Revel in Time

Revel in Time is the third studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive metal project/supergroup Star One, released via Inside Out on 18 February 2022.[8]

Revel in Time
Cover art of the album
Studio album by
Star One
Released18 February 2022
GenreProgressive metal[1]
Length66:42
LabelInsideOut
ProducerArjen Anthony Lucassen
Star One chronology
Victims of the Modern Age
(2010)		 Revel in Time
(2022)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen chronology
Transitus
(2020)		 Revel in Time
(2022)		 Golden Age of Music
(2023)
Singles from Revel in Time
  1. "Lost Children of the Universe"
    Released: 27 October 2021[2]
  2. "Fate of Man"
    Released: 17 November 2021[3]
  3. "Prescient"
    Released: 17 December 2021[4]
  4. "Revel in Time"
    Released: 19 January 2022[5][6][7]

As with previous Star One albums, here Lucassen focuses on the "metal" side of his main project Ayreon while dispensing with the latter's typical acoustic and folk elements.[8] He saw more hard rock elements on this album.[9] The album's lyrics are inspired by science fiction movies and TV series involving time manipulation, such as time loops and time travel.[10][9][11] The title is inspired by a quote from Blade Runner.[11]

Unlike previous albums, however, in which the same quartet of four guest vocalists (Damian Wilson, Dan Swanö, Floor Jansen and Russell Allen) would participate in the main songs, Revel in Time features several different vocalists,[8] one for each track, including Roy Khan, Tony Martin, Jeff Scott Soto, Joe Lynn Turner and the four aforementioned ones.[12] This was partly due to the international travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] It also features guitar and keyboard solos by guest instrumentalists, such as Jens Johansson, Steve Vai, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Adrian Vandenberg.[12]

Release and promotion

The first song and video to be released was the epic closing track "Lost Children of the Universe". The song appears on the album sung by either Roy Khan (CD 1) or Tony Martin (CD 2), but the video is a special version combining both their performances.[2] It was followed on 17 November by "Fate of Man", featuring Brittney Slayes (Unleash the Archers) and Michael Romeo (Symphony X).[3] The third single and video, "Prescient", features Ross Jennings and Micheal Mills and was released on 17 December 2021.[4] The title-track was released as the last single and video on 19 January 2022, featuring Brandon Yeagley.[5][6][7]

The album was released as a 2-CD digipak, deluxe 3-CD+Blu-ray artbook, 180 gram gatefold 2-LP. The artbook comes with a Blu-ray with 5.1 mix high-resolution audio version and behind the scenes footage.[8]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Injection9[11]
Sonic Perspectives9.3[1]

Metal Injection's Jordan Blum said Lucassen "and his troupe continue to do remarkably enticing and creative things" and commented that "it may take half a dozen deep listens for a few songs to reveal their specialties and set themselves apart from the pack", concluding that the album is "a superb return from progressive metal's greatest composer, as well as one of the finest genre albums you'll hear this year".[11]

In Tuonela Magazine, editor Laureline Tilkin considered Revel in Time "the most dynamic" of the three Star One albums, besides saying it overall "has a lighter character". She ultimately called it "an instant prog classic that everyone who is remotely interested in Arjen Lucassen's work should listen to".[10]

Writing for Sonic Perspectives, John Kokel said "for not being an actual Ayreon album, this may be Arjen's best Ayreon album since The Human Equation. He reasoned that comparing it with Ayreon albums would be more fair than doing the same with Star One albums since this effort "seems to be the best, most diverse, and best produced of the Star One albums".[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Arjen Anthony Lucassen except "Prescient" by Micheal Mills, and "Lost Children of the Universe," Latin text by Jaap Toorenaar and Gjalt Lucassen.[14]; all music is composed by Arjen Anthony Lucassen[14]

CD 1
No.TitleVocalistLength
1."Fate of Man" (inspired by The Terminator[1][3])Brittney Slayes5:29
2."28 Days (Till the End of Time)" (inspired by Donnie Darko[1])Russell Allen7:20
3."Prescient" (inspired by Primer[1])Micheal Mills, Ross Jennings6:34
4."Back from the Past" (inspired by Back to the Future[1])Jeff Scott Soto4:50
5."Revel in Time" (inspired by Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure[6][1])Brandon Yeagley4:37
6."The Year of '41" (inspired by The Final Countdown[1])Joe Lynn Turner6:20
7."Bridge of Life" (inspired by Frequency[1])Damian Wilson5:13
8."Today Is Yesterday" (inspired by Groundhog Day[1])Dan Swanö5:46
9."A Hand on the Clock" (inspired by Source Code[1])Floor Jansen5:51
10."Beyond the Edge of it All" (inspired by Sapphire & Steel[1])John Jaycee Cuijpers4:52
11."Lost Children of the Universe" (inspired by Interstellar[2][1])Roy Khan9:46
Total length:66:42
CD 2 (alternate versions with different vocalists)
No.TitleVocalistLength
1."Fate of Man" (inspired by The Terminator[1][3])Marcela Bovio5:29
2."28 Days (Till the End of Time)" (inspired by Donnie Darko[1])John Jaycee Cuijpers7:20
3."Prescient" (inspired by Primer[1])Will Shaw6:34
4."Back from the Past" (inspired by Back to the Future[1])John Jaycee Cuijpers4:50
5."Revel in Time" (inspired by Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure[6][1])John Jaycee Cuijpers4:37
6."The Year of '41" (inspired by The Final Countdown[1])Alessandro Del Vecchio6:20
7."Bridge of Life" (inspired by Frequency[1])Wilmer Waarbroek5:13
8."Today Is Yesterday" (inspired by Groundhog Day[1])Arjen Anthony Lucassen5:46
9."A Hand on the Clock" (inspired by Source Code[1])Marcela Bovio, Irene Jansen (verses)5:51
10."Beyond the Edge of it All" (inspired by Sapphire & Steel[1])Mike Andersson4:52
11."Lost Children of the Universe" (inspired by Interstellar[2][1])Tony Martin9:46
Total length:66:42

Personnel

Charts
Chart performance for Revel in Time
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 51
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 7
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[23] 77
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[24] 7

References
  1. Kokel, John (10 February 2022). "Arjen Lucassen's Star One – Revel In Time (Album Review)". Sonic Perspectives. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. Ewing, Jerry (27 October 2021). "Arjen Lucassen's Star One release epic video for Lost Children Of The Universe". Prog. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. Ewing, Jerry (17 November 2021). "Arjen Lucassen reveals Terminator-inspired Fate Of Man video from Star One". Prog. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  4. Ewing, Jerry (17 December 2021). "Haken and Toehider singers guest in new Star One video for Prescient". Prog. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  5. Michels, Alexandra (19 January 2022). "STAR ONE - 'Revel In Time'-Musikvideo veröffentlicht". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  6. "Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One Release Video For "Revel In Time" Single Feat. Adrian Vandenberg, Brandon Yeagley". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  7. Ewing, Jerry (19 January 2022). "Arjen Lucassen's Star One premiere 'zany', Bill & Ted-inspired video for Revel In Time". Prog. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  8. Pilkington, Steve (8 October 2021). "Arjen Lucassen Announces New Star One Album 'Revel in Time' For Early 2022". Velvet Thunder. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. Basa, Rafa (16 February 2022). "Entrevista con Arjen Lucassen sobre STAR ONE". Rafa Basa (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. Tilkin, Laureline (8 February 2022). "REVIEW: Arjen Lucassen's Star One – Revel In Time". Tuonela Magazine. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  11. Blum, Jordan (17 February 2022). "Album Review: STAR ONE Revel In Time". Metal Injection. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  12. "Arjen Lucassen Reveals Final Tracklisting And Musicians For New Star One Album". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  13. Lucassen 2022, p. 30.
  14. Lucassen 2022, p. 34.
  15. Ewing, Jerry (6 October 2021). "Arjen Lucassen relaunches Star One". Prog. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  16. "Austriancharts.at – Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – Revel in Time" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  17. "Ultratop.be – Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – Revel in Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – Revel in Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  19. "Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One: Revel in Time" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – Revel in Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  22. "Swisscharts.com – Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – Revel in Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  23. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  24. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  • Lucassen, Arjen (2022). Revel in Time (Media notes). Dortmund, Germany: InsideOut Music. 0IO02329.
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