''Elected'' is the first EP by progressive metal project Ayreon, owned by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. It was released on 25 April 2008 in Germany, Austria and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and on 28 April in the rest of Europe. It features the guest performance of German singer

Tobias Sammet Tobias Sammet (born 21 November 1977) is a German musician, singer, songwriter, music producer and radio host best known for being the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avant ...

, from Avantasia and

Edguy Edguy is a heavy metal band formed in Fulda, Germany in 1992. History Demos, AFM years (1992–2003) Edguy was founded in 1992 by 14-year-old students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch and Dirk Sauer. The name "Edguy" was an affecti ...

. The EP contains an Alice Cooper cover, an acoustic guitar and voice version of "E=MC²" and the track "Ride the Comet", both from the album ''

01011001 ''01011001'' is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's long-running Ayreon project. "01011001" is the binary representation of the ASCII value of the letter '' Y''. ''01011001'' is a concept album that tells the story of aliens ca ...

''. There is also a piano version of The Human Equation's "Day Six: Childhood". Some reviewers and also the CD-Text information on the CD itself call the EP ''The Universal Ayreonaut''. The album entered at #69 at the

France Singles Top 100 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and stayed in that position for three weeks.

Background

On 25 January 2008, both Ayreon’s and Avantasia’s latest albums were released (''01011001'' and ''The Scarecrow'', respectively). The press soon started to create speculations on the possibility of them being rivals and which album would be more successful. When asked about this, Arjen Anthony Lucassen (mastermind behind Ayreon) stated that he was mad at Tobias Sammet, head of Avantasia, because Tobias managed to have Alice Cooper, who is Arjen's favorite singer, to perform on his last Avantasia album, leading to some incendiary emails sent to Sammet on Lucassen's part. Coincidentally, Tobias was also mad at Arjen because he had

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

(Tobias' favorite singer) performing on his Ayreon album '' Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator'' and the media's constant queries about his thoughts on Ayreon after the creation of his Avantasia project. To "put some fuel on the fire created by the press", as Arjen stated on his website,Arjen announcing his new EP at his official website
/ref> they decided to record a song together. Initially, the EP was to be titled ''Ayreon vs. Avantasia''.

Track listing

#"Elected" (Alice Cooper cover) - 3:37 #"E=MC²" (Live acoustic radio version) - 3:32 #"Ride the Comet" - 3:32 #"Day Six: Childhood" (Piano version) - 3:04

Personnel

* Arjen Anthony Lucassen ( Ayreon) – electric and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Ed Warby ( Gorefest) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(

, Avantasia) –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

in "Elected" *Marjan Welman (Elister,

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

) – lead vocals in "E=MC²" and "Day Six: Childhood" * Floor Jansen ( After Forever) – vocals in "Ride the Comet" *

Tom Englund Tom S. Englund (born 14 December 1973) is a Swedish musician best known for being the vocalist and guitarist of Evergrey, of which he is also a founding member, as well as the vocalist of Redemption. Discography with Evergrey * ''The Dark Disc ...

( Evergrey) – vocals in "Ride the Comet" *

Jonas Renkse Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...

( Katatonia) – vocals in "Ride the Comet" *

Bob Catley Robert Adrian Catley is an English singer and musician, best known by his stage name as Bob Catley. He is the lead singer of the British rock band Magnum. He is also a solo artist. Biography Early years (1947–1972) Born in Aldershot on ...

( Magnum) – vocals in "Ride the Comet" *

Magali Luyten Magali Luyten, also known as Maggy Luyten, is a Belgian female rock singer. She is also a vocal coach and voice teacher at MYRIAD VOIC She was raised in Leuven and then moved to the South of Belgium, where she still lives today. She played i ...

(Virus IV) – vocals in "Ride the Comet" *Joost van den Broek ( After Forever) – piano in "Day Six: Childhood"

References

External links

Ayreon official website
{{Authority control Ayreon albums 2008 EPs Inside Out Music EPs