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''The Theory of Everything'' is the eighth studio album from Ayreon, a progressive metal/rock opera project by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on October 28, 2013. As with every Ayreon album, it is a concept album with each character being portrayed by one singer, however being released five years after ''01011001'' which concluded the original Ayreon story, ''The Theory of Everything'' is a fresh start from the Ayreon storyline developed since Ayreon's first album ''The Final Experiment'' in 1995; in addition, while previous albums which took place in a sci-fi context (with the notable exception of ''The Human Equation'', taking place in a man's mind), it is set in a realistic world. Lucassen composed all the music, and wrote the story and lyrics with his girlfriend Lori Linstruth, making it the first Ayreon album in which he shares lyrics credit for all the songs. In the typical style of the project, the album features several guest singers to portray the characters across the album, including former King Crimson and current Asia member John Wetton, Marco Hietala of Nightwish and Tarot, Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and Tommy Karevik of Kamelot and Seventh Wonder. It also features various guest musicians such as keyboardists Rick Wakeman (ex-Yes), Keith Emerson (ex-Emerson, Lake & Palmer), and Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater, and guitarist Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis). It is Lucassen's first collaboration with every singer on the album, with the exception of backing vocalist Wilmer Waarbroek, who already sung on his solo album ''Lost in the New Real''. According to Lucassen, the album is "four long tracks divided into various segments", with each song longer than 20 minutes for a total of almost one hour and a half of music. The complete number of segments is 42, which is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', recognized by Lucassen as a direct reference.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ayreon - Timeline Photos | Facebook )〕 On December 18, 2013, Lucassen released on YouTube a free version of the album with all vocals sung by Waarbroek.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ayreon - I mixed the amazing guide-vocals that @Wilmer... | Facebook )〕 ''The Theory of Everything'' was a commercial success and received acclaim from audience and critics, who praised its instrumental sections, songwriting, story, and the performances of the cast. == Production == After the release of ''01011001'', Lucassen decided to temporarily put Ayreon on hold, because he was not inspired to continue and also because many critics noted that there was nothing new being offered on ''01011001''. He then focused on other projects, such as Guilt Machine's first album, Star One's second album, and a new solo album. On August 23, 2012, Lucassen published on his YouTube channel that he started composing a new project,〔 and on October 9, 2012, revealed it via YouTube again to be a new Ayreon album, planned for 2013. On March 26, 2013, Lucassen revealed the name of the next album to be ''The Theory of Everything''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Next Ayreon album title – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING )〕 Since then, Lucassen progressively revealed the singers and musicians involved in the new album, through YouTube. On September 6, the artwork and track listing for the new album was revealed on the official Ayreon Facebook page. The album cover was painted by frequent Ayreon artist Jef Bertels.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ayreon-the-theory-of-everything-cover-artwork-track-listing-revealed/ )〕 During the recordings, Lucassen suffered an elbow injury. According to him, it is "pretty serious" and will need to be operated on, with only 70/80% chance of success. However he chose to not be operated immediately because it would delay the release of ''The Theory of Everything'', and continued to record despite the pain.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Photo album – 27 May )〕 Lucassen described the album as "less heavy and more instrumental than ''01011001"'', and also cited the films ''A Beautiful Mind'' and ''Rain Man'' as inspirations for the lyrics.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Theory of Everything (Ayreon album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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