Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[twosuitsluke]

except maybe Visions being the best album

wat

Hey, I'm not saying Visions is the best but I bloody love it and think it is only a hair behind The Mountain and Affinity. Visions doesn't seem to get anywhere near as much love as I think it deserves.

[JayOctavarium]

I need to ask..

How is Haken pronounced?

Like Taken?

Like Hack'n?

Like Hawk en?

Its been bugging me lately..

[twosuitsluke]

I need to ask..

How is Haken pronounced?

Like Taken?

Like Hack'n?

Like Hawk en?

Its been bugging me lately..

Check the thread title 

I'm assuming at some point it was titled Haken v. like Bacon then was updated to like Baconisions, v. The Bacontain 

[Crow]

visions is just kinda bland tbh. it's not bad but it's flavorless compared to their other stuff

[JayOctavarium]

I need to ask..

How is Haken pronounced?

Like Taken?

Like Hack'n?

Like Hawk en?

Its been bugging me lately..

Check the thread title 

I'm assuming at some point it was titled Haken v. like Bacon then was updated to like Baconisions, v. The Bacontain 

Fuck me.. that didn't even register.

[Tomislav95]

Is it really like bacon? I always thought thread title meant Haken is good as bacon. It seems like I've been pronouncing it wrong the whole time...   

[JayOctavarium]

I have been pronouncing it Hack-en

[twosuitsluke]

Yep, definitely pronounced like bacon. I'm pretty sure they have a t-shirt which even has a picture of Kevin Bacon on it  or did I imagine that?

[The Letter M]

At first I thought it was "Haa-ken" like the company that makes the Continuum (the cool synth-pad thing that Jordan Rudess first used on Octavarium), but after I became a fan, the band were quick to point out, on Facebook, that their name is pronounced like Bacon, but with a K.

For the longest time I was also mispronouncing Anathema - it's Uh-NATH-eh-ma, not Anna-THE-ma.

And regarding Visions, I'm on the train that loves it too. Something about the conceptual feel of the album where the title track's various themes are woven throughout the whole album, so that when you get to the end, it feels VERY cohesive. That closing epic is just truly amazing, though, especially the last part!

-Marc.

[twosuitsluke]

And regarding Visions, I'm on the train that loves it too. Something about the conceptual feel of the album where the title track's various themes are woven throughout the whole album, so that when you get to the end, it feels VERY cohesive. That closing epic is just truly amazing, though, especially the last part!

-Marc.

Yep, I totally agree with this. It's the closing epic which really sells this album for me, it's like a perfect example of a prog epic, I truly love it 

[KevShmev]

I have to admit that most of Visions is a blur for me.  Every time I try to listen to it, it just moves along with nothing really grabbing me.  It all sounds like well-played prog, but the hooks are not there for me on that one.  Same goes for the first album, too, except for that amazing instrumental section in Celestial Elixir.  I think almost all of their best songs are from the last two albums:

The Path/Atlas Stone
In Memoriam
Because It's There
Falling Back to Earth
Pareidolia
The Architect
Earthrise
Bound by Gravity

[Nick]

Yep, definitely pronounced like bacon. I'm pretty sure they have a t-shirt which even has a picture of Kevin Bacon on it  or did I imagine that?

That depends, can your imagination think up something quite this sexy?

[King Postwhore]

6 degrees of Kevin Haken.

[RoeDent]

I'm surprised by the lack of love for Visions. I think a lot of it is just down to the fact they've released more albums since, so people have something to compare it to. When it was newly-released, there was a ton of love for it. But then, I should be used to this. (Many of) You lot always seem to hate the great albums.

[Crow]

i've been following haken since their demo days & i felt visions was a bit of a disappointment on release. i've hardly ever revisited it since the mountain was released, and i still come back to aquarius occasionally

[Train of Naught]

I'm surprised by the lack of love for Visions. I think a lot of it is just down to the fact they've released more albums since, so people have something to compare it to. When it was newly-released, there was a ton of love for it. But then, I should be used to this. (Many of) You lot always seem to hate the great albums.

Yeah, I never liked Visions that much . It has some great songs on it though, I love Shapeshifter, Nocturnal Conspiracy and Insomnia

I'm also not a huge Haken fan, but I think Aquarius and The Mountain are better in almost every aspect so it's more likely for me to put those ones on if I happen to listen to them

[Bolsters]

I'll join the bandwagon too, never been able to get into Visions at all. I think everything they've been doing since then ranges from good to great though, especially Affinity.

[twosuitsluke]

I really do love all their albums and I'd rank The Mountain>Affinity>Visions>Aquarius>Restoration. Visions is quite a bit better than Aquarius for me, I guess Aquarius feels like the debut that it is and Visions feels more refined. As I've said before though, I love the title track and it is the main highlight. The rest of the album is pretty solid but it's the climax of the album that seals the deal for me. If I wasn't a fan of the title track though (and I can understand why some of you aren't) the album would end up ranking lower I guess.

[Zydar]

I'd rank Visions last of their albums. Not that there's anything wrong with the album, there's just no track that grabs me like their other albums do.

[Fritzinger]

I'd rank Visions last of their albums. Not that there's anything wrong with the album, there's just no track that grabs me like their other albums do.

This.

Although the title track is amazing. I love when they play it live as last song and after they finish, the whole crowd goes OOOH-OOH-OOH-OOOOH-OOOH-OOOOOH and just continues to sing the melody! That always gives me goosebumps.

[BlackInk]

I never understood the pronounciation confusion. Why would it be pronounced any other way than Taken but with an H? Or why would any other way to say it be your first assumption?

Also, I think Visions is a fantastic album even though I rank it last among their full length releases.

[me7]

I never understood the pronounciation confusion. Why would it be pronounced any other way than Taken but with an H? Or why would any other way to say it be your first assumption?

When I saw the band's name in the font they used on Aquarius/Visions, I imagined a Scandinavian Black Metal band spelled Haah-Ken.

[jakepriest]

I don't think I've got through Visions entirely more than once. I just really don't like a single song except for Nocturnal Conspiracy.

[Mladen]

The first three songs on Visions are as fantastic as any of the band's other amazing songs. After that, the album starts to lose me and even with the title track doesn't pick up that much. But the first three tracks alone make the album better than Affinity overall.

[Fritzinger]

I always loved Premonition, fantastic intro. I don't really like the first half of Nocturnal Conspiracy. Some of the weakest Haken moments for me. Insomnia, Deathless and the 3-part suite in the middle are great though. Visions the song just blows me away.
Also I have to say, I never really liked the snare drum sound on Visions.

With Affinity they have taken their music to a whole other level. The keyboard sounds are amazing, Ray is just on fire, the melodies are great (Architect, wow). I love all Haken albums but I think Affinity is my favorite.

[RoeDent]

I never understood the pronounciation confusion. Why would it be pronounced any other way than Taken but with an H? Or why would any other way to say it be your first assumption?

I did think it was pronounced "Har-ken" at first, because it made me think of the sea monster, the kraken.

[KevShmev]

I think The Mountain has higher highs than Affinity, but Affinity is far more consistent.  The Mountain has three songs I can do without (Cockroach King, As Death Embraces, Somebody), while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate), not counting the intro track 1.

[jakepriest]

while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate)

a.k.a the second best song on the album

[Evermind]

while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate)

a.k.a the best song on the album

FTFM

[Fritzinger]

I think The Mountain has higher highs than Affinity, but Affinity is far more consistent.  The Mountain has three songs I can do without (Cockroach King, As Death Embraces, Somebody), while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate), not counting the intro track 1.

Wow that's weird Cockroach King???

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Holy crap, I love this band.

They have been on non-stop rotation in my life for the past month or so.

[seasonsinthesky]

I think The Mountain has higher highs than Affinity, but Affinity is far more consistent.  The Mountain has three songs I can do without (Cockroach King, As Death Embraces, Somebody), while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate), not counting the intro track 1.

Wow that's weird Cockroach King???

In full agreement with Kev on CK and Initiate. For the record

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Still playing this stuff non-stop. As of now, my two favorite songs are Visions and The Architect.....but gonna keep spinning them before I come up with actual rankings. Just in awe at how ridiculously great this band is. 

[KevShmev]

I think The Mountain has higher highs than Affinity, but Affinity is far more consistent.  The Mountain has three songs I can do without (Cockroach King, As Death Embraces, Somebody), while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate), not counting the intro track 1.

Wow that's weird Cockroach King???

In full agreement with Kev on CK and Initiate. For the record

*high five*

I think The Mountain has higher highs than Affinity, but Affinity is far more consistent.  The Mountain has three songs I can do without (Cockroach King, As Death Embraces, Somebody), while Affinity really only has one skipper (Initiate), not counting the intro track 1.

Wow that's weird Cockroach King???

I feel like I've addressed this 384 times already . but musically it is great, but vocally it is not, IMO.  The vocals are way too cartoonish, and in a cringe-worthy way.  I get that it's a song most fans love, but it's not for me.  Those kind of harmonies I often do not like when Spock's Beard and Neal Morse do them (and I a huge fan of both of them). They often just sound silly.  And they were inspired originally by Gentle Giant, who I think sucks swap water.

[RoeDent]

Still playing this stuff non-stop. As of now, my two favorite songs are Visions and The Architect.....but gonna keep spinning them before I come up with actual rankings. Just in awe at how ridiculously great this band is.

Welcome aboard the Haken train! (Not sure if we serve bacon yet, but...)