The Wizard's Reckoning--A Tribute to Ayreon

This is a piece I've been toying with for probably over a year and I decided I wanted it DONE so I can think solely of Shadow Blade.

Yes. Ayreon is metal. When it wants to be. No, this tribute doesn't have a metal sound. Still, I think it belongs here in case there are other metalheads who like Ayreon. So there.

It's a tribute to Arjen A. Lucassen's album, The Final Experiment. That album is the one where the "real" Ayreon appears, the blind minstrel that inspired my name here on Sheezy. In this, you'll hear effects and themes reminiscent of the album, but nothing actually copied. All loops and sound effects, except the vocals, come from ACID Music 3.0, which I own; these are non-proprietary loops that I paid for. The vocals are mine--please bear in mind that I have very limited recording equipment, so forgive the static. Also, the harmonies were completely improvised one track at a time--but with the story I have in mind, it's OK if the parts don't completely fit.

According to Arjen's story, the minstrel Ayreon met his untimely end at the hands of Merlin, a false seer who claimed that the warning-visions sent to Ayreon by desperate future scientists were lies. It is also established in the album that Merlin later has a series of visions that lead him to one horrifying conclusion: he has not only killed an innocent man, but perhaps even destroyed humanity's only hope of surviving past the year 2084. Merlin must dedicate the rest of his life to Ayreon's old mission: warn humanity from its destructive ways before it's too late.

What the album doesn't cover is HOW Merlin's humbling might've occurred.

Imagine Merlin ascending the stairs to a tower where he had kept Ayreon prisoner in his last days, when suddenly a great force sweeps in and blows out not only the hallway torches but the stars. Merlin stands paralyzed by darkness, barely clinging to any sense of balance as the visions swirl around him, accusing him of what he has done. Finally, as vertigo overcomes him, a dreadful sensation settles over him; Merlin knows now what poetic justice is as he tries to accustom himself to his new darkness.