Prog visionary Arjen Lucassen’s massive ‘Ayreon Universe’ live DVD/blu-ray release, which documents his first-ever life shows, will be released this Friday, March 30th.
In anticipation of the release, Arjen has just posted a final sneak peek from the performance, which he says is his personal favorite: “And The Druids Turned To Stone.” Watch it here:
Lucassen explains, “This is my own personal favorite: And The Druids Turned To Stone. Mainly because of Damian’s amazing performance, he totally owns the stage here. Despite this being a relatively quiet atmospheric track, for me this was one of the highlights of the show. Hope you agree, enjoy!”
This unique performance features 16 singers, 28 songs, an 8 piece band and a special appearance by Arjen. The duration of the show was more than 2 hours. It was filmed with 30 cameras and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray with 5.1 surround audio, with an extensive list of extras, including a behind-the-scenes documentary with interviews with every singer and musician, and a compilation of the try-out show performed a few weeks earlier.
Two years in the making, Ayreon Universe is a full on rock extravaganza, featuring songs from all Ayreon albums, including 2017’s The Source, plus a few fan favorites from Star One. An amazing array of singers appeared on stage to bring the Ayreon Universe to life: Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Damian Wilson (Headspace), Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gentle Storm), Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Mike Mills (Toehider), Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion), Irene Jansen, Robert Soeterboek (Star One), John Jaycee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis), Edward Reekers (ex-Kayak), Jay van Feggelen, Maggy Luyten (Nightmare) and Lisette van den Berg (Scarlet Stories).
