Into the Electric Castle
| Into The Electric Castle | |||||
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| Studio album by Ayreon | |||||
| Released | 31 October 1998 | ||||
| Recorded | The Electric Castle Studio | ||||
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| Length | 104:47 | ||||
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| Producer | Arjen Lucassen | ||||
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| Arjen Anthony Lucassen chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Blistering | 8/10 |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10 |
| Sputnikmusic |  |
Into the Electric Castle (also known as Into the Electric Castle — A Space Opera) is the third album of the progressive metal project Ayreon by Dutch songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released in 1998.
Being a concept album as is every Ayreon album, it tells a science fiction story with exaggerated, flamboyant characters influenced by B-grade science fiction movies. There are eight main characters (each one sung/played by a different vocalist, as is standard in every Ayreon album) from different times and locations. They find themselves in a strange place; guided by a mysterious voice which tells them that they must reach "the Electric Castle" if they want to survive. Into the Electric Castle is also the first collaboration between Lucassen and Ed Warby, who has since become Lucassen's most regular collaborator: he played drums on every following Ayreon album except Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer, and in Star One.
The album was a commercial success and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from music critics. Although Ayreon has never played live, five songs from Into the Electric Castle were included in Star One's live album Live on Earth and two in Stream of Passion album Live in the Real World.
After the previous Ayreon album, Actual Fantasy, sold below expectations, Arjen sought to deliver a top-quality recording with Into the Electric Castle. If the album had not been a success, Lucassen said he would have no longer continued the Ayreon project. It also remains his highest selling album to date, with The Human Equation being a close second.
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