Dutch progger Arjen Lucassen has streamed a newly remixed and remastered version of Ayreon's And The Druids Turn To Stone , featuring vocals from current Arena singer Damian Wilson, which you can listen to below.
The song is taken from a newly remixed and remastered reissue of Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2, which will be released through Mascot Records on November 18. The albums were originally released simultaneously in 2000 as Universal Migrator Pt 1: The Dream Sequencer and Universal Migrator Pt 2: Flight Of The Migrator.
"And the Druids Turn To Stone is my personal favourite track from the Ayreon Universe live shows. Mainly because of the amazing vocal performance of my talented friend Damian Wilson. I still remember that back when I sent him the demo for this song, he wasn’t totally convinced. Maybe in part because of the dangerously-close-to-Spinal-Tap lyrics about Stonehenge. Haha!
"But man, he surely elevated this song to great heights, showing off all aspects of his versatile and distinctive voice. In the re-mixed version I tried to make the track sound more transparent and bring every little subtlety to the surface. Hope I succeeded!"
As well as Wilson, the two albums feature an array of guest musicians and vocalists including Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Edward Reekers (Kayak), Damian Wilson (Headspace/Threshold), Neal Morse, Russell Allen (Symphony X), Andi Deris (Helloween), Michael Romeo (Symphony X) and more.
Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2 will be released on multiple formats, including a limited edition 56-page artbook including a 40-page comic, exclusive images of 'the process', five CDs (including previously unreleased audio) and a bonus DVD with 5.1 surround mix, two binaural headphone mixes and more, a vinyl box set with four LPs on marble vinyl in 2 gatefolds, a 40-page comic book, a bonus DVD, a double-sided poster and a sticker sheet. The vinyl box set is limited to 1000 numbered copies webshop exclusive), a two-CD with bonus CD.
Additionally, The Dream Sequencer and Flight Of The Migrator will be available separately on 180-gram orange transparent vinyl and digitally on all platforms. The bonus CD will feature an hour of previously unreleased material, ranging from versions of the tracks with different (guide) vocals to entirely new (well, old) tracks that didn't make the albums and were previously never released.
Pre-order Universal Migrator, Pt. I & 2.
