Rock & Metal World English Edition 48 | Page 14

Arjen Lucassen Exclusive Interview Uriel Rámirez / Translation: Manuel Ocaña Palacios After the presentation of what is considered the disc of 2013: “The Theory of Everything”, its creator Arjen Lucassen gave us this cheerful interview in which he tell us about the conception of this disc, its guests, his projects and his plans. • Arjen, first that all, I want to congratulate you for the superb work you did in your latest production “The Theory of Everything” and I want to thank you for the opportunity to make you some questions for Rock & Metal World magazine. Thanks for the compliment, Uriel, glad you enjoy the album! Sure, no problem. • One of the most interesting points in Ayreon is the countless number of persons invited in each of your productions. What is the selection process for an Ayreon’s album? Do you already have an idea with who you want to work before starting, or you get the ideas through working? I start only thinking about which singers to choose when the music is almost finished instrumentally and when I’ve got a basic idea for the story. The singers’ personalities and voices have to fit the music and the concept of course. Then I choose the singers (out of a list of about 200 singers that keeps changing) and finally I write the lyrics. 14