The first time I'd read of the man was in an article in Metal Maniacs magazine of all things, in the early 2000s, accompanied by the above promo shot for his upcoming Star One 'Space Metal' album. Now if you didn't know better (like me at the time) you might be tempted to laugh at the man's silver 'space' suit, intergalactic flip-phone and headband but make no mistake, today he sits firmly in this website as a 'Legend of Rock'. As I would discover, Arjen Lucassen, the Dutch mastermind behind  project bands Ayreon and Star One, is somewhat of a songwriting genius. As I was quite a fan of Symphony X and Russell Allen, and found out the singer was a part of the Star One project, I had a listen to the Space Metal album and it quickly became a solid favourite.

Gibson Shred-X Explorer  2008

Not a Arjen Lucassen model of course, but his trademark setup consists of modified Gibson Explorers with tremolo and Bill Lawrence pickups thru Mesa Rectifiers. As often seen and as he himself explained in his recording gear DVD feature.
​This is a limited edition model 2008 from which features a Kahler bridge, Grover locking tuners (Sperzel string lock style), EMG pickups. and no pickguard.