Haken thread v. Fauna, 3rd March 2023

[gmillerdrake]

I'm a little surprised by how far Nightingale has fallen for a lot of people.  That song rocks.  It's not my favorite on the album, but a lot of people have it at or near the bottom.

*shrugs*

I was kind of 'meh' on Nightingale and Alphabet of Me PRIOR to hearing them in context with the rest of the album. I now REALLY dig them. Honestly, This album might be top 3 for me. It's really a perfectly refined effort from every member of the band. I can't get enough of it.

[Implode]

I disliked Nightingale until I heard it live. Now it's near the top for me; it completely changed my experience of the song.

[Skeever]

I really like the first few tracks (am I hearing some nu jazz influence?) but after that it just feels like the same Haken I'm bored of (i.e., everything they've done post-Visions).

[Revenge319]

My ranking of Fauna so far. All of these songs are at least good, I'm starting to enjoy this a lot.

1. The Alphabet of Me
2. Eyes of Ebony
3. Elephants Never Forget
4. Beneath the White Rainbow
5. Island in the Clouds
6. Taurus
7. Nightingale
8. Lovebite
9. Sempiternal Beings

[jammindude]

I really like the first few tracks (am I hearing some nu jazz influence?) but after that it just feels like the same Haken I'm bored of (i.e., everything they've done post-Visions).

This just does not compute for me at all. The reason I like it is *because* it feels so different (to me) than their other material.

I no longer partake, but I’m flashing back to those THC musings like, “have you ever wondered if the way you see red…is the same way everyone else sees red? Dude…like maybe everyone is seeing a totally different color that we’re all just calling the same thing even though we’re all seeing it differently… whooooaaaaa”

[gmillerdrake]

The chorus vocals in 'Sempiternal Beings' and 'Beneath the White Rainbow' are simply amazing. From the lyrics to the 'way' Ross sings them.....I can't get enough of them.

[Nachtmerrie]

Saw them live yesterday and the new songs (Taurus, The Alphabet of Me, Lovebite) worked really well especially Taurus already being one of my favorites on the album. One of their more powerful songs. It makes me very happy to see them growing as a band and playing bigger venues with each album.
Great to finally see the Virus songs live. For me Carousel and Invasion are among their better songs and Messiah Complex also makes more sense to me after seeing it live.

The combination with Between the Buried And Me worked better then expected. Fantastic show by BTBAM as well with so much more energy compared to the last time I saw them.

Final thought: replacing Diego with Pete probably saves them some transportation costs on the equipment considering the ever expanding instruments Diego was using compared to the more traditional gear Pete is using.

[cramx3]

It makes me very happy to see them growing as a band and playing bigger venues with each album.

Glad you had fun, and I wanted to bring this up because based on the pictures I've seen when they end their set, it looks like they are playing much bigger crowds than before.  For that, I am happy for the band.

[Nachtmerrie]

It makes me very happy to see them growing as a band and playing bigger venues with each album.

Glad you had fun, and I wanted to bring this up because based on the pictures I've seen when they end their set, it looks like they are playing much bigger crowds than before.  For that, I am happy for the band.

This was a 3.000 venue. They didn't use full capacity but I estimate an attendance around 1.200 at least

[ariich]

Shepherd's Bush Empire is 2,000 capacity and they've sold more than 75%. Should be a great gig on Sunday!

[Nachtmerrie]

Shepherd's Bush Empire is 2,000 capacity and they've sold more than 75%. Should be a great gig on Sunday!

Have fun!

[gmillerdrake]

Shepherd's Bush Empire is 2,000 capacity and they've sold more than 75%. Should be a great gig on Sunday!

Don’t know why I’m quoting this to ask you this…….but…..will Haken or have they ever recorded a live DVD? Feels like they’re missing out on making some $$$ there

[Metropolaris]

Shepherd's Bush Empire is 2,000 capacity and they've sold more than 75%. Should be a great gig on Sunday!

Don’t know why I’m quoting this to ask you this…….but…..will Haken or have they ever recorded a live DVD? Feels like they’re missing out on making some $$$ there

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-1VE

[The Letter M]

Shepherd's Bush Empire is 2,000 capacity and they've sold more than 75%. Should be a great gig on Sunday!

Don’t know why I’m quoting this to ask you this…….but…..will Haken or have they ever recorded a live DVD? Feels like they’re missing out on making some $$$ there

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-1VE

This is a great live set. I even went out of my way to buy the L+1VE vinyl just to get those four ProgPower USA performances on CD. I really should watch that concert again sometime soon!

I'm hoping they record (either audio and/or video) on their tours this year so we can get some V/VI/F songs on a live release!

-Marc.

[gmillerdrake]

Shepherd's Bush Empire is 2,000 capacity and they've sold more than 75%. Should be a great gig on Sunday!

Don’t know why I’m quoting this to ask you this…….but…..will Haken or have they ever recorded a live DVD? Feels like they’re missing out on making some $$$ there

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-1VE

Cool.     I thought there was only audio available for this.

[cramx3]

The DVD isn't the greatest concert video, but the performance and audio are still solid.  The DVD also includes the Progpower set which does kind of make it worth the purchase even if I just stated the main show (and even the Progpower set) aren't the best from a visual perspective of a recorded concert. I'm also just bummed that you can't see me in the Progpower video 

[Nick]

The DVD isn't the greatest concert video, but the performance and audio are still solid.  The DVD also includes the Progpower set which does kind of make it worth the purchase even if I just stated the main show (and even the Progpower set) aren't the best from a visual perspective of a recorded concert. I'm also just bummed that you can't see me in the Progpower video 

You CAN see me in the ProgPower set.

Based on the fact that it's kinda... better in every way, I really think they should have had the ProgPower set as the main live release and then added in stuff from the other show.

[Zydar]

I stumbled upon this quiz - 'Can you name all of the songs by Haken (2023)?'. You have 12 minutes.

https://www.sporcle.com/games/benlewin25/haken

[ariich]

Fun, I did it in about half the time although 2 minutes of that was trying to remember what the hell the movements of Messiah Complex are and in what order they go!

[Evermind]

I've got everything except Messiah Complex II and III. I thought I knew them, then I clicked 'give up' five minutes in and no way in hell I would've remembered those two.

[Revenge319]

After even more listens, I think I've got a solid ranking for Fauna.

(A+ Tier)
1. Eyes of Ebony

(A Tier)
2. Elephants Never Forget
3. The Alphabet of Me
4. Nightingale
5. Beneath the White Rainbow
6. Island in the Clouds
7. Taurus

(B Tier)
8. Sempiternal Beings
9. Lovebite


As far as album rankings go... Fauna doesn't reach the highs that other Haken albums get to, but it is very consistently enjoyable. The Mountain is my #1 Haken album, but after that I'm unsure of how to even rank the rest. They're all so great in their own ways: Affinity and Fauna are what I'd consider the band's most creative and unique works; Aquarius and Vector have many of my favorite instrumental sections from the band; and while Visions and Virus are relatively inconsistent, they also have my two favorite Haken songs (Visions and Messiah Complex). I am impressed with how strong of a discography Haken's built up for seven albums (and an EP I need to hear more of).

[BlackInk]

I stumbled upon this quiz - 'Can you name all of the songs by Haken (2023)?'. You have 12 minutes.

https://www.sporcle.com/games/benlewin25/haken

That was fun. Got 53/63.