The name Arjen Anthony Lucassen is synonymous with progressive metal. Lucassen is also known for his many recording projects that display the many facets of his influences. Ayreon is a ambient, progressive rock soundscape with a multitude of guest vocalists, Space One, while also prog, shows Luccasen’s heavier edge when it comes to songwriting. The Guilt Machine is a more subtle commercial sounding project. With “Lost in the New Real”, Arjen gets to the root of his rock and prog influences, namely The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix, while still maintaining the “Lucassen” trademark prog sound. Arjen also choosed to forgo the “all-star cast” of vocalists, choosing to handle the lead vocals himself.

    The story of “Lost in the New Real” follows Mr. L, a twenty-first century man who was cryopreserved at the moment of clinical death from a terminal disease. The album begins as Mr. L is being revived at a point in the distant future, when technology has advanced enough to cure his disease. Mr L finds himself in a world that has drastically changed — to the point that the line between what’s real and what’s not is no longer clear.

    Mr. L’s appointed psychological advisor (played by legendary screen actor Rutger Hauer) Voight-Kampff (a direct reference to the cult film classic Blade-Runner) is the psychological advisor to the central character Mr. L. The mysterious L is a twenty-first century man, who was cryo-preserved and then awoken far into the future, where Voight-Kampff attempts to ease him into his "New Real” and is tasked with helping him emotionally adapt to this strange new world. The songs on CD1 follow the main character Mr. L’s emotional journey as he is confronted with both serious and comical aspects of the “New Real”, and desperately tries to decide if he can find a meaningful place within it. Hauer’s commentary as Voight-Kampff serves as a link between each song on CD1. His acting is brilliant in that his voice sounds ominous, yet weary and set up each song perfectly. Starting with “The New Real”, a lush, melancholy song with aspects of industrial, metal, and folk music. “Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin” is an infectiously melodic ode to Lucassen’s musical heroes while also asking the question ‘If everything has been done before, why create new music?” The chorus has been stuck in my head upon first listen. Lucassen takes on the fictional subject of “population control” with tongue firmly planted in cheek on “Parental Procreation Permit”, which musically is has a prog metal groove with stellar background vocals. “When I’m A Hundred Sixty-Four” is an acoustic folk song with obvious lyrical ties to The Beatles “When I’m 64”. The topic of  illegal downloading and the scary notion of having an “internet police” is the topic on “E-Police” another straight ahead rock song with a great sing-a-long chorus. "Don't Switch Me Off" is a dreamy Pink Floyd-esque song with industrial sounding percussion that deals with “man versus machine”.   “Dr. Eternity’s Slumber Home” has a bouncy and lively, “John Lennon solo” feel to it complete with a banjo breakdown. “Yellowstone Memorial Day” is an environmental themed song about the dangers of pollution with some soaring harmony vocals in the chorus reminiscent of classic Queen. “Where Pigs Fly” is a very clever take on the theory of “multiple universes”. Musically an eerie underlying synth effect permeates this folk tinged whimsical song. The final track on CD1 is the title track, which finds the main character L discovering that the reality he is living in is just a dream. This is the longest track and incorporates elements of prog and industrial music with a sinister edge and beautiful violin work and another Queen inspired harmony section.    

     CD2 is a mix of cover songs and original songs that fit the concept of CD1 but didn’t fit into the story. ‘Space Hotel” is a percussive sonic masterpiece with a great catchy chorus. “You Have Entered The Reality Zone” brings memories of classic acoustic Zeppelin and deals with man’s over-reliance on technology. "Welcome To The Machine" (Pink Floyd), "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" (Blue Oyster Cult), "Battle Of Evermore" (Led Zeppelin), "Some Other Time" (Alan Parsons Project) and "I'm The Slime" (Frank Zappa) are all given the “Lucassen” treatment making them seem fresh and blend in with the album’s overall futuristic Utopian theme. The entire 20 songs on “Lost In The Real” span over an hour and a half but you never get the urge to press the “skip’ button”. This is an album to listen to in its entirety on headphones. The words “masterpiece” and “genius’ are often used to describe the music of  Arjen Anthony Lucassen, but in this case, both fall short in describing this opus. Highly recommended!!

Rating: 10.0