The Haken thread v. Restoration

[Lucidity]

Well that song wasn't nearly as good as Atlas Stone. It was pretty good, I guess... Pretty draggy and a bit too repetitive. Some really cool parts. But Atlas Stone is much stronger.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

...You and I are very different.

[Orthogonal]

Both songs are awesome, so I won't debate which is better, but for me, one thing that is clearly standing out is the continuing maturation of their song-writing. The production value is also improving. I'm predicting this will be my favorite Haken album.

[me7]

Why even compare them? They serve different purposes on the album. Atlas Stone is a great "opener", starting the album with Pareidolia would be wrong. Pareidolia is a great "ambitious" song for the third act of the album.
Both tracks make perfectly sense to me and make me excited that Haken have once again crafted a well-flowing album.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Why compare them?

Well, we've got free time, so why not?

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Dangitt!! I completly forgot about Haken and the new song released today!! PLz forgive me!!

I shall know listen to this!

[GasparXR]

My first impression was Tool. This continued through much of the song, while still sounding like Haken and being new and fresh, and then realized the Tool inspiration was not by accident when the video showed 10 000 Days sitting in their studio. VERY great song! I enjoyed it a bit more than The Enemy Inside, as much as I don't want to admit (although both songs are great in their own right). This day just makes me wish even more that Haken opens for DT in North America when I go see them.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

This day just makes me wish even more that Haken opens for DT in Sweden when I go see them.

FTFM

[Nekov]

Can we assume you liked the song then? 

[Orthogonal]

It's funny that I now say I think this will be my favorite Haken album. It was only a few months ago I was expressing concern and doubt after hearing some of the teaser material. Maybe I will be disappointed, but for now, they have put my fears to rest.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea I like very much! 

[me7]

My first impression was Tool.

Reminded me of Tool as well.

[Nel]

Oh no, this album has bonus tracks in a more expensive package? The torment of hunting down bonus tracks never ceases!

[Mosh]

I like it, but so far I prefer Atlas Stoned. Only listened to it once though, so I won't make any bold comments until I get to know it better.

[BlackInk]

Great track. A lot better than Atlas Stone and definetely a lot better than The Enemy Inside.

So much to mention about this song but for now I'll just say that I love it and I got a strong Aquarius-vibe from that section that starts at 9:32. So that was awesome.

[Nekov]

After listening to the track a couple more times I must say it's really growing on me. I still think Atlas Stone is better but I'm enjoying Pareidolia a lot more, so much as to say I think Haken will deliver the album of the year.

[Syzzle]

Upon first listen I'd say it's definitely better than Atlas Stone. September can't come soon enough, so how about another song in 2 weeks to hold us over?

[GasparXR]

I like it, but so far I prefer Atlas Stoned. Only listened to it once though, so I won't make any bold comments until I get to know it better.

Another Tool crossover? 

[mallorier]

Wow...so this album is gonna be pretty diverse, huh? I (like many others here) am very impressed with Pareidolia! Dat bass !

Really though, I think the thing that stoked me out the most about this song is the return of the heavy vocals. I believe it's something around 6:55 in the track (after the sweet dreamy section ). There they are! They're back! Not out in the front, but layered in just kind of adding this face melting edge to the rather Tool-esque dreaminess. For me, I think it was perfect, and I think it shows a vast improvement to what we saw on Aquarius. I'm in total agreement with the people who have commented on the new level of maturity this band is displaying.

September is gonna be magical

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Huh, I didn't notice any harsh vocals. I need to listen to it again.

[Jaq]

New song...kind of bored me silly. About three minutes too long, just meanders way too much, and sounds so much like Tool I can't figure out why a forum that regularly rips on DT when they sounded like other bands isn't landing on this with both feet 

I didn't feel Atlas Stone much either, so maybe I'm losing my Haken buzz. Or maybe they'll never top Aquarius for me. 

[YtseJamittaja]

Oh my god, banjo lead line backed by djent riff. Wtf.

This is actually not a banjo, it's bouzouki, a Greek instrument. I have the similar instrument myself and it sounds the same.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki

[Nekov]

Atlas Stone might just be my favorite Haken song. I've been listening quite often since it was released and I like it more every time

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

New song...kind of bored me silly. About three minutes too long, just meanders way too much, and sounds so much like Tool I can't figure out why a forum that regularly rips on DT when they sounded like other bands isn't landing on this with both feet 

I didn't feel Atlas Stone much either, so maybe I'm losing my Haken buzz. Or maybe they'll never top Aquarius for me. 

People keep making the Tool comparisons, but I don't hear it, personally.

[Nekov]

I'm with you there, I just don't listen to anything that makes me think of Tool

[Nick]

I'll be speaking with Ross this week (likely sooner rather than later), so if you have any questions you'd potentially like asked, feel free to suggest.

[Nekov]

Ask him if they are planning a worldwide tour or if they'll just stay within Europe and the US.

Also ask him what he thinks about

[ariich]

The obvious ones for me would be:
 - What he did differently on vocals this time.
 - What the ideas behind the lyrics were for the album.

[ariich]

Also ask him what he thinks about

Unfortunately I don't really know Ross that well, same with Diego and Charlie. They're all nice guys but Hen and Tom are a bit better at mingling and chatting at gigs and stuff, and Ray I've known for years.

[Nick]

The obvious ones for me would be:
 - What he did differently on vocals this time.
 - What the ideas behind the lyrics were for the album.

Yeah, already planned on hitting on those.

[Lucidity]

Ask what his favorite track off the album is pretty please! 

[Mosh]

How much (if any) input does he have on the song writing process?

[ariich]

How much (if any) input does he have on the song writing process?

I can pretty much answer this already. Hen write's the majority of the music in advance - at least in draft form anyway. The band then jam around it and make changes, everyone contributing their own ideas. Pretty sure this includes Ross, as he's an instumentalist as well (he plays guitar in another band).

And then on top of that he's the main lyricist.

[Mosh]

Oh cool. Didn't know Ross played guitar, is the other band a local thing or do they have music out?

[Frank]

Maybe you can ask him about any possible official release of sheet music? Or, dare I say it, stem files?

Thanks a bunch!