Arjen Anthony Lucassen – Songs No One Will Hear
Release Date: 12th September 2025
Label: InsideOut Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Ayreon, The Neal Morse Band, Dream Theater, A-Z.
Review By: Eric Wilt
The term genius is probably thrown around too much in music reviews, but there really isn’t any other way to refer to Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Prolific perhaps, but the number of amazing albums he’s released only adds to his genius. And prolific genius that he is, he’s back with a new solo album. A number of years have passed between his last solo release, Lost in the New Real, and his new one, Songs No One Will Hear, which releases on 12 September, but that’s not to say that Lucassen hasn’t kept busy. In the 13 years since Lost in the New Real came out, he has released three albums as Ayreon, as well as albums with his many side projects, Supersonic Revolution, Plan Nine, Star One, and The Gentle Storm.
Lucassen’s newest opus, Songs No One Will Hear, is a story of the end of the world set to his usual progressive stylings. The album comes in two versions. One version has narration to accompany the story being told in the songs, while the other just has the songs without any narration.
Musically, Lucassen’s projects all carry his DNA, and no matter what instruments he adds or takes away, it still sounds like him. Songs No One Will Hear is no different. Lucassen brings together an eclectic mix of instruments on his new solo album, from guitar, bass, and keyboards, which he plays himself, to flute, violin, and hurdy-gurdy, but the songs on the new record are undoubtedly Arjen Anthony Lucassen. The place where his solo albums stand out from his other releases is in the amount of vocals he performs himself. Over the years, he’s gotten a Who’s Who of heavy metal vocalists to perform on his projects, but on Lost in the New Real and now on Songs No One Will Hear, he does the majority of the singing himself. That’s not to say he doesn’t have guest singers because what would a Lucassen album be without at least a few guest singers, but he is the lead singer on the new record.
As is to be expected with an Arjen Lucassen album, the songs are amazing, the story is fun, and the musicianship is peerless. Lucassen’s vocals are great and fit the songs perfectly. Fans of his numerous albums will be thrilled with his newest release, and fans of any progressive music should find much to enjoy on it.
(4.5 / 5)
