Lucassen, Arjen Anthony: Songs No One Will Hear

The man behind Ayreon and Star One returns with his latest 'solo' album, which, in typical Arjen Anthony Lucassen fashion, is just another excuse to gather some of his musical friends together to create some wonderful sounds. Songs No One Will Hear (we hear it Arjen!) perhaps takes a more straightforward approach musically than some prior offerings, but it's no less compelling.

"End of the World Show" is a bizarro little opener, with narration and some zany Queen-meets-Frank Zappa-styled bombastic vocals to open up the album. It's followed by "The Clock Ticks Down", surely inspired by topical events going on in the world, this one has lyrics that many will relate to. Moody and atmospheric throughout most of the song, it also contains some enormous riffing and shredding guitars from Arjen, and the back-and-forth vocals between he and Irene Jansen are nicely done. "Goddamn Conspiracy" is up next, with nice use of Hammond organ and flute to pair up with the crunchy riffing. This one has a Deep Purple meets Jethro Tull meets Ayreon feel, and again, both Arjen and Irene are working some vocal magic together, and the chorus is pure magic. Nice use of the violin, too. It's an angry rocker, I really like this one, and again, the lyrics are all too relevant today.

"The Universe Has Other Plans" features violin and cello to start the song, and this one screams classic Kansas to me, nice dark, heavy guitar riffs and those sweeping strings, followed by keys and then Arjen's gentle vocal, which reminds me of Ian Anderson, and then Irene comes in...this is killer symphonic, melodic rock. "Shaggathon"...this one is loads of fun, a crisp, quirky, retro rock song that harkens back to the UK glam era of the early 70s, playful vocal from Arjen, and great backing vocals from Irene. Nice Brian May styled guitar soloing, and I love the violin tradeoffs too. Fun stuff! Floor Jansen pops up on "We'll Never Know", and this one is a moody, atmospheric, almost Pink Floyd-style number, with a nice haunting vocal from Arjen, and Floor's performance is gorgeous as always.

"Dr. Slumber's Blue Bus" is a mid-paced rocker, with a big memorable chorus, tasty lead guitars, symphonic keys...I like this, not really prog, but it's really catchy rock music. Arjen can certainly write a catchy chorus! "Just Not Today" is a nice little pop song, filled with lush acoustic guitar and violin, and Arjen's gentle vocal. The album closes with "Our Final Song", a big, nearly 15-minute epic to close out the album, featuring some guest vocalists and lyrics about the possible end of the world. Very Kansas meets Jethro Tull meets Deep Purple in spots, with some really fun arrangements, love the lead flute, organ, synth, and violin bursts, huge vocal swells. Cool song, which seems much shorter than it's 14+ minute runtime. Great album closer!

Overall, Songs No One Will Hear certainly was heard by many this year, and well received by all. Another enjoyable album from the always dependable Arjen Anthony Lucassen!
Performing Artists
Arjen Anthony Lucassen-Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards
Koen Herfst-Drums
Ben Mathot-Violin
Jeroen Goossens-Flute
Jurriaan Westerveld-Cello
Irene Jansen-Vocals
Joost van den Broek-Hammond
Mike Mills-Narration

Guest Musicians
Floor Jansen-Vocals
Robert Soeterboek-Vocals
Marcela Bovio-Vocals
Peter Daltrey-Spoken Word/Narration
Patty Gurdy-Hurdy-Gurdy

Track Listing
1. End of the World Show
2. The Clock Ticks Down (No Narration) 06:47
3. Goddamn Conspiracy (No Narration) 04:41
4. The Universe Has Other Plans (No Narration) 05:31
5. Shaggathon (No Narration) 02:45
6. We'll Never Know (No Narration) [feat. Floor Jansen] 04:57
7. Dr. Slumber's Blue Bus (No Narration) 04:03
8. Just Not Today (No Narration) 03:14
9. Our Final Song (No Narration) [feat. Robert Soeterboek, Marcela Bovio, Peter Daltrey] 14:34

Added: December 22nd 2025
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
Hits: 52
Language: english

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