Star One

This article describes a Dutch music project. There is also an Indian television channel ( STAR One ), a Brazilian satellite operator Star One (satellite operator ) and a former airline ( Star1 Airlines )

Star One is a Dutch music project by Arjen Lucassen and the compensation for the Ambeon project. With Star One, Lucassen dedicated himself to the hard heavy metal sounds. On the one hand it is very much based on Ayreon , on the other hand it is a bit faster and harder.

The name Star One is a reference to an episode of the science fiction television series Blake's 7 . The songs on the Space Metal album are musical interpretations of science fiction films that particularly impressed Lucassen. In the texts he tries to convey his personal perspective on the respective film.

Under the name of the project, Lucassen released the album Space Metal in 2002, which was followed by a major tour. A live album called Live on Earth was recorded and released in 2003. Songs from the Ayreon concept albums were also played on the tour.

Originally, no further Star One recordings were planned, but Lucassen decided differently and has been working on a new album since the beginning of 2010, which was released in October 2010 under the name Victims of the Modern Age .

The project

Participating musicians

In addition to Lucassen himself, the following musicians were involved in this project:

• Singing :
  • "Sir" Russell Allen ( Symphony X )
  • Damien Wilson ( Threshold )
  • Floor Jansen ( After Forever )
  • Dan Swanö ( Edge of Sanity et al.)
  • Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon and various other bands)
  • Dave Brock ( Hawkwind )
• Keyboard :
  • Jens Johansson ( Stratovarius et al.)
  • Erik Norlander ( Rocket Scientists , Ambeon and others)
  • Gary Wehrkamp ( Shadow Gallery )
• Drums :
  • Ed Warby ( Gorefest )

Lucassen himself played guitar , bass , Hammond organ and several analog synthesizers .

Discography

• 2002 - Space Metal
• 2003 - Live on Earth (Live album and DVD)
• 2010 - Victims of the Modern Age

Space Metal album

Star One's first studio album was recorded in early 2002 in the basic arrangements by Lucassen himself in his Electric Castle studio. The contributions of the guest musicians were recorded in various other locations and integrated into the songs by Lucassen. Mathias Norén (“Progart”) and Vincent DiFate were responsible for the booklet artwork and the cover design.

The album was released on May 21, 2002 via InsideOut Music and distributed by SPV .

The album title can be understood as an allusion to the genre of space rock as well as neologism ( heavy metal with science fiction themes). A compilation by the British rock band UFO , released in 1973, was called Space Metal .

Tracklist

1. Lift-Off (1:13)
2. Set Your Controls (6:02)
3. High Moon (5:36)
4. Songs of the Ocean (5:24)
5. Master of Darkness (5:14)
6. The Eye of Ra (7:35)
7. Sandrider (5:31)
8. Perfect Survivor (4:46)
9. Intergalactic Space Crusaders (5:23)
10. Starchild (9:05)

Total playing time: 55:49

Bonus CD

The album was also released in a "Special Edition" as a digipak . This version of the album came with a bonus CD with six tracks:

1. Hawkwind Medley (9:46, a medley of various Hawkwind songs, partly sung by original singer Dave Brock)
2. Spaced Out (4:54)
3. Inseparable Enemies (4:15)
4. Space Oddity (5:00, cover by David Bowie , sung by Lucassen)
5. Starchild (9:32, alternative mix in Dolby Pro-Logic)
6. Spaced Out (4:55, alternative version with other singers)
7. The Intergalactic Laxative (2:33, Donovan cover version as a hidden track )

Textual themes

All the songs were composed with vocal passages divided between different singers. In this way, the singers take on various "roles" corresponding to the underlying film templates, which are also named as such in the booklet enclosed with the album. Lucassen addresses the following science fiction works in the lyrics of the songs:

• Doctor Who (in the song Set Your Controls , mixed with the introductory text as an introduction to the subject of science fiction)
• Outland - Planet of the Damned (in the song High Moon )
• Star Trek IV: Back to the Present (in the song Songs of the Ocean )
• Star Wars (in the song Master of Darkness )
• Stargate (in the song The Eye of Ra )
• The desert planet (in the song Sandrider )
• Alien (on the song Perfect Survivor )
• Blake's 7 (in the song Intergalactic Space Crusaders )
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (in the song Starchild )

The special edition of the album also contains references to:

• Dark Star (in the song Spaced Out )
• Enemy Mine (in the song Inseparable Enemies )

Web links

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ arjenlucassen.com