I will always be saddened by the demise of Rockford's MediaPlay. Along with the almost inexhaustible supply of death metal - I had no idea it was so popular here! - they also had a great variety of prog and prog metal. The best contemporary label is Germany's InsideOut and its American affiliate. Each IO CD comes with a catalog, and with the help of Amazon, I have managed to keep myself supplied with some really good music.
Among them is Ayreon, the studio project of Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lukassen. Producing what are essentially rock operas, often with fantastic, sometimes over-the-top themes, he has always managed a consistently high level of musicianship among his various guest musicians and singer. On The Human Equation, the story of the mind of a man in a coma, with the various facets of his personality sung by a who's-who of prog metal - James LaBrie, Mike Baker, Devon Graves, and Devon Towshend among them - Lukassen surpasses all his previous efforts. Here is "Day 11: Love".
