vocal performances are strong as usual. That's to be expected, though, with the frontmen of acts like Blind Guardian, Pain of Salvation, and King's X on the roster. My only complaint is that there are so many vocalists that none get to steal the spotlight for long. Fan of the bands Arjen plucked from will hear just enough of their favorite vocalists to be satisfied, and no more.
Lyrically, the album takes a darker and more serious mood than ever before. Of course the usual cheese factor is present, though greatly diminished this time around. The album brings up several sociological and philosophical questions, though not without a certain pretense, asking what kind of society is really in the best interest of the human species. The album seems to want to comment on humanity's current faith in technology and medicine, scorning it in a way comparable to novels such as Huxley's "Brave New World". These kind of sentiments have always existed in Arjen's work, but here they take the spotlight.
I can not imagine "01011001" would disappoint any current Ayreon fan. It is a fresh release, different than previous ones yet with all the elements that made the older ones great. The number of highly memorable passages and good songs is much greater than the number not so memorable ones. Dare I say that this album is Arjen's masterpiece?
 To me, this is more like an uninspired Arjen trying to SOUND like Ayreon. March 22, 2008
10 out of 19 found this review helpful
I'm sure I'm going to catch some serious flak for this review. I've been a loyal Ayreon fan for a long time. I own every album, and consider myself a bonafide Ayreonaut.
This album did nothing for me. I don't know what it is, but the whole thing just comes off as uninspired, like Arjen Lucassen thought to himself one day "I better put out some Ayreon stuff before people forget about me.", and thus this album was born.
For the pile of songs that are on this album, I kept getting the feeling that I was listening to the same song over and over for much of the album. A lot of the songs are just plain goofy, lyrically. Goofy to the point of being stupid. I know, I know, he's critiquing modern lifestyle and way of thinking in these particular songs. I get it. I understand it. It's still stupid.
A lot of the musical themes in this album are repetitive, which leads me into the "Haven't I just heard this track?" syndrome I described above. Pretty much every song either starts out with stereotypical "Hey, this is Ayreon!" pulsing synth bass, or stereotypical "Hey, this is Ayreon!" folky kinda mandolin. From there, Lucassen has no problem building tension, and he does so marvelously several times throughout this album. But just when you think things are gonna start rockin', or get interesting, they don't. The dynamics change, and it falls back into uninspired rehash.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Ayreon hater. I love Arjen's songwriting and musicianship 99% of the time. It's not a -bad- album, I'd just call it "okay", and sadly, quite forgettable in my opinion. If you're a hardcore "Arjen can do no wrong." type, pick this album up. If this is your first journey into Lucassen's music, I'd recommend you pick up Actual Fantasy or Into the Electric Castle instead.
But then again, it appears me and the handful of other people who reviewed the album and didn't like it are in the minority, so maybe we're the ones that are off base. That's my two cents, anyways. =)
 Disappointment February 21, 2008
8 out of 16 found this review helpful
I am going to be the minority on this one, but this CD does not live up to my expectations. I do not feel that it comes anywhere close to being as good as Human Equation. That said, it's not terrible. I give it three stars for the usual excellent musicianship you know you are going to get from Arjen. Lyrically, however, this "rock opera" suffers, as some of the tracks seem to be very loose parts of the albums concept. Connect The Dots and Web Of Lies and E=MC2 are not good songs, and I'm having a hard time getting past that. Even some of the other songs feel somewhat rushed together. Too many vocalists on other tracks ("too many cooks"), seeming like there was some necessity to squeeze this voice in here, that voice in there.
There isn't not a single other Ayreon album where I ever wanted to skip a track. This one has three. And for that I would have given 2 stars if not, again, for the Arjen factor.
The worse album of Ayreon March 5, 2008
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
I know this is a bold statement but anyway it's the opinion of someone that has 6 CDs from them and appreciates not only the group but the gender as well. Yes, it's my own opinion and is worth what is worth.
So, it was with great expectations that I bought this one expecting it to be more or less at the same standards of the others but I'm disappointed I must confess. I feel like they burned all the spark and fire inside and are lost out on a limb. I found myself wishing the CD ended which is not a good sign... I can't say there is any evolution on style, it's more a stagnation but for the worse. There is a sense of deja vue song after song.
To conclude, I believe the formula won't produce in the future anything else of great value but I sincerely wish I'm wrong. For those who aren't familiar with this group I recommend any of these albums instead: The Final Experiment, Actual Fantasy, Into The Electric Castle, Flight Of The Migrator or The Dream Sequencer. In my opinion they are much better ones.
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