BW&BK; recently caught up with AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen to discuss his forthcoming album, 01011001, which is easily the darkest album of his career. The album was created following the break-up of his marriage.

“Yes, I think it definitely had an influence on the music," says Lucassen of his personal troubles. "I got divorced after 13 years of what I believed was a happy marriage, and at the beginning I went back to my old lifestyle, but the partying and stuff was fun when I was 20. I’m 47 now so things are different. I also got this shitty Anosmia thing where I lost my sense of taste and smell, so it all came together and I ended up in a deep depression for the first time in my life. I had no inspiration to make music at all. I just couldn’t get over it, and I eventually began to feel there was no reason to go on. The doctor told me I was going to have to take pills and I was like ‘No way, pills are for other people,’ but it got to a point where I had to do something and started taking them, and it worked. The inspiration to make music started to come back, but at first it was all this dark stuff, of course. I called the record label and told them it was going to be a dark album, and a single CD with maybe two or three singers, but before I knew it things started to flow and I started writing happier songs. Next thing I knew I had a monster double album with 100 minutes of music (laughs)."

Watch for the full story in BW&BK; #109.

For album information go to this location.