Author Topic: Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)  (Read 437320 times)

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Offline erwinrafael

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1855 on: March 25, 2017, 10:17:20 AM »
Also, I think both Drowning in the Flood and Sun have fantastic climaxes.

Drowning in the Flood is my favorite in Aquarius for that reason.  :metal

There are several climaxes in that song. 

For one, the synth part at the end of the instrumental section is a major climax, especially when the vocals come in doing that wordless stuff. If you don't think that is climatic, then I can't help you.  :biggrin:

Also, the climax at the end is more of a slow burn, rather than an over the top, bombastic one, but it's still a climax, nonetheless. Not every long epic has to have a majorly bombastic ending.

Personally, I really just want any song that makes me listen for more than fifteen minutes have a payoff, which is something I did not get from Celestial Elixir (and Crystallised, for that matter). I often have problems with long songs that harp on the same theme or chord progression for several measures because it makes me feel the length of the song.

They did much better with Visions, although that song ironically suffers from too many moments that felt like the climax. :lol My personal favorite Haken epic, though, is the unofficial epic The Mind's Eye - Portals - Shapeshifter. Beautiful melodies and beautifully paced as well.

Offline me7

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1856 on: March 25, 2017, 12:10:17 PM »
Out of all the Haken albums, I don't like Aquarius. It was a young Haken and they do not know yet how build up, how to write a climax for songs, so the songs (especially Celestial Elixir) felt like songs that do not have much ups and downs. And the growls are out of place.

I couldn't disagree more.

So what is the climax of Celestial Elixir? It starts with a 3 and a half minutes of reprise of album themes, followed by 4 and a half minutes of a moody song, then about three and a half minutes of an upbeat instrumental, then around two minutes of the moody song, then a couple of minutes of a repeating chord progression that changes tempo midway, then a cooling down outro. And I am left wondering, where did the song peak? It's like there really is just eight to ten minutes' worth of a song but there is a long reprise at the start, and three minutes of outro of a single repeating chord progression.

Celestial Elixir has multiple highlights, but the climax for me is the section from 10:40 to 11:40. It's at the end of the freeform part, before the chorus repetition kicks in, a very "traditional" spot for a climax in a prog song IMO.

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1857 on: March 25, 2017, 12:17:12 PM »
Looks like I'm flying solo tonight at the Haken gig, my friend bailed (as I suspected he would). First gig on my own  :| I'm getting full on in that pit  :metal

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1858 on: March 25, 2017, 01:20:18 PM »
So what is the climax of Celestial Elixir? It starts with a 3 and a half minutes of reprise of album themes, followed by 4 and a half minutes of a moody song, then about three and a half minutes of an upbeat instrumental, then around two minutes of the moody song, then a couple of minutes of a repeating chord progression that changes tempo midway, then a cooling down outro. And I am left wondering, where did the song peak? It's like there really is just eight to ten minutes' worth of a song but there is a long reprise at the start, and three minutes of outro of a single repeating chord progression.

There are several climaxes in that song. 

For one, the synth part at the end of the instrumental section is a major climax, especially when the vocals come in doing that wordless stuff. If you don't think that is climatic, then I can't help you.  :biggrin:

Also, the climax at the end is more of a slow burn, rather than an over the top, bombastic one, but it's still a climax, nonetheless. Not every long epic has to have a majorly bombastic ending.


Celestial Elixir has multiple highlights, but the climax for me is the section from 10:40 to 11:40. It's at the end of the freeform part, before the chorus repetition kicks in, a very "traditional" spot for a climax in a prog song IMO.

You don't say? :P (see the bolded above)



Personally, I really just want any song that makes me listen for more than fifteen minutes have a payoff

I totally get that. If I am investing that much time to a single song, it had better have a sweet payoff.  For example, while it's a good song and a nice piece of music, I never listen to The Flower Kings' The Truth Will Set You Free anymore because the payoff doesn't justify the length.

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1859 on: March 26, 2017, 06:55:08 AM »
Haken were pretty great last night. I wasn't completely happy with everything they played but the set was pretty good. They opened with the obligatory Initiate, which was an ok opener. The real highlights for me were 1985, Cockroach King and the Aquarius medley. 1985 was great live and really got the place moving. Cockroach King is obviously a lot of fun but the real surprise was the Aquarius medley, it really had all my favourite bits from the album and flowed pretty well. The main disappointments for me were Red Giant and The Endless Knot, I'm just not a huge fan of either of these songs to be honest and I could have picked a number of songs I'd rather have heard. The Architect worked really well live and I do appreciate it a bit more after seeing it but I'm not on the bandwagon of it being one of their top 10 songs. Finally, they encored with Visions  :metal

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1860 on: March 26, 2017, 06:37:07 PM »
Nice.

[spoiler]
Not to spoil it for anyone reading, but I am kind of surprised the longest song from The Mountain wasn't played. I would think that would be an every night mainstay.
[/spoiler]

Updates on the first two albums, which I have been giving more listens to...

-Aside from Celestial Elixir, Streams and Aquarium are the clear standouts from Aquarius, IMO; those are both really good, although that growling section in the middle of Streams seems like a major WTF.  Sun seems pretty good, as well.  The others all seem not worth many more listens.

-Aside from the great title track from Visions, Insomnia, Portals and Shapeshifter all seem quite good from that one.  Nocturnal Conspiracy has some good stuff, but the melodies just seem weird or something; that one might take a bit more time. 

Offline Destiny Of Chaos

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1861 on: March 30, 2017, 06:30:12 AM »
Aquarium is climbing up my list. Absolutely infectious song.

Offline Dublagent66

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1862 on: March 30, 2017, 10:35:36 AM »
Drowning in the Flood is also one of my favs.
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Offline RoeDent

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1863 on: March 30, 2017, 12:07:12 PM »
Aquarium is climbing up my list. Absolutely infectious song.

This. It's certainly my favourite of the "new" songs I've only heard since getting the album. It might even be top of my ranking now. If I've even come up with a ranking.

Offline Mladen

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1864 on: March 30, 2017, 12:31:31 PM »
Eternal rain doesn't get enough love. It's as great as the epic tracks, it's just very concise.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1865 on: March 30, 2017, 07:07:51 PM »
Drowning in the Flood is also one of my favs.

I keep giving that song chances, but I really dislike the verses. A little too obnoxious for me. :lol :lol

Speaking of obnoxious...

Eternal rain doesn't get enough love. It's as great as the epic tracks, it's just very concise.

I'm not sure what the point was of that instrumental section, but I hate it. I can't even remember what the rest of the song is like.

Aquarium is climbing up my list. Absolutely infectious song.

Yep, it's really good.  To me, three songs from the debut stand far above the others, and that is one of them.

I would rank the songs from the debut like this:

1. Celestial Elixir
2. Streams
3. Aquarium
HUGE GAP
4. Sun
ANOTHER BIG GAP
5. The Point of No Return
6. Drowning in the Flood
7. Eternal Rain

Offline aprilethereal

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1866 on: March 30, 2017, 11:11:00 PM »
Eternal rain doesn't get enough love. It's as great as the epic tracks, it's just very concise.

Absolutely :heart

I also think The Point Of No Return is extremely underappreciated. It's a perfect opener for the album and definitely my favourite, although the entire album is fanatastic. Their overall strongest work imo.

Offline LordCost

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1867 on: March 31, 2017, 12:41:49 AM »
Eternal rain doesn't get enough love. It's as great as the epic tracks, it's just very concise.

Absolutely :heart

I also think The Point Of No Return is extremely underappreciated. It's a perfect opener for the album and definitely my favourite, although the entire album is fanatastic. Their overall strongest work imo.

The Point Of No Return is definitely my favourite too

Offline Estiui

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1868 on: March 31, 2017, 01:09:04 AM »
I'd say:

1. Celestial Elixir
2. Drowning in the Flood
3. Aquarium
4. Eternal Rain
5. Streams
6. Sun
7. The Point of No Return

Offline Mladen

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1869 on: March 31, 2017, 02:12:21 AM »
Eternal rain doesn't get enough love. It's as great as the epic tracks, it's just very concise.

I'm not sure what the point was of that instrumental section, but I hate it. I can't even remember what the rest of the song is like.
Yeah, the instrumental is pretty silly, but I still enjoy it. However, the chorus is absolutely epic, especially with the answering backing vocals near the end. The ending is soaring as well, truly triumphant.

Offline ariich

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1870 on: March 31, 2017, 03:56:00 AM »
1. Drowning in the Flood (just love the groovy heaviness in the first half and the gorgeous climax in the slower section)
2. Celestial Elixir
3. Sun
4. Eternal Rain
5. the first three songs

The first three songs on the album are solid enough and have some excellent moments, but I think of them as all running together quite a bit.

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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1871 on: April 01, 2017, 03:54:47 PM »

I also think The Point Of No Return is extremely underappreciated. It's a perfect opener for the album and definitely my favourite, although the entire album is fanatastic. Their overall strongest work imo.

The Point Of No Return is definitely my favourite too

I don't dislike it.  It's got some really cool parts, but seems kind of all over the place, which I get can be part of its charm.

1. Drowning in the Flood (just love the groovy heaviness in the first half and the gorgeous climax in the slower section)

The slower section is really nice, for sure.  I just wish I liked the first half of the song.

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1872 on: April 02, 2017, 08:52:37 AM »
Ugh.

So I can't stop listening to Affinity.

I think I need help.
I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Offline aprilethereal

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1873 on: April 03, 2017, 12:30:31 PM »
Just saw them live this weekend. Although the entire show was great, the Aquarius medley was just absolutely perfect. The Algorithm did a fantastic job as well (I did not really care for Next To None), and their DJ/guitarist/songwriter is such a nice and humble guy.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1874 on: April 04, 2017, 05:45:46 PM »
What songs/parts comprise the Aquarius medley?

Offline aprilethereal

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1875 on: April 04, 2017, 11:07:59 PM »
What songs/parts comprise the Aquarius medley?

Every song except Sun makes an appearance

Offline me7

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1876 on: April 05, 2017, 02:28:22 AM »
What songs/parts comprise the Aquarius medley?

Every song except Sun makes an appearance

It's basically orgasm after orgasm after orgasm...

Offline LightCurves

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1877 on: April 05, 2017, 03:17:55 AM »
Saw Haken yesterday. They were brilliant, much better then i thought - very nice blend of art rock and metal and retro elements. Glad i finally checked them out.

Support:
The Algoritm are a genre mash up of Techno/Glitch/Metal, very entertaining.
Next to None obviously only got their spot because of the Portnoy-connection. Very immature (well, of course, they're all 18-20yrs old) songwriting, busy, unfocused and disjointed. And Max is a poser, just like his dad.

Offline home

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1878 on: April 05, 2017, 04:17:50 AM »
A question for the people who've seen them on this tour: How long did the support acts play? Or how long after the venue opened did Haken start?
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Offline LightCurves

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1879 on: April 05, 2017, 04:33:32 AM »
A question for the people who've seen them on this tour: How long did the support acts play? Or how long after the venue opened did Haken start?

In Vienna:
Doors 19:30
Next to None 20:00-20:30
Algorithm 20:50-21:30
Haken 22:00-23:50

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1880 on: April 05, 2017, 05:49:46 AM »
What songs/parts comprise the Aquarius medley?

Every song except Sun makes an appearance

It's basically orgasm after orgasm after orgasm...

More like tease after tease after tease (medleys usually suck, since you are just getting into a song live and then they suddenly go into something else).

Offline me7

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1881 on: April 05, 2017, 06:22:08 AM »
Wait until you hear it.

Offline Metro

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1882 on: April 05, 2017, 08:37:39 AM »
They posted this on their FB and Twitter



Teasing North American and Australian dates for the anniversary tour
« Last Edit: April 05, 2017, 08:43:50 AM by Metropolaris »

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1883 on: April 05, 2017, 08:39:50 AM »
I see New York City in there!  :metal :metal

I'd imagine they will be touring the US in the fall possibly since they will be here for ProgPower and also assuming the guys are still backing MP's Shattered Fortress, also in September.

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1884 on: April 05, 2017, 09:30:39 AM »
Man, that's an extensive tour, how awesome for them. I reaaaaaally wish I had the time off to do another Hakation, but it's likely just Philly and NYC for me.
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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1885 on: April 05, 2017, 09:43:35 AM »
I want dates and I want them now. Would definitely like to catch multiple dates if possible.
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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1886 on: April 05, 2017, 09:44:49 AM »
Boston! Boston! Boston!
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Offline mikeyd23

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1887 on: April 05, 2017, 09:50:09 AM »
Oh man, I see Pittsburgh in there. If they come this way, I'll definitely hit up the show!

Offline Destiny Of Chaos

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1888 on: April 05, 2017, 09:50:16 AM »
Seeing the Architect live is now on my bucket list.

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Re: Haken v. Affinity, like Baconinity
« Reply #1889 on: April 05, 2017, 12:31:19 PM »
DURHAM
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