On February 7th, Ayreon revealed a contest on Facebook directed towards “all creative Ayreonauts who like making music videos”. The mission was to create a clip for ‘The Source Will Flow,’ the third instant gratification track from THE SOURCE, the exciting new chapter in the Ayreon saga. Today, the four best creations are revealed.
Arjen Lucassen elaborates, “About a month ago we asked the fans to make a video for the atmospheric track ‘The Source Will Flow’ from the new Ayreon album, and we received positive reactions from over a hundred applicants. We chose the best artists and they sent us four excellent videos! We felt it would be a great idea to have the fans choose the winner. So please check them out and vote for your favorite video, I’m very curious! And of course… I hope you enjoy the music as well :-)”
From March 22nd to March 30th, viewers can decide which video they like best, by voting on Arjen’s website at http://www.arjenlucassen.com/ay8/video-contest. The video that garners the most votes after seven days, will be declared the winner. The winning clip will be featured on the Ayreon YouTube channel, as well as being a native upload on the Ayreon Facebook page, and the creator will receive a fantastic Ayreon bundle. The three other finalists will get a special package of Ayreon goodies as well.
The third instant gratification track, “The Source Will Flow” is taken from Ayreon’s forthcoming THE SOURCE album, which has contributions from renowned vocalists like James LaBrie (Dream Theater),Simone Simons (Epica), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), and Russell Allen (Symphony X). The global street date is set for April 28 via Mascot Label Group/Music Theories Recordings.
The first video for “The Day That The World Breaks Down” has been viewed 350,000 times and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFuMKdrzPqU&feature=youtu.be. The second instant gratification track was “Everybody Dies” which has been streamed 175,000 times and is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUSoR4EdyIo&feature=youtu.be.
About THE SOURCE:
ARJEN LUCASSEN TO RELEASE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THE AYREON SAGA
By the musical genius who singlehandedly brought the rock opera back to life in the mid 90’s
While Ayreon’s ‘Forever/Planet Y’ saga seemed to have reached its conclusion with the album 01011001, it’s clear that Arjen Lucassen’s creative muses had other plans. The new Ayreon album The Source revisits the Forever saga, adding a whole new chapter to Lucassen’s impressive body of work. With its top-flight cast of singers and musicians, compelling songs, overwhelming sound, and intriguing story, The Source offers everything that has gained Lucassen dedicated fans worldwide since he laid the foundations of Ayreon back in the mid-90’s.
The story of The Source is set six billion years in the past relative to Earth. It begins on Planet Alpha, a world in the Andromeda system where computer intelligence has far surpassed that of humanity. Alpha is facing a massive global crisis, with ecological and political catastrophes threatening all human life. The Alphans (our human ancestors) try to save their planet by entrusting the global computer mainframe—The ‘Frame—to find a solution. Given total control of the planet, the ‘Frame reaches the logical conclusion that its creators are the cause of all the trouble. The only way to solve Alpha’s problems is to exterminate humanity. This leaves the Alphans no other option than to try and escape their horrific fate. But their escape comes at a terrible price. It’s the beginning of a story that contains everything that has made the Ayreon epics so endlessly fascinating all these years.
The international status of Ayreon enables Arjen Lucassen to write his characters with some of the most respected singers in rock in mind: James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Tommy Giles Rogers (Between the Buried And Me), Simone Simons (Epica), Mike Mills (Toehider), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind), Zaher Zorgati (Myrath), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), and Russell Allen (Symphony X). Special contributions were offered by guitarists Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, Asia, Steven Wilson), Marcel Coenen and keyboard player Mark Kelly (Marillion).
Just as on his previous albums, The Source has Arjen Lucassen playing a wide variety of instruments, while the inimitable Ed Warby (o.a. Elegy, Gorefest, Hail Of Bullets) once again masterfully handles the drums.
2017 will be a particularly exciting year for Ayreon fans thanks to a unique chance to actually see Ayreon live. Limited to three exclusive performances, “The Ayreon Universe” will take place in September in the prestigious 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland. This unprecedented live event features the best of twenty years of Ayreon music, brought to life by a top cast of musicians such as Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Russell Allen (Symphony X), Damian Wilson (Threshold), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Jonas Renkse(Katatonia), Anneke van Giersbergen, and various others. The reclusive Arjen Lucassen himself is also expected to make a rare appearance on stage. The tickets for all concerts – 9000 in total – sold out within a day, proving once again that the Ayreon magic is still very much alive and kicking
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