{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2009}} {{Infobox album | name = 01011001 | type = studio | artist = Ayreon | cover = Ayreon - 01011001.jpg | alt = | released = 23 January 2008<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ayreon.bandcamp.com/album/01011001 |title=01011001 by Ayreon |website=Bandcamp |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> | recorded = April–November 2007 | venue = | studio = | genre = {{ubl | Progressive metal | progressive rock }} | length = 102:16 | label = Inside Out Music | producer = Arjen Lucassen | prev_title = The Human Equation | prev_year = 2004 | next_title = Timeline | next_year = 2008 | misc = {{Extra chronology | artist = Arjen Anthony Lucassen | type = Studio album | prev_title = Live in the Real World | prev_year = 2006 | title = 01011001 | year = 2008 | next_title = Elected | next_year = 2008 }} }} '''''01011001''''' is the seventh studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's long-running Ayreon project. The title is the binary representation of the ASCII value of the letter '''''Y'''''.

''01011001'' is a concept album<ref name="record-collector" /> that tells the story of aliens called the "Forever", who create humanity, only to later endanger it by providing it with technology.<ref name="metal.de">{{cite web |url=https://www.metal.de/reviews/ayreon-01011001-9443/ |title=Ayreon - 01011001 Review |access-date=5 June 2022 |date=24 January 2008 |website=Metal.de |lang=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707144806/http://www.metal.de/reviews/ayreon-01011001-9443/ |archive-date=7 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Seventeen singers in total, including Lucassen himself, contributed to the album, more than any other Ayreon album.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ayreon.com/ayreon/ay_01011001.html#release |title=Official release-note |access-date=11 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107023850/http://www.ayreon.com/ayreon/ay_01011001.html#release |archive-date=7 January 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Apart from Lucassen, only Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) and Floor Jansen (After Forever, Nightwish) had sung on previous Ayreon albums, on ''Into the Electric Castle'' and ''Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer'' respectively.

It also stars, among others, Bob Catley from Magnum, Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian, Jørn Lande, and Steve Lee from Gotthard in his final guest appearance before his death in 2010. The album was a commercial and critical success.

==Reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = About.com | rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="about.com">{{Cite web |last=Bowar |first=Chad |title=Ayreon – ''01011001'' |url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/ayreon01011001.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204111506/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/ayreon01011001.htm |archive-date=4 February 2012 |access-date=23 June 2011 |website=About.com}}</ref> | rev2 = AllMusic | rev2score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1271523|tab=review|last=Lee|first=Cosmo|access-date=23 June 2011}}</ref> | rev3 = Dangerdog.com | rev3score = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=DangerDog.com review |url=http://www.dangerdog.com/reviews_2008/ayreon-01011001.php |access-date=5 September 2011}}</ref> | rev4 = Melodic.net | rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Kaj |title=Ayreon&nbsp;– ''01011001'' Review |url=http://melodic.net/?page=review&id=6474 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315073918/http://melodic.net/?page=review&id=6474 |archive-date=15 March 2016 |access-date=23 June 2011 |website=Melodic.net}}</ref> | rev5 = Metal Storm | rev5score = {{rating|7|10}}<ref name="metalstorm">{{Cite web |title=Ayreon&nbsp;– 01011001 |url=http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=5197 |access-date=5 September 2011}}</ref> | rev6 = Metal Storm (2) | rev6score = {{rating|9.5|10}}<ref name="metalstorm2">{{Cite web |title=Ayreon&nbsp;– 01011001 |url=http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=5117 |access-date=5 September 2011}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Record Collector'' | rev7score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="record-collector">{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=Tim |date=February 2008 |title=Ayreon&nbsp;– 01011001 |url=http://www.recordcollectormag.com/reviews/review-detail/2029 |url-status=dead |journal=Record Collector |issue=346 |issn=0261-250X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321044844/http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/01011001 |archive-date=21 March 2016 |access-date=7 July 2011}}</ref> }}

AllMusic reviewer Cosmo Lee praised the album, saying that it has "pristine production [and] byzantine songs that feel like full albums."<ref name="allmusic" /> He went on to say that "Music this over the top almost defies criticism. Reviewing it is like reviewing the world's tallest building. It doesn't care; it just goes on and on."<ref name="allmusic" /> ''Exclaim's'' Laura Wiebe Taylor felt that the album had some great songs, such as "Liquid Eternity" and "E=mc<sup>2</sup>," but that some of the other songs were weaker, including "Newborn Race" and "Web of Lies."<ref name="exclaim">{{Cite web |last=Wiebe Taylor |first=Laura |date=February 2008 |title=Ayreon ''01011001'' |url=http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Metal/ayreon-01011001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007082347/http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Metal/ayreon-01011001 |archive-date=7 October 2012 |access-date=23 June 2011 |website=Exclaim!}}</ref> She concluded her review by saying that "ultimately, ''01011001'' is a hard rock extravaganza."<ref name="exclaim" />

Chad Bower, in his review for About.com, said that ''01011001'' "has something for everyone," and that the album is "a musical ''tour de force'' that takes the listener on a musical journey with an interesting storyline and very well-written songs."<ref name="about.com" /> ''Record Collector'''s Tim Jones noted the differing styles of the album's songs, saying that "The Truth is in Here" is similar to the music of Blackmore's Night, that "River of Time" is reminiscent of Jethro Tull, and that "Beneath the Waves" reminded him of Pink Floyd.<ref name="record-collector" />

==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = CD 1 – "Y" | all_lyrics = Arjen Anthony Lucassen | all_music = Lucassen except Anneke van Giersbergen who wrote her own vocal melodies in tracks 1 (disc 1) and 2 (disc 2), and Jonas Renkse who wrote his own vocal melodies in tracks 1 (disc 1), 2, 4 and 7 (disc 2) | extra_column = Vocalists | total_length = 50:13 | title1 = Age of Shadows" : I. "Age of Shadows" : II. "We are Forever" : III. "Age of Shadows (reprise) | extra1 = Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Daniel Gildenlöw, Hansi Kürsch, Floor Jansen, Jonas P. Renkse, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jørn Lande | length1 = 10:47 | title2 = Comatose | extra2 = van Giersbergen, Lande | length2 = 4:26 | title3 = Liquid Eternity | extra3 = Renkse, Gildenlöw, Magali Luyten, Bob Catley, Englund, Lande, Jansen | length3 = 8:10 | title4 = Connect the Dots | extra4 = Ty Tabor, Arjen Anthony Lucassen | length4 = 4:13 | title5 = Beneath the Waves" : I. "Beneath the Waves" : II. "Face the Facts" : III. "But a Memory..." : IV. "World Without Walls" : V. "Reality Bleeds | extra5 = Gildenlöw, Catley, van Giersbergen, Jansen, Lee, Lande, Kürsch, Englund | length5 = 8:26 | title6 = Newborn Race" : I. "The Incentive" : II. "The Vision" : III. "The Procedure" : IV. "Another Life" : V. "Newborn Race" : VI. "The Conclusion | extra6 = Gildenlöw, Jansen, Englund, Renkse, Catley, Kürsch, Lande | length6 = 7:49 | title7 = Ride the Comet | extra7 = Lande, Jansen, Englund, Renkse, Catley, Luyten | length7 = 3:29 | title8 = Web of Lies | extra8 = Simone Simons, Phideaux Xavier | length8 = 2:50 }} {{Track listing | headline = CD 2 – "Earth" | extra_column = Vocalists | total_length = 52:02 | title1 = The Fifth Extinction" : I. "Glimmer of Hope" : II. "World of Tomorrow Dreams" : III. "Collision Course" : IV. "From the Ashes" : V. "Glimmer of Hope (reprise) | extra1 = van Giersbergen, Catley, Lee, Lande, Englund, Gildenlöw, Kürsch, Renkse, Jansen | length1 = 10:29 | title2 = Waking Dreams | extra2 = Renkse, van Giersbergen | length2 = 6:31 | title3 = The Truth Is in Here | extra3 = Lucassen, Liselotte Hegt | length3 = 5:12 | title4 = Unnatural Selection | extra4 = Englund, Lee, Lande, Catley, Kürsch, Renkse | length4 = 7:15 | title5 = River of Time | extra5 = Kürsch, Catley | length5 = 4:24 | title6 = E=mc{{sup|2}} | extra6 = Wudstik, Marjan Welman | length6 = 5:50 | title7 = The Sixth Extinction" : I. "Echoes on the Wind" : II. "Radioactive Grave" : III. "2085" : IV. "To the Planet of Red" : V. "Spirit on the Wind" : VI. "Complete the Circle | extra7 = Englund, Lee, Kürsch, Gildenlöw, Jansen, Renkse, Catley, Lande, van Giersbergen | length7 = 12:18 }}

==Personnel== <!-- PLEASE DO NOT update the band(s) one belongs to; this is meant to list what bands they belonged to at the time. --> {{col-begin}} {{col-break}} ;Vocalists * Bob Catley (Magnum) – Forever * Tom S. Englund (Evergrey) – Forever * Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) – Forever * Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation) – Forever * Floor Jansen (Nightwish | ex-After Forever) – Forever * Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) – Forever * Jørn Lande (ex-Masterplan) – Forever * Steve Lee (Gotthard) – Forever * Magali Luyten{{snd}}Forever * Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) – Forever * Arjen Anthony Lucassen{{snd}}Mr. L on "The Truth Is in Here", and backing vocals on "Connect the Dots" * Liselotte Hegt (Dial) – Mr. L's nurse on "The Truth Is in Here" * Simone Simons (Epica) – Simone on "Web of Lies" * Ty Tabor (King's X) – an average middle-class worker on "Connect the Dots" * Marjan Welman (Autumn) – a 21st-century scientist on "E=mc<sup>2</sup>" * Wudstik{{snd}}a 21st-century scientist on "E=mc<sup>2</sup>" * Phideaux Xavier{{snd}}PX on "Web of Lies"

{{col-break}} ;Instrumentalists * Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings) – synthesizer solo on "Waking Dreams" * Joost van den Broek (After Forever) – synthesizer solo and piano on "The Sixth Extinction" * David Faber{{snd}}cellos * Jeroen Goossens{{snd}}flute; soprano and tenor recorder on "The Truth Is in Here"; bass flute on "Unnatural Selection"; tin whistle on "River of Time" * Lori Linstruth{{snd}}guitar solo on "Newborn Race" * Arjen Anthony Lucassen{{snd}}electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, mandolin, keyboards, synthesizers, Hammond, and Solina * Ben Mathot{{snd}}violins * Michael Romeo (Symphony X) – guitar solo on "E=mc<sup>2</sup>" * Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater) – synthesizer solo on "The Fifth Extinction" * Ed Warby{{snd}}drums and percussion

;Production * Arjen Anthony Lucassen{{snd}}recording, production, mixing, and mastering * Joost van den Broek{{snd}}engineering assistant * Jef Bertels{{snd}}cover painting * Yvette Boertje{{snd}}image for "The Truth Is in Here" * Felipe Machado Franco{{snd}}lay-out and illustrations * Simone van Vegten{{snd}}3D illustrations {{col-end}}

==Charts== {| class="wikitable" ! Chart ! Peak<br />position |- | Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)<ref name="belch">{{Cite web |title=Ayreon - 01011001 |url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/album/13e68/Ayreon-01011001 |access-date=1 January 2014 |website=ultratop.be |language=nl}}</ref> | align="center" | 80 |- |Belgian Albums Charts (Wallonia)<ref name="belch2">{{Cite web |title=Ayreon - 01011001 |url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/album/13e68/Ayreon-01011001 |access-date=1 January 2014 |website=ultratop.be |language=fr}}</ref> | align="center" | 96 |- |Dutch Album Chart<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayreon - 01011001 |url=http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Ayreon&titel=01011001&cat=a |access-date=1 January 2014 |website=dutchcharts.nl}}</ref> | align="center" | 2 |- | French Albums Chart<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayreon - 01011001 |url=http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Ayreon&titel=01011001&cat=a |access-date=1 January 2014 |website=lescharts.com}}</ref> | align="center" | 90 |- | German Albums Chart<ref>{{Cite web |title=charts.de |url=http://www.officialcharts.de/album.asp?artist=Ayreon&title=01011001&cat=a&country=de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029225602/http://www.officialcharts.de/album.asp?artist=Ayreon&title=01011001&cat=a&country=de |archive-date=29 October 2014 |access-date=1 January 2014}}</ref> | align="center" | 18 |- | Swedish Albums Chart<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayreon - 01011001 |url=http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Ayreon&titel=01011001&cat=a |access-date=1 January 2014 |website=swedishcharts.com}}</ref> | align="center" | 54 |- | Swiss Albums Chart<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayreon - 01011001 |url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Ayreon&titel=01011001&cat=a |access-date=1 January 2014 |website=hitparade.ch}}</ref> | align="center" | 85 |}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{MusicBrainz release-group}}

{{Arjen Anthony Lucassen}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2008 albums Category:Ayreon albums Category:Rock operas Category:Inside Out Music albums Category:Science fiction concept albums