Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[Kram]

1. The Mountain
2. Visions
3. Virus
4. Affinity
5. Vector
6. Aquarius

[Nachtmerrie]

1. Affinity
2. Virus
3. The Mountain
4. Visions
5. Vector
6. Aquarius

[cramx3]

For the longest time I had Visions as my #1 and I think it still is, but Virus isn't far behind. 

That being said, I now remember what it was that presented a barrier of entry for me all those years back when I first gave this album a listen—'Cockroach King' is just not at all anything I'm into. I get that this is a fan-favourite, but man, this song does nothing for me.

I had the same issue.  I just couldn't get into Cockroach King and it kind of held The Mountain back for me as being a top Haken album contrary to almost everyone's opinion that it was.  Well, I think seeing the song live a bunch of times and just generally more listens, I finally come to enjoy the song for what it is and therefore my enjoyment of the album has really grown.  I won't rate it my favorite, but it is up there and it is a really good album even if it took awhile for it to sink in. 

sooo

Visions
Virus
The Mountain
Affinity
Vector

still haven't listened to Aquarius

[Ben_Jamin]

I enjoy all of the Haken albums.

Affinity
The Mountain
Visions
Vector
Virus
Aquarius

I just enjoy the overall theme that's in Affinity about the shift of perspective. Almost like Technology is affecting how the human mindset is changing and going through a shift.

Aquarius, I just haven't listened to enough.

[The Letter M]

Ranking time? Ranking time!

Visions
Affinity
Aquarius / The Mountain
Virus / Vector

Visions and Affinity are definitely my top two, and Visions was where I fell in love with the band, even though The Mountain was their newest at the time. Then Affinity came out and it blew me away, so it sits at second place. The remaining four are grouped in pairs because,  and while I enjoy both Aquarius and The Mountain, I don't think I've listened to both enough to really put one above the other, and the same goes for Vector and Virus.

-Marc.

[krands85]

I'd go:

1. The Mountain
2. Visions
3. Affinity
4. Aquarius
5. Vector
6. Virus

This is probably the closest to my ranking of those posted. I always struggle to pick my favourite Haken album for some reason, favouring any of those top 3 at different times. They're all slightly above Aquarius, which in turn is slightly above Vector. Virus is definitely the one that has the largest gap to the album above it. Still a good listen, but weaker than the rest of what is a phenomenal discography.

[Tomislav95]

1. Affinity
2. The Mountain
3. Virus
4. Visions
5. Aquarius
6. Vector

I've been listening to Virus a lot lately and it surprised me, I don't remember liking it this much

[TheCountOfNYC]

1: The Mountain
2: Visions
3: Virus
4: Aquarius
5: Vector
6: Affinity

[gzarruk]

1. The Mountain
2. Visions/Affinity
3. Visions/Affinity
4. Aquarius
5. Vector
















6. Virus

[Zydar]

I'm giving Visions a fresh spin now. I've always ranked it last, I'm hoping it will "click" with me more, aside from the brilliant title track. Given the DT comparisons I don't know why I'm not more into it.

[emtee]

Once again I feel like the odd man out. Love every Haken album except The Mountain. Never could connect with it like the others.

Virus and Aquarius are 1 & 2.

[Mladen]

When I listen to Visions, I'm astounded that the band managed to release a Haken-by-numbers album already with their second release. The albums that surround it have much more personality. There are some fine moments on Visions, though, particularly the first three tunes.

[cramx3]

When I listen to Visions, I'm astounded that the band managed to release a Haken-by-numbers album already with their second release. The albums that surround it have much more personality.

I'm not sure that makes any sense to me.  How can it be by numbers when you admit its not the same as the other albums?

[Mladen]

To me, it takes the most generic aspects of an otherwise fairly diverse album Aquarius and stretches them out to an album length. The Mountain builds on top of the Haken signature sound from the first two albums and adds new flavors, and then Affinity is a whole different story. The one album that plays it safe and doesn't take too many risks is Visions. That's what makes it Haken-by-numbers to my ears.

[the_silent_man]

I personally see that a different way. To me, Visions is them stripping the fat off Aquarius, which is overly cluttered at times. The songwriting is significantly stronger on Visions for me. Its my 2nd favourite.

Mountain
Visions
Vector
Virus
Aquarius
Affinity

[Nick]

There are stylistic reasons why I prefer Aquarius to Visions, which I will get into shortly, but for a shorter reason, it's simply this.

Celestial Elixir is one of the best songs Haken has ever done. Visions is one of the worst (at least for 10+ minutes). And when talking about your closing epics, it's hard to overcome that gap.

Now thankfully Rich had me on board the Haken hype train from early on, and the progression I heard from the demos to the debut was exciting. It took a band in which I saw potential, and in my opinion expanding and delivering on that potential in every way I could have hoped, kinks and all. So my excitement leading into Visions was insane, I wanted to see where the band would go from this amazing starting point. And while I've come to terms with most of the album and enjoy it greatly, at the time it seemed so safe and restrained in some ways. It even took a leap from a band that could be compared to Dream Theater due to every band vaguely in the genre getting that treatment, to a band at times that strayed dangerously close to deserving that comparison.

Thankfully the Mountain came along and took the best of all worlds and blew everyone out of the water, and I've been unquestionably diehard ever since.

[KevShmev]

Nick, you make me sad.

While I think Celestial Elixir is great, with the instrumental section in the middle being arguably their best "moment" ever, I think Visions is the slightly better song overall.

I am taking Aquarius over Visions as far as whole albums go, however, as the title track and Deathless are the only top drawer Haken songs on Visions, while most of Aquarius is top drawer for me.

[Metro]

1. Affinity
2. The Mountain
3. Vector
4. Visions
5. Virus
6. Aquarius

[Nick]

Nick, you make me sad.

Not as sad as it makes me every time you refuse to acknowledge that Hasse is the lead singer for The Flower Kings.

[KevShmev]

Nick, you make me sad.

Not as sad as it makes me every time you refuse to acknowledge that Hasse is the lead singer for The Flower Kings.

I refuse to acknowledge something that would make me dock them on my list of favorite bands, since one of my favorite bands cannot have that guy as its lead singer. 

[Zydar]

Nick, you make me sad.

Not as sad as it makes me every time you refuse to acknowledge that Hasse is the lead singer for The Flower Kings.

Is he really the lead singer though? It seems like Roine does a majority of the lead vocals on every album.

[RoeDent]

The Flower Kings thread 2.0. Also yes he is. Roine's the lead guitarist first.

[KevShmev]

Nick, you make me sad.

Not as sad as it makes me every time you refuse to acknowledge that Hasse is the lead singer for The Flower Kings.

Is he really the lead singer though? It seems like Roine does a majority of the lead vocals on every album.

No.  Roine was the lead singer from the start, and even with Hasse getting a lot more now than he used to, Roine still sings more lead vocals on just about every album to where he has not been displaced as the lead singer.  Nick is just chiding me a little. 

[WilliamMunny]

Alright, after spending a couple of weeks listening to nothing but Haken, I humbily submit my 'prisoner-of-the-moment' rankings:

1. The Mountain — A conceptual masterpiece that resonates with me on multiple levels.
2. Virus — A tight, technical assault that reminds me of DT's 'Train of Thought'
3. Affinity — An incredibly diverse set of songs; just wish I liked the epic more
4. Visions — Definitely the most DT-esque offering. Stellar songs occasionally bogged down by derivative sections.
5. Vector — Obviously cut from the same cloth as Virus. Love the production, but the record feels incomplete.
6. Aquarious — Love the epic, but boy am I happy they decided to drop the death growls after this record.

It's also worth mentioning that the E.P. contains what I feel is the band's best epic.

[Buddyhunter1]

3. Affinity — An incredibly diverse set of songs; just wish I liked the epic more

More people should.
*looks at Ariich*

[emtee]

I put the headphones on last night and spun The Mountain. Man, there's a lot going on. Some is melodic and brilliant while other parts seem less so. I think it needs multiple spins to really sink in.

The musicianship is otherworldly. Quite a piece of artistry.

[ariich]

3. Affinity — An incredibly diverse set of songs; just wish I liked the epic more

More people should.
*looks at Ariich*

Yep I was about to agree with him!

It has some wonderful stuff, but man the second half draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags. Probably my least favourite 5 minutes of Haken music.

[Nick]

Nick, you make me sad.

Not as sad as it makes me every time you refuse to acknowledge that Hasse is the lead singer for The Flower Kings.

Is he really the lead singer though? It seems like Roine does a majority of the lead vocals on every album.

No.  Roine was the lead singer from the start, and even with Hasse getting a lot more now than he used to, Roine still sings more lead vocals on just about every album to where he has not been displaced as the lead singer.  Nick is just chiding me a little. 

I'm chiding, but also serious. I've seen TFK like 6 times, their live show makes it clear via person placement and vocal distribution that Hasse is the lead singer of The Flower Kings. Even saying he is one of the lead singers isn't accurate. That's like saying Hasse is one of the lead guitarists of The Flower Kings.

[gzarruk]

All this talk, and still no Nightingale

[ariich]

All this talk, and still no Nightingale

For you, maybe.

[KevShmev]

I'm chiding, but also serious. I've seen TFK like 6 times, their live show makes it clear via person placement and vocal distribution that Hasse is the lead singer of The Flower Kings. Even saying he is one of the lead singers isn't accurate. That's like saying Hasse is one of the lead guitarists of The Flower Kings.

Live and the studio are different animals, though.  As great as I think Roine is, he is not someone who can sing well while still playing his guitar at his normal high level (I noticed this right away when I saw the early TA DVDs), so I think they intentionally pick a lot of songs that Froberg sings the lead for the live sets so Roine can focus more on his guitar playing.  Maybe that is splitting hairs, maybe not, but it seems that way.   Interestingly, the one time I saw TFK was late 06, and Roine was positioned on stage closest to front center. I know this because the concert was at some hole in the wall in Chicago and he was literally four feet in front of us the entire show.  It was awesome. 

[gzarruk]

All this talk, and still no Nightingale

For you, maybe.

[Deadeye21]

All this talk, and still no Nightingale

I’d legitimately like to know where Nightingale is. The artwork winner was announced a month ago. We know it’s out there. GIMME!

[gzarruk]

All this talk, and still no Nightingale

I’d legitimately like to know where Nightingale is. The artwork winner was announced a month ago. We know it’s out there. GIMME!

Most likely, on ariich's phone

[jammindude]

All this talk, and still no Nightingale

For you, maybe.

So, how much of a gag order are you under? Can you at least tell us if keyboards are just a little bit more prominent on this album than they have been on the last couple of albums? Or at least, if you haven’t heard the whole thing, based on what you have heard?