Features mastermind / multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) and vocalist/lyricist Anneke van Giersbergen (ex- The Gathering, Devin Townsend Project).

An epic production of Ayreon proportions, featuring two contrasting interpretations of the same songs, all composed specifically for The Gentle Storm: acoustic / folk arrangements and a full-on metal assault.

The Limited Edition Artbook includes 36 pages of beautiful artwork (set in the esthetics of the Dutch “Golden Age”) as well as instrumental versions of both CDs; the 180g 3 LP Gatefold Vinyl Edition includes the entire album on 2 CDs.

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 and keep their love alive during the long separation is through letters. These letters form the basis for the songs on the album.

The Diary double album – close to a year in the making – is an epic production of Ayreon proportions featuring two contrasting interpretations of the same songs, all composed specifically for The Gentle Storm: acoustic / folk arrangements (CD1 – Gentle) and a full-on metal assault (CD2 – Storm). It also heralds Anneke’s return to the realms of heavy guitars and soaring vocals reminiscent of The Gathering’s breakthrough album, Mandylion. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Arjen Lucassen project without his trademark progressive elements, but he readily admits his main focus was on Anneke’s vocals.

“Anneke’s got an amazing instrument in her voice, and I wanted to showcase that by giving her strong melodies to sing,” says Arjen. “So this time I was hyper-focused on chords and melodies when composing the music. I even wrote and demoed all the songs using one simple orchestral string sound for everything before I started arranging the other instruments. That cheesy demo string sound made every song fight for its life, and only the strongest survived. Working this way has arguably led to The Diary being my most melodic album to date.”
The Diary breaks new ground for Arjen in particular in that it was the first time he worked with a large choir, real double bass, and a real French horn. In addition, he found people to play many different exotic acoustic instruments. “There are over 40, in fact,” he says. “Some of them so exotic that people probably haven’t heard of them!” It’s worth noting that, apart from an acoustic grand piano, there are no keyboards on The Diary. Arjen’s beloved Hammond organ and Minimoog remain under wraps, although it wasn’t an easy task leaving them there.

“Arjen is great to work with because he’s so focused and so dedicated,” Anneke says of her partner’s creative drive. “He works fast and knows exactly what he wants, but is also open to my input. Within a few weeks he was completely done with his composing, and from there we came up with this huge concept of having this double album with the metal and the folk parts. Both parts are equally important.”