Are you still reeling from the Ayreon concerts? Are you suffering from post-Tilburg blues? No worries—here’s the perfect remedy: a brand-new interview with Ayreon mastermind Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Fresh from delivering the soundtrack to humanity’s final days on stage, Lucassen returns with exciting news. His haunting new solo album, Songs No One Will Hear, is out now via InsideOut Music, offering a deeply personal counterpoint to his epic rock operas. And for longtime fans, there’s even more to celebrate: the long-awaited re-release of his debut album Pools Of Sorrow ~ Waves Of Joy. Buckle up for a conversation that bridges past, present, and the apocalyptic future only Arjen can conjure.
So, Arjen, firstly, thank you—and welcome back to Femme Metal Webzine. Always a pleasure.
Thank you.
Welcome to Arjen Anthony Lucassen
I want to start by asking how this whole experience is treating you. How are you keeping up with all the buzz—pre-show prep, the new album, everything?
There’s definitely a lot happening. We’re deep in rehearsals and there’s so much to arrange for the shows. We have meetings almost every day now. Luckily, I’ve got a great production team handling the logistics—the hard stuff. I get to focus on the fun parts: coming up with ideas, choosing singers, planning the lights and the show itself.
But there’s a mountain of other things to organize. It’s staggering. They’ve been working on this for a year already. In fact, we started two years ago just picking songs and singers.
You need to secure singers early or they’ll get booked with their own bands, and even then things can go wrong. We had Simone lined up, for example, and then she suddenly had to tour. So you always need a Plan B.
Fortunately, it always works out. There are so many incredible singers and musicians, and over time I’ve built quite a list of people I’d love to work with.
Ayreon and Dino Jelusic
Speaking of singers, let’s talk about the upcoming Ayreon shows and Dino Jelusić. This will be his first time performing with Ayreon. He comes from a hard-rock background, so I was curious why you chose him—though he’s obviously an amazing singer.
I actually worked with Dino a few years ago on my last Star One album. He sang “41,” and it was brilliant, but we couldn’t use it due to issues with his record label. That was frustrating. In his style, I think Dino is the best singer in the world right now. We’ve had many calls and share the same musical taste, so we became friends.
Now everything with his label is resolved and we can finally use that song. In fact—and this is a scoop—we’ll probably release it before the shows so people understand why Dino is part of the lineup. His power and melody are amazing. It’s an honor to work with him.
After 13 years, Arjen Anthony Lucassen is back
Alongside these shows, you’re also releasing Seize the Light, your solo album, and the re-release of Pools of Sorrow. There’s a lot of satellite work surrounding these events. I wanted to ask about Songs No One Will Hear. After 13 years you decided to put your own name on the cover, setting aside Supersonic Revolution, Plan Nine, and Ayreon. When did you know it was time?
Honestly, after all those projects for other people—including Simone Simons’ album and the Plan Nine project—I felt empty. After Simone’s album I hit a black hole creatively. I realized the only way out was to create something purely for myself. No arranging singers, no wondering if someone else would like it—just me in the studio whenever inspiration struck. And whenever I feel like it, I go into the studio. If I feel like singing, I just, you know, in the morning, in the evening, it doesn’t matter.A 100% egomaniac album. And I thought the only way to get out now is to do something for myself, you know. Not to think about others. To just let the ideas come to me.
Being egomaniac
Yet, despite that, it feels almost choral, with many layers and elements.
True. It’s completely me. Like my previous solo album Lost in the New Real, which remains my favorite because it’s 100% personal. That’s what I mean by “egomaniac.”
The album concept of Arjen Anthony Lucassen new album
The album’s concept—what would you do if you had only five months to live before an asteroid impact—feels timely, given today’s talk of AI, climate change, conspiracies. Did current realities influence you?
Definitely. Between the lines there’s a lot to read. I have strong opinions about politics and society, but I don’t think it’s my place to force them on people. I’m a musician first; I want to entertain and offer escape, like I craved as a kid. That’s why there’s humor in the album, even in a song like Goddamn Conspiracy. I’d rather spark thought than preach.
I appreciate that. Listening to the album really made me reflect on those themes.
Perfect—that was the plan.
The Pools of Sorrow re-release
Let’s talk about the Pools of Sorrow re-release. The album is 32 years old. How does it feel to finally have it out again?
Back then I was lost. After 15 years in bands and world tours, I couldn’t get a record deal. I kept wondering what people wanted—maybe country songs, maybe hits—so I made a strange album that confused everyone. Metal fans thought I’d betrayed them, and I didn’t attract new listeners either. It flopped, and that’s when I started Ayreon.
Later, as Ayreon became successful, people got interested. I bought the remaining copies and sold them at shows, but demand kept growing. The label had stopped, and the owner—very romantic about it—didn’t want to sell the rights because he believed it still had a hidden hit. Eventually I convinced him to let me press it myself and share profits.
He even gave me demos and old materials, so this edition includes about 90 minutes of bonus tracks—some great, some not so great, but all interesting.
Revisiting the old material
What was it like revisiting those recordings after 32 years?
Fun, actually. I can hear what I was trying to do, even if I couldn’t quite achieve it then. Songs like Days of the Nights or Crescendo already hint at Ayreon’s roots. But back then I had only a guitar and an amp, no proper studio. In one word, I’d call it cute.
Dr.Slumber is back
On Songs No One Will Hear, the story imagines having only five months to live. What would you actually do?
In the story, I say I’d keep writing songs, but realistically, if no one were going to hear them, I wouldn’t. The album’s character Dr. Slumber—also from Lost in the New Real—organizes a bus trip to Sanctuary Island, where the asteroid will hit. I think I’d want to be there, rather than in a collapsing world. I imagine it like a hippie commune, singing together as the asteroid hits. And he arranges a bus tour, a blue bus to Sanctuary Island just to be to have first row seats to the end of the world. And I think I would want to be there. I wouldn’t want to be in a world that’s slowly dying and where people are looting and killing each other.
And there’s tsunamis and there’s no food. And, you know, I would want to be on that island and with a lot of other people. I see it as some kind of like a hippie commune, you know, and we would just be there singing songs.
And behind us, the asteroid is ending it off. You know, I really love our final song. So, yeah, the song, you know, the ending song, but also the song, our final song.
The song Our Final Song
I love Our Final Song, which really captures that spirit.
Thanks. On my previous solo album I had a 12-minute track, Lost in the New Real, which is my all-time favorite. I challenged myself to create something similar here: no rules, no choruses, just organic flow. It ended up over 14 minutes—two minutes longer, so I joked it must be two minutes better.
It truly showcases all your musical styles—shifting from delicate acoustic passages to heavy, bombastic parts.
Exactly. I’ve always loved adventurous music.
Becoming a Chevalier of the Order of the Netherlands
Switching topics: I read you were named a Chevalier of the Order of the Netherlands. Congratulations!
Thank you! It was surreal. I knew nothing about it. I was in the studio expecting a package when the doorbell rang. Furthermore, I opened the door in a torn T-shirt and found not a postman, but a man with a golden chain, a crowd, cameras, my brother, friends—everyone ambushed me.
The mayor gave a speech while I stood there confused, thinking, “I’m not a knight—there are doctors and scientists who deserve this more.” Only the next day, with the medal in hand, did it sink in.
And you were practically in house clothes when they put the medal on!
Yes! [laughs] As a joke, I ripped my T-shirt open and stood half-naked while people filmed. Eventually I changed into something decent.
Next plans
After the shows and all this preparation, do you have plans?
Always. My last Ayreon album was five years ago, and since then I’ve done several side projects. Fans are eager for another Ayreon record. So yes, it’s time. I’m already collecting ideas on my guitar and phone that will grow into the next Ayreon album.