{"id":9786,"date":"2018-10-28T15:04:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-28T19:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/millheiser.com\/hokeyblog\/?p=9786"},"modified":"2022-11-01T10:05:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T14:05:55","slug":"buttkickin-halloween-songs-valley-of-the-queens-ayreon-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/millheiser.com\/hokeyblog\/2018\/10\/28\/buttkickin-halloween-songs-valley-of-the-queens-ayreon-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Valley of the Queens” — Ayreon (1998)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"My journey’s over
\nI’m standing on the edge
\nAnd close my eyes
\nTo this world of lies<\/em><\/p>\n

My will is broken<\/em>
\nIt’s the end of all my dreams<\/em>
\nMy soul yearns<\/em>
\nFor the Valley of the Queens…<\/em><\/p>\n

As I have previously mentioned, I could choose any one of too many amazing Ayreon songs for our Halloween playlist and each would make a pretty fine selection. Of course that would make for a pretty lopsided list and we here at Hokeycorps Industries Limited (still entirely fictitious) strive for infinite diversity and inclusion and all that fun stuff.<\/p>\n

But then again, I couldn’t resist including Valley of the Queens <\/strong>because it’s fantastical and exotic and sad and beautiful, and that utterly merits inclusion.<\/p>\n

A brief bit of history: originally known as Ta-Set-Neferu,<\/em> the Valley of the Queens was an ancient burial place for the Pharoahs’ wives. It is for this final resting place that a young Egyptian Queen is yearning after she has lost her entire will to live. This all occurs in Ayreon’s 1998 concept album Into The Electric Castle, <\/em>in which eight characters are plucked out of different times and locations by a mysterious alien entity in order to study their emotional responses.<\/p>\n

I won’t go into much more detail about the album — it’s an amazing record, so go check it out and see where that journey takes you — but the Egyptian Queen’s resignation to her own death is one of the album’s most powerful and touching moments.<\/p>\n

Any version of Valley of the Queens<\/strong> would do nicely. Anneke van Giersbergen provides an amazing vocal performance on the studio version, but I really love the live track from the 2018 Ayreon Universe Live<\/em> album, in which she is joined in harmony by Floor Jansen and Marcela Bovio.<\/p>\n

My search has ended<\/em>
\nMy name is carved in stone<\/em>
\nOn the temple wall<\/em>
\nBeyond Osiris’ hall<\/em><\/p>\n

No holy sunrays<\/em>
\nWill light my tomb of dreams<\/em>
\nI won’t return<\/em>
\nFrom the Valley of the Queens…<\/em><\/p>\n