This week I had cause to re-read my review of Sabaton’s gig towards the end of last year, and in my words — which are never knowingly short of hyperbole — I said that “no other metal band is doing things on this scale.”
As so often, I was wrong.
No one told Ayreon. Or, more accurately, no one told Arjen Lucassen, who basically asked us all to hold his beer while he did this.
And by “this”, I mean that in September 2025, Tilburg in the Netherlands was once again transformed into Ayreon City, as six spectacular shows took over the 013 venue — or what is fast becoming known as “home” by Ayreonauts around the world.
All 15,000 tickets were snapped up within minutes, with fans travelling from an astonishing 71 countries to witness the latest Ayreon live experience: “30th Anniversary – An Amazing Flight Through Time.”
The intro arrives with the sort of gravitas you would expect, before “My House On Mars” and a soaring “Sail Away To Avalon” dial up the prog in no uncertain terms.
There has always been something seemingly out of reach, something not quite of this world, about Ayreon’s music. “Green And Cream” drifts off into other realms, but somehow still sounds enormous while doing so.
The sheer skill on show throughout is palpable. The guitar work on “Day Of The Knights”, for example, is dazzling, while “Childhood” — with its piano and vocals — feels like the centrepiece of a musical, not least because Anneke van Giersbergen excels.
“Dragon On The Sea” offers contrast in abundance, moving from harsh electronics to lush acoustics in the blink of an eye, as Irene Jansen and Marcela Bovio dovetail superbly.
The flute at the start of “Sign” is simply gorgeous, and it contrasts beautifully with “Sea Of Machines”, which imagines a dystopian future that may be coming closer by the day.
When Ayreon marry everything together, as on “The Year Of ’41”, there are few better. “The First Man On Earth” becomes a vehicle for the wonderful vocals of Wudstik, while the medley of “The Lighthouse”, “The Argument 2” and “The Parting” sounds suitably thunderous, like an ocean storm rolling in.
“Carried By The Wind” has an almost folk charm, while “Dream Sequencer 2” begins the second part with something of a tongue-in-cheek flourish.
Then “The Theory Of Everything” follows, and I am reminded of the first time I joined this mad world. Looking for bands like Avantasia was a tough task back then, but that was exactly what I was doing when I found Ayreon — and “The Theory Of Everything” was the album that did it.
“Actual Fantasy” becomes something of a palette cleanser. “Into The Black Hole” most certainly is not. That one is more like a mini-series in itself.
“Dreamtime”, with Heather Findlay, is lovely, and the unmistakable organ of “Dawn Of A Million Souls” is as heavy and overbearing as it gets. Dino Jelusick finds his best Dio voice from within too, but Ayreon cannot resist the twists and turns, so the strings arrive and elevate it further still.
There is a very Jethro Tull feel, at least musically, to “Valley Of The Queens”, while the Celtic flavour of “Loser” turns it into something of a singalong, and one of the set’s great fun moments.
There is a proper Sabbath riff on the quite brilliant “The Castle Hall”, although to the best of my knowledge Sabbath never used a tin whistle to bring the “War Pigs” home.
There is a touch of blues about “Amazing Flight In Space”, and as the hook line “hey dude, you’re so uncool” hits, you wonder if that is Lucassen himself having a laugh. Like Devin Townsend, you can always picture him in a lab coat somewhere, crafting this brilliance.
“Everybody Dies” bewilders and disorientates, but it is a highlight amongst many.
After a lengthy speech from Lucassen and Joost van den Broek, the music resumes with a quite sensational “Set Your Controls”.
The whole thing ends with “Isolation”, and if Ayreon, for all their wizardry, do not pack the set with loads of epics in the conventional sense, then this one absolutely is. There is an ensemble feel to it, almost as if everyone wants one last go.
They deserve it.
In his address, Lucassen apologises for never touring this band. Of course, it is not a conventional band, and he says the reason is simple: he could never do it on this scale.
He is right.
And anyway, just imagine how special you must be to make the world come to you.
RATING: 9.5/10
