The Haken thread v. Restoration

[Zydar]

Mine didn't come yesterday, I'm hoping it will come today. I mean, it was released yesterday - a preorder should arrive the same day.

I got mine late as well. Did you order directly from InsideOut like I did?

No I ordered it from the Swedish site Ginza, I do almost all my ordering there.

And no, it didn't come today either.


Edit: Just checked their site, and it seems they don't have it in stock and they're waiting for it to arrive. That's what I get for ordering the deluxe edition (they have the regular one).

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Mine didn't come yesterday, I'm hoping it will come today. I mean, it was released yesterday - a preorder should arrive the same day.

I got mine late as well. Did you order directly from InsideOut like I did?

No I ordered it from the Swedish site Ginza, I do almost all my ordering there.

And no, it didn't come today either.


Edit: Just checked their site, and it seems they don't have it in stock and they're waiting for it to arrive. That's what I get for ordering the deluxe edition (they have the regular one).

I also ordered from ginza and I got my copy today so expect it today or tomorrow. 

[SomeoneLikeHim]

I got mine from ginza today as well!

[Zydar]

You guys bought the regular one?

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I bought the Limited Edition Digipak, don't know if that counts as the regular one though? Becuase it's actually is the cheapest of 3.

[ariich]

Got my copy today, very interesting to be able to read the lyrics, and especially to see who wrote what now that they all share lyric duties!

It's also rather pleasing to see myself in the list of thanks again.

[Perpetual Change]

Well, it's definitely more interesting than Visions, and Ross Jennings sounds a heck of a lot better here too, but I don't know if I like it. To me, it feels SO classic prog, but in a way that hasn't really aged all that well: Whereas King Crimson, Yes, and Pink Floyd have all aged rather well, this album is way more "Gentle Giant" than all that. I don't dig a lot of the influences very much. I don't know where they were trying to go with it all. I'll definitely give it more than just one spin, though.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

I bought the Limited Edition Digipak, don't know if that counts as the regular one though? Becuase it's actually is the cheapest of 3.

That

[faemir]

Because it's there is such a fantastic little song, beautiful melody. Loving this, definitely better than Aquarius, not sure if it beats Visions yet.

Haken have basically replaced Dream Theater for my 'modern prog metal' fix when I need it. They have everything good about Dream Theater while managing to avoid everything bad about Dream Theater.

[Lucidity]

As much as I love this new album, I do want to say that Haken is getting a bit predictable. I love just about every song on the album (I don't dislike any song Haken has made as as I can tell), but at points I'd be like "here comes the instrumental break with the shifting fast meters", or "now they're going to do a little circus bit," or "time for a nice atmospheric part with strings." They are a fantastic band, but I feel like what they said about exploring new territory on The Mountain is mostly not true at all.

[BlackInk]

It's also rather pleasing to see myself in the list of thanks again.

What did you do?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

He didn't have to do anything. The mere fact of his existence was sufficient.



I'm just kidding, I have no idea.

[jsem]

After second listen: I don't know yet. Cockroach King feels much better now, it's all kinds of win. About half the album doesn't really stickh with me though, but it might on a later occasion. At this point I'd definitely rate both Aquarius and Visions better.

[Lucidity]

I think Cockroach King, Falling Back to Earth, and Atlas Stone are the ones I'm listening to most at the moment. Because It's There and In Memoriam are fantastic as well.

[Mosh]

I haven't gotten into Cockroach King but I love the rest of it. Been listening to it pretty much nonstop all weekend. Can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy and play it in the car too!

[Elite]

That was AWESOME. The band was awesome, the setlist was awesome, Cockroach King rocked like crazy and overall the ambience was amazing. Fantastic night with Haken once again!

[Mosh]

Man sometimes I wish I was European.

But glad you had a great time! 

[Heretic]

As much as I love this new album, I do want to say that Haken is getting a bit predictable. I love just about every song on the album (I don't dislike any song Haken has made as as I can tell), but at points I'd be like "here comes the instrumental break with the shifting fast meters", or "now they're going to do a little circus bit," or "time for a nice atmospheric part with strings." They are a fantastic band, but I feel like what they said about exploring new territory on The Mountain is mostly not true at all.

Maybe on the more "classic Haken" songs, sure, but Because It's There, As Death Embraces, and Somebody are entirely new territory for the band. There's nothing like those songs on previous records.

I'd argue that Cockroach King even explores new territory.

[Lucidity]

Cockroach King to me feels like it could be any song off of Visions. It's kickass, but it's completely familiar territory. Although I love the a capella explorations, and hope they do more of that in the future.

[Moor]

As much as I love this new album, I do want to say that Haken is getting a bit predictable. I love just about every song on the album (I don't dislike any song Haken has made as as I can tell), but at points I'd be like "here comes the instrumental break with the shifting fast meters", or "now they're going to do a little circus bit," or "time for a nice atmospheric part with strings." They are a fantastic band, but I feel like what they said about exploring new territory on The Mountain is mostly not true at all.

I totally disagree!

They delivered us a new album totally different than the two others, with jazz fusion breaks, oriental vibes, balalaika passages, A Capella parts, cinematic sounds and most important new influences that could be heard such as BTBAM, Queen, Gentle Giant, Pain of Salvation, Opeth and Hans Zimmer, and you say the Mountain did not explore new territories ?!

[ariich]

Yeah I think this album is massively different to the last two, while still retaining that Haken sound which is completely important in maintaining a fanbase. I'm amazed that anyone could find it predictable.

Rich, what was the setlist last night?

[Elite]

Rich, what was the setlist last night?

Spoiler alert for those who still want to see them in the coming days!

The Path Unbeaten (intro tape)
Atlas Stone
Eternal Rain
Cockroach King
The Mind's Eye
Portals
Shapeshifter
In Memoriam
As Death Embraces
Deathless
Pareidolia
Drowning in the Flood
---
(Encore:)
Celestial Elixir

I think that's it! Very nice setlist with a great mixture of older and new material. Seeing the stuff from The Mountain was awesome, as well as the Visions stuff once again. And Celestial Elixir is always a treat

[Zydar]

That's a killer setlist

[Elite]

It was indeed!

Edit: added it to setlist.fm

[Lolzeez]

That's an awesome setlist.

[Sintheros]

Just dropping in to say that Cockroach King and Falling Back to Earth are fantastic.

[me7]

It's great that they play Mind's Eye/Portals/Shapeshifter as a suite. It would be weird for me to listen to the songs out of context.

[ariich]

That's a pretty awesome setlist! I could do without The Mind's Eye, but then they played the whole suite and the other two tracks rock, so it makes sense for them to play it.

Interesting that they played As Death Embraces as well, that song is entirely written by Diego. Was it just him and Ross on that one?

[Elite]

Interesting that they played As Death Embraces as well, that song is entirely written by Diego. Was it just him and Ross on that one?

Yes, it was preceded by a short piano solo and the rest of the band left the stage, with just Diego and Ross playing that. All the audience was quiet during that track, pretty breathtaking really. It works really well as an emotional ballad in a live setting.

[ariich]

That's awesome. I've come to like it quite a lot, it's fairly modern harmonically, especially in the earlier stages, so isn't so immediately accessible as a lot of ballads like that. But it's interesting and very pretty.

[Nekov]

I could do without The Mind's Eye

And we could do without you.... 

[ElliottTamer]

That's awesome. I've come to like it quite a lot, it's fairly modern harmonically, especially in the earlier stages, so isn't so immediately accessible as a lot of ballads like that. But it's interesting and very pretty.

I'm really quite in love with Because It's There. It just sounds so beautiful and so unlike anything I've ever heard before... At the moment I might say it's my favorite song on the album, though that title changes hands more often than a dollar bill...
Anyway, now that everyone has hopefully had the chance to give the album a few spins, how you would rank the songs (in order of personal preference)?
Right now I would probably say:

1 - Because It's There
2 - Cockroach King
3 - Pareidolia
4 - Somebody
5 - In Memoriam
6 - Falling Back to Earth
7 - Atlas Stone
8 - As Death Embraces
9 - The Path

Now, note that I don't think any of these songs comes even close to being bad. Even The Path or As Death Embraces are amazing, though they are not really as ambitious as the others. Ross' vocal work in them is great and their melodies are quite beautiful, even somewhat haunting. Oh, and their positions in the album are just pitch perfect.

[Dark Castle]

You know what I like about The Mountain so much compared to their other releases? I know I'm probably in the very minuscule minority here, but their past two albums feel very wanky at times, whereas The Mountain feels so focused.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I'm really quite in love with Because It's There. It just sounds so beautiful and so unlike anything I've ever heard before... At the moment I might say it's my favorite song on the album, though that title changes hands more often than a dollar bill...

Yep, beautiful song and I realized yesterday how much Pain Of Salvation I hear in that song.

Sorry I briefly mixed the song with Somebody!  Because It's There is still good though and I agree.

[Moor]

My CURRENT ranking:

1- Cockroach King
2- Falling Back to Earth
3- Atlas Stone
4- Somebody
5- Because It's There
6- The Path
7 - Pareidolia
8- In Memoriam
9 - As Death Embraces