Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) released the new Star One album, Revel In Time, on February 18 via InsideOutMusic. BraveWords caught up with Lucassen  to discuss the album and what inspired him to return to Star One following the release of the Ayreon album, Transitus.

Following is an excerpt from the forthcoming feature.

Lucassen: "Having Steve Vai on 'Lost Children Of The Universe', that's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. He's in my Top 3 of guitarists: Gilmour, Blackmore, and Steve Vai. They're the three that influenced my playing. I've asked Steve Vai to play on one of my albums before, but he doesn't just do anything. He only does stuff that he likes, he doesn't have to do it for the money, and he turned me down for Transitus, so Joe Satriani ended up playing that part. This time I had a three-minute part, all atmospheric with lots of space, and I thought it could be for Steve. I sent it to him and he asked me 'Where does the solo go?' and I said 'The whole thing.' I didn't hear anything for a couple months so I wondered if it was going to happen, and one day I got a mail and the subject was 'Ta-Daa!' (laughs)."

"It was a link and I listened to it, and I couldn't believe it. I was just standing there, nervous, and I played it a second time. I just started crying. Lori (Linstruth / manager) was outside walking the dog and she came in and wondered what was wrong. I couldn't even tell her at first except to say it was nothing bad (laughs). I had to bring her upstairs and put her in front of the speakers so she understood. It wasn't just the fact that Steve Vai had played a solo for me; he must have worked on that for days. There are so many harmonies, he really thought about what he was doing. It sounds amazing. Recognition from musicians like that, who you grew up listening to, that's amazing."

Watch for the complete story, coming soon.

The new album comes more than 10 years since the previous release and is due out on February 18 via InsideOutMusic.

Arjen explains the decision to return with a new Star One album: “Ayreon is like the mothership for all my music. It contains all the different musical styles that I like to listen to and that I love to create. But I’m always looking for challenges and trying to create something new and original as well. Working within a set of constraints forces you to do that, so sometimes I like to limit myself and focus on just one style. For example, with Star One I focus on the metal-side of Ayreon. That means you won’t hear the exuberantly liberal use of acoustic instruments that are so often featured on Ayreon albums, like violin, woodwinds, cello, horns, dulcimer, mandolin, etc.”

CD2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD1, but with different vocalists. Also available will be a 5.1 mix, a high-res audio version, and an exclusive, hour-long Behind The Scenes video, on the Blu-ray included in the Artbook.

Revel In Time tracklisting:

CD1:

"Fate Of Man" (Vocals: Brittney Slayes, Guitar solo: Michael Romeo)
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)" (Vocals: Sir Russell Allen, Guitar solos: Timo Somers)
"Prescient" (Vocals: Michael Mills and Ross Jennings)
"Back From The Past" (Vocals: Jeff Scott Soto, Guitar solo: Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
"Revel In Time" (Vocals: Brandon Yeagley, Guitar solos: Adrian Vandenberg)
"The Year Of ’41" (Lead vocal: Joe Lynn Turner, Vocalization: Will Shaw, Guitar solo: Joe Hoekstra, Synthesizer solo: Jens Johansson)
"Bridge Of Life" (Vocals: Damian Wilson)
"Today Is Yesterday" (Vocals: Dan Swanö, Mood synthesizers: Lisa Bella Donna, Guitar solo: Marcel Singor)
"A Hand On The Clock" (Vocals: Floor Jansen, Hammond solo: Joost van den Broek
"Beyond The Edge Of It All" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers, Guitar solo: Arjen Lucassen)
"Lost Children Of The Universe" (Vocals: Roy Khan, Choir: Hellscore Choir, Guitar solo: Steve Via)

CD 2:
"Fate Of Man" (Vocals: Marcela Bovio)
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers)
"Prescient" (Vocals: Will Shaw)
"Back From The Past" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers)
"Revel In Time" (Vocals: John Jaycee Cuijpers)
"The Year Of ’41" (Vocals and synth solo: Alessandro Del Vecchio)
"Bridge Of Life" (Vocals: Wilmer Waarbroek)
"Today Is Yesterday" (Vocals: Arjen Lucassen)
"A Hand On The Clock" (Lead and backing vocals: Marcela Bovio and Irene Jansen (verses)
"Beyond The Edge Of It All" (Vocals: Mike Andersson)
"Lost Children Of The Universe" (Vocals: Tony Martin)

"Revel In Time" video:

"Prescient" video:

"Fate Of Man" video: