Agreed, yet from where I'm standing, saying that "Haken has raised the bar on what progressive metal is today." is just as invalid as tiagodon's statement.
Well, not really. What I said comes more from an opinion standpoint. I never claimed what I said to be fact by stating absolutes. Although, I probably should have said "progressive rock" instead of "progressive metal". Still, it is my belief that Haken is producing some of the most solid musical arrangements in the business right now, regardless of what category they fall into.
I just stated my opinion as well. While your statement is far more acceptable and sustainable by arguments, I still disagree with it, just as I disagree with the other one. I'm not a Sith to deal in absolutes.
I listened to quite a lot of Haken, but never had the feeling that "wow, these guys are raising the bar musically", like I had with some fusion groups (Planet X back in the day, Niacin, and more recently, Virgil Donati's new solo album). They had some moments I really liked and found interesting, like the Nintendo part in Insomnia or Cockroach King, in its Gentle Giant-esque glory (a band which raised the prog rock bar higher than everyone else back in the '70s), but I could never quite grasp the huge appreciation they get from some people. What is your favorite Haken song, btw?