It was only a matter of time before Anneke Van Giersbergen and Arjen Anthony Lucassen went the whole hog with a full-blown partnership. The album concept is a tale of love, loss, and separation told through the story of two fictional seventeenth-century lovers. A Dutch sailor embarks on a two-year voyage, leaving his wife at home in Holland. The only way for the couple to communicate during the long separation is through letters. These letters form the basis for the songs on the album. Lucassen provides the music with intent of creating melodies that lift her voice and carry the story.
From his Ayreon compositions, you can expect some significant depth to the music. The songs are largely symphonic with a strong measure of rock and folk music, then wrapped some progressive rock intrigue. The basic album package consists of two CDs of the same material, the Gentle version and the Storm version. As you might suspect, the latter is the more bombastic full-blown symphonic and rock version of the songs.
CD1 – Gentle:
01 Endless Sea (gentle version) 05:59
02 Heart of Amsterdam (gentle version) 06:36
03 The Greatest Love (gentle version) 04:08
04 Shores of India (gentle version) 06:40
05 Cape of Storms (gentle version) 05:28
06 The Moment (gentle version) 06:08
07 The Storm (gentle version) 05:56
08 Eyes of Michiel (gentle version) 03:56
09 Brightest Light (gentle version) 04:46
10 New Horizons (gentle version) 05:24
11 Epilogue: The Final Entry (gentle version) 02:02
CD2 – Storm:
01 Endless Sea (storm version) 05:53
02 Heart of Amsterdam (storm version) 06:37
03 The Greatest Love (storm version) 03:57
04 Shores of India (storm version) 06:24
05 Cape of Storms (storm version) 05:32
06 The Moment (storm version) 06:10
07 The Storm (storm version) 05:58
08 Eyes of Michiel (storm version) 04:00
09 Brightest Light (storm version) 04:54
10 New Horizons (storm version) 05:25
11 Epilogue: The Final Entry (storm version) 02:03
Anneke Van Giersbergen – Vocals (Agua de Annique, Devin Townsend Project, The Sirens, ex-The Gathering)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen – Guitars (Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Ayreon, Guilt Machine, Star One, ex-Ambeon, ex-Bodine, ex-Erik Norlander, ex-Galexia, ex-Stream of Passion, ex-Vengeance, ex-Strange Hobby)
Johan van Stratum – Bass (Stream of Passion, ex-Agitator, ex-Forcefeed, ex-Ratcom)
Joost van den Broek – Keyboards (Sphere of Souls, Star One, ex-After Forever, ex-The Supremacy, ex-HDK, ex-Sun Caged)
Jeroen Goossens – Wind Instruments (Ayreon)