Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live


Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live, alternatively known as Ayreon Universe – Best of Ayreon Live or simply Ayreon Universe, is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project Ayreon, released on March 30, 2018. Unlike Ayreon's first live album The Theater Equation, which was a stage performance of the album The Human Equation, Ayreon Universe was performed as a traditional concert, with two additional songs from Star One, another project by Lucassen. It was recorded during a series of concerts in September 2017, which were the first ever official Ayreon concerts, although The Theater Equation was released as an official Ayreon product.
The performance featured 16 singers, all of whom had previously worked together with Lucassen on his studio albums.

Production

Recording

It was recorded during a series of concerts in September 2017, which were the first ever official Ayreon concerts; over 9000 fans were present in the attendance, with 30 cameras used for the filming.

Promotion

Lucassen officially announced the album in January 2018.
On January 30, 2018, Lucassen released the video for "Everybody Dies" on YouTube to promote the upcoming release, calling the track "a personal favorite".

Release

The album was released on seven different formats: single-disc Blu-ray, 2 DVDs, 2 CDs, 3 black LPs, a 3 gold LPs edition limited to 500 copies, a digital download version, and a "Limited Edition" featuring the contents from all first three editions.

Track listing

1In order of appearance.

Personnel

; Vocalists
; Instrumentalists