BravePicks 2017 - AYREON's The Source #15
December 17, 2017, 7 years ago
Another gruelling year of heavy metal mastery is almost over! And all the votes are in and the compiling is complete! It's time to celebrate the winners and call out the not-so winners! So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2017 throughout December! And once again our devout scribes put their collective metal minds together to build the ultimate lists including individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments, Top 3 Concerts, What/Who Needs To Stop In 2018? and Metal Predictions For 2018. All will be showcased come the New Year!
'Tis the season to commence the good, bad and ugly of 2017! Let’s rock!
BravePicks 2017
15) AYREON – The Source (InsideOut)
Arjen Lucassen just continues to dazzles listeners. The Ayreon mastermind returned with a lineup of all-stars (Epica’s Simone Simons, Edguy’s Tobias Sammet, Symphony X’s Russell Allen, Dream Theater’s James LaBrie, just to name a few) for the impressive The Source with a new tale and concept to share. The Source is a masterful display of progressive metal and the enthusiasm and dedication runs rampant throughout the affair. It's a magical ride that only Lucassen can navigate and The Source starts the top 15 of BravePicks 2017.
Lucassen told BW’s Carl Begai in a feature story, "I start with 50 ideas and I hate most of them, really (laughs), because I figure they're not good enough. The ones that I do like, I'll play them to Lori (Linstruth / girlfriend, ex-Stream Of Passion guitarist) and she'll be like ‘Well, yeah, okay...’ So, I'm completely insecure until the very last moment, which is what makes me a perfectionist. That's what makes me work so much harder, especially when I hear other stuff like the new Opeth or the new Devin Townsend. That's when I'm thinking 'Oh my God, my stuff doesn't even get close to that...' (laughs). The reactions to The Source have been so good that the insecurity is gone, and usually it's always there."
"I can't just sit down and write music," says Lucassen. "I did that with The Theory Of Everything; I went into the studio without anything and just started recording, and I liked it and enjoyed it, but the result was a very difficult album. You really have to give it time to get into it because there wasn't really a selection of songs. Everything I had was put on that album. This time there is a selection of songs. I had 50 ideas, I threw away 30 and used 20. The sales and the reaction to The Theory Of Everything were lower and less positive, and I was getting sick and tired of hearing people saying 'Oh, uh, I have to get into it...' I was pulling my hair out because I wanted people to hear the album and like it, especially these days where there's so much stuff out there. Albums don't really get the chance to be great anymore. So, I think the time was right for an album like The Source."
BravePicks 2017 Top 30
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15) AYREON – The Source (InsideOut)
16) CANNIBAL CORPSE - Red Before Black (Metal Blade)
17) ANNIHILATOR - For The Demented (Silver Lining)
18) DECAPITATED - Anticult (Nuclear Blast)
19) GRAVE DIGGER - Healed By Metal (Napalm)
20) WITCHERY - I Am Legion (Century Media)
21) CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - Psychosis (Napalm)
22) MOONSPELL - 1755 (Napalm)
23) L.A. GUNS - The Missing Peace (Frontiers)
24) SEPULTURA - Machine Messiah (Nuclear Blast)
25) JAG PANZER - The Deviant Chord (SPV)
26) GOATWHORE - Vengeful Ascension (Metal Blade)
27) FIRESPAWN - The Reprobate (Century Media)
28) FIREWIND - Immortals (AFM)
29) VENOM INC. – Avé (Nuclear Blast)
30) THE HAUNTED - Strength In Numbers (Century Media)
