Actual Fantasy
Encyclopedia
Actual Fantasy is a progressive metal
album released in 1996 by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen A. Lucassen
and is the second album of his Ayreon
project. It is the only Ayreon release that does not feature a single overarching story concept
, but instead draws on science fiction
and fantasy film
s for inspiration, as well as stories written by Arjen himself.
In 2004, Arjen moved to a new record label, InsideOut Germany
. With this move came re-issues of all previous Ayreon releases, including Actual Fantasy. The re-issue came with a bonus DVD featuring a 5.1
remix of the entire original album, a video clip for "The Stranger from Within," and a video featurette showing the 2004 recordings of drums, bass, and guitar for the remix.
album Space Metal
in pro logic
, and "Day 11: Love" from The Human Equation
in 5.1, Arjen was very motivated and excited about making an entire album in 5.1. With a switch in record companies to InsideOut
, there came a reprinting of all previous Ayreon albums; this proved an attractive opportunity to promote Actual Fantasy, the lowest-selling and most often overlooked Ayreon recording.
Originally, Actual Fantasy was recorded with a digital drum computer. Arjen had for some time wondered what the tracks would sound like with a real drummer, and as his collaborations with Gorefest
drummer Ed Warby
became more consistent over the years, the exciting yet intimidating idea developed. To remix the album in 5.1, certain sections had to be re-recorded, as they were lost in the subsequent eight years - this made the idea of using drums for the entire album an increasingly viable option.
The original intention with the album was to make it entirely electronic, which fit the themes found in the songs well. However, after discussing it with Ed, Arjen decided he would be remiss not to utilize Ed's abilities, and did re-record the drum section. Interestingly, when the album was first released in 1996, prior to Ed's association with Arjen, Ed commented to people he knew that he felt the record should have utilized real drums.
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
album released in 1996 by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen A. Lucassen
Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Arjen Anthony "Oswold Jr." Lucassen is a progressive metal/rock composer, singer and musician from the Netherlands, best known for his long-running progressive opera project titled Ayreon....
and is the second album of his Ayreon
Ayreon
Ayreon is a project by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen.Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica...
project. It is the only Ayreon release that does not feature a single overarching story concept
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, but instead draws on science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
s for inspiration, as well as stories written by Arjen himself.
In 2004, Arjen moved to a new record label, InsideOut Germany
InsideOut Music
Inside Out Music is a German independent record label based in Kleve, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles music albums.-History:...
. With this move came re-issues of all previous Ayreon releases, including Actual Fantasy. The re-issue came with a bonus DVD featuring a 5.1
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
remix of the entire original album, a video clip for "The Stranger from Within," and a video featurette showing the 2004 recordings of drums, bass, and guitar for the remix.
Actual Fantasy: Revisited
After remixing "Star Child" from his Star OneStar One
Star One is a Dutch progressive metal supergroup/side-project of Arjen Anthony Lucassen of Ayreon fame. Unlike Ayreon, the band did not follow one storyline; instead, each song was a different story with a sci-fi concept, most of the tracks based on existing movies and series.-Origins and first...
album Space Metal
Space Metal (Star One album)
Space Metal is an album by Star One released on the recording label Inside Out in 2002. It was issued in two versions, a standard version containing just the first CD and a limited edition version with more elaborate packaging and both CDs....
in pro logic
Dolby Pro Logic
Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround. Dolby Stereo was originally developed by Dolby in 1976 for analog cinema sound systems...
, and "Day 11: Love" from The Human Equation
The Human Equation
The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released under the name Ayreon. It was released on May 25, 2004. As with other Ayreon albums, it features guest appearances from several musicians previously unrelated to the project, including James LaBrie of Dream Theater, Mikael...
in 5.1, Arjen was very motivated and excited about making an entire album in 5.1. With a switch in record companies to InsideOut
InsideOut Music
Inside Out Music is a German independent record label based in Kleve, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles music albums.-History:...
, there came a reprinting of all previous Ayreon albums; this proved an attractive opportunity to promote Actual Fantasy, the lowest-selling and most often overlooked Ayreon recording.
Originally, Actual Fantasy was recorded with a digital drum computer. Arjen had for some time wondered what the tracks would sound like with a real drummer, and as his collaborations with Gorefest
Gorefest
Gorefest was a Dutch band from the Zeeland region of the Netherlands which was founded in 1988 as a death metal outfit by De Koeyer, Harthoorn, van Schaik and Hoogendoorn.-History:...
drummer Ed Warby
Ed Warby
Edward R. Warby was born and raised in Rotterdam and is best known as the drummer for Gorefest and Ayreon.He also appeared in the band Agressor in 1982 and joined the Eindhoven-based prog-outfit Elegy in 1987...
became more consistent over the years, the exciting yet intimidating idea developed. To remix the album in 5.1, certain sections had to be re-recorded, as they were lost in the subsequent eight years - this made the idea of using drums for the entire album an increasingly viable option.
The original intention with the album was to make it entirely electronic, which fit the themes found in the songs well. However, after discussing it with Ed, Arjen decided he would be remiss not to utilize Ed's abilities, and did re-record the drum section. Interestingly, when the album was first released in 1996, prior to Ed's association with Arjen, Ed commented to people he knew that he felt the record should have utilized real drums.
Track listing
Personnel
- Okkie Huysdens – vocals
- Edward Reekers – vocals
- Robert Soeterboek (Cotton Soeterboek Band) – vocals
- Cleem Determeijer – synth solo on tracks 3 and 4; orchestral and string arrangements on tracks 1, 3, 7, and 8
- Rene Merkelbach – HammondHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, synthSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
solo on track 2 - Floortje Schilt – violin
- Arjen Anthony LucassenArjen Anthony LucassenArjen Anthony "Oswold Jr." Lucassen is a progressive metal/rock composer, singer and musician from the Netherlands, best known for his long-running progressive opera project titled Ayreon....
– all other instruments - David Bachwitz – 'little boy' on track 1
- Kiki Holleman – 'baby' on track 8
Actual Fantasy: Revisited
- Ed WarbyEd WarbyEdward R. Warby was born and raised in Rotterdam and is best known as the drummer for Gorefest and Ayreon.He also appeared in the band Agressor in 1982 and joined the Eindhoven-based prog-outfit Elegy in 1987...
(GorefestGorefestGorefest was a Dutch band from the Zeeland region of the Netherlands which was founded in 1988 as a death metal outfit by De Koeyer, Harthoorn, van Schaik and Hoogendoorn.-History:...
) – drums - Peter Vink – bass guitar
- Ewa Albering – flute
- Astrid van der Veen – vocal sample on "Back on Planet Earth"
Production
- Arranged & Produced By Arjen Anthony Lucassen
- Recorded, Engineered & Mixed By A. A. Lucassen & Oscar Holleman