Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[DTA]

1. Affinity - this is a prog-metal essential ala I&W, Mindcrime, and SFAM. Unfortunately I don't think they'll ever top this one for me at this point.

2. The Mountain - mostly excellent, though Because It's There, Somebody, and As Death Embraces pull it down slightly.

3. Aquarius - extremely solid with tons of great ideas - I think most of the songs are too long however and there's a bit too much "goofiness" in the keyboard sounds.

4. Vector - very solid, but too short with the final two songs being lower quality than the others.

5. Visions - good album, but outside of Shapeshifter, Insomnia, Deathless, and the title track, it doesn't really do it for me. Nocturnal Conspiracy might be one of my least favorite Haken songs along with Darkest Light.

[Evermind]

Oh we are doing this again? Sure, let's go, right now for me it is:

1. Aquarius - lots of fantastic ideas, you can feel it's not as polished as some of the later albums but the spark is there, and I'd argue that this album has the best Haken moments overall as well as Haken's best three song run (Drowning in the Flood - Sun - Celestial Elixir)
2. The Mountain - a polished package, fabulous album, it's obvious for me they were very focused when writing this one, and while I feel some songs may be just a bit lacking, the whole picture comes together extremely well

3. Vector - hey, aside from Nil by Mouth and some moments in Veil, I love every song on this. And Veil has some great moments too, the first verse, chorus, and the quiet section are all great, in my opinion

4. Affinity - I like half the songs and I don't like the other half. It feels as polished as The Mountain, only some of the material isn't strong enough for me to hold up. Still a good album though!


5. Visions - I like Nocturnal Conspiracy, Shapeshifter and Deathless. The rest of the album could be dropped and I wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest.

[Fritzinger]

On the flip side, the title track and Deathless are two of their best songs IMO (both would be in my top 6-7 probably), and they take up over 30 minutes of the total 71 minutes.  Throw in Nocturnal Conspiracy, which is damn good and pretty essential, and you now have 43 minutes of 71 being essential. 

Interesting. I think, Nocturnal Conspiracy is one of the weakest tracks in their catalogue. Which of course still doesn't mean it's a bad song.


My rating would be like this:
Affinity
Vector
The Mountain
Aquarius
Visions

But that doesn't mean much, because they are all sooo close...

[jammindude]

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

The first four albums are nearly perfect.  In fact I would call it the greatest opening four album run in progressive rock history.  Only Pain of Salvation comes close.   Vector is good.  And for any other band, I would even call it great.  But it was definitely a step down from a four album run of near perfection. 

So far though, I think I like Prosthetic better than any song off Vector, so that's a good sign.

[GasparXR]

The Mountain
Affinity/Visions
Vector
Aquarius

I couldn't decide which is better between Affinity and Visions. Everything is pretty close with only Aquarius being just a bit under the rest. I don't know why we aren't including Restoration in the list, but I would probably tie it with Vector. (I know it's an EP, but that's really just a label isn't it? I mean yeah it's shorter, but Vector is also shorter than the rest, and Virus is following suit, being shorter than all the pre-Vector albums. I think it deserves to be included.)

[ChuckSteak]

1. Aquarius
2. Vision
3. The Mountain
4. Affinity
5. Vector

[ariich]

1. The Mountain
2= Vector
2= Virus
4. Affinity
5= Visions
5= Restoration
7. Aquarius
8. Demo

[Elite]

1. Aquarius
2. Affinity
3. The Mountain
4. Visions
5. Vector
6. Restoration
7. Demo


I *think*

[krands85]

I always struggle to rank their albums for some reason. I guess it's mainly because they're all great in their own ways and there isn't one that stands head and shoulders above the rest for me.

The only thing I can definitively say is that Vector is my least favourite, but that's partly because it's 25% shorter than even their next shortest previous album. Many of the songs would need to be among their absolute best to make up for that and I don't find that to be the case, even though I don't dislike any of them.

[Elite]

Oh, I absolutely don't think shorter=less good. I ranked Vector lowest, because I don't really like it. Veil is one of their worst tracks as far as I'm concerned, and I never have the urge to listen to Nil by Mouth either. The Good Doctor I find enjoyable, and Puzzle Box and A Cell Divides I think are really good tracks, but that's not a whole lot then, hence why it's ranked lowest of their proper albums for me.

[Heretic]

The Mountain
Aquarius
Affinity
Visions
Vector

[425]

I'm in the camp that considers Aquarius and The Mountain to be the two clear peaks. Both of those albums are totally distinct in their sound and songwriting—I've never heard an album even remotely similar to either of those two. And both of them are at a very high level.

For a long time I rated Affinity below Visions, but a few months ago it unexpectedly clicked very hard. It just took me a long time to get a handle on the last few songs. Now I would place it a clear third. And then Vector and Visions are both a clear cut below Affinity. They're both good albums, but also distinctly mortal. After having had a while to sit with Vector, I'd rate Visions as the clear weakest.

Restoration is hard to rank next to full-length albums, but I'd place it in the same area as Visions and Vector.

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

[Zydar]

I gave Visions a full spin last night, to see if it would "click" with me some more, but no - it's still last on my ranking. There's nothing there except the awesome title track (and perhaps Deathless) that really interests me.

[frogprog]

So I was roto tilling my back yard yesterday in preparation for grass seeding today. I listened to all of Haken's studio work in no particular order other than complete albums at a time. Even though it was tiring work I thoroughly enjoyed the tunes- as I rocked out and busted my ass all day. Sure we can nitpick, "I like this or this isn't as good" but they are an extremely talented (and nice bunch) of lads and I am glad I am a fan of them.

[Northern Lion]

I like doing album rankings, so here we go .

The Mountain
Affinity
Vector
Restoration
Visions
Aquarius

I don't listen to visions and Aquarius all that much.  To me, The Mountian is when Haken finally came into their own.  And my first 4 on the list are very tightly packed and I like all of them almost equally.

[MinistroRaven]

These guys seem to be unstoppable. VIRUS keeps raising the bar. 

[ariich]

These guys seem to be unstoppable. VIRUS keeps raising the bar. 

[Dublagent66]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

[MinistroRaven]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

[Northern Lion]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

You've heard the whole thing?  Lucky dog 

[jammindude]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

I hate you.

 

[IDontNotDoThings]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

If you've heard it, can we expect some sort of review some time?

[Fritzinger]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

If you've heard it, can we expect some sort of review some time?

I'll start writing a detailed review for Sonic Perspectives soon!


I have heard it twice now and it's absolutely insane. If I had to guess, I'd say it's going to be more popular among fans than Vector.
Plus, it makes Vector whole. The whole "double" package Vector/Virus makes absolute sense.

[ariich]

Really glad you guys are digging it so much!

[Bolsters]

I'm quite lukewarm towards Prosthetic, hoping the rest of the album appeals to me more.

[Dublagent66]

Ok, so how special does one need to be in order to hear the entire album 6 weeks before release?

[MinistroRaven]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

If you've heard it, can we expect some sort of review some time?

Fritzinger will write the review for our outlet.

[ariich]

Ok, so how special does one need to be in order to hear the entire album 6 weeks before release?

It's just the promo that has been sent out to review outlets.

[Nekov]

Ok, so how special does one need to be in order to hear the entire album 6 weeks before release?

It's just the promo that has been sent out to review outlets.

Or be friends with the band like some mod in this forum...

[Dublagent66]

 

[Northern Lion]

I really dig the new single Prosthetic.

Wait until you listen to the whole album. You are in for a treat.

If you've heard it, can we expect some sort of review some time?

I'll start writing a detailed review for Sonic Perspectives soon!


I have heard it twice now and it's absolutely insane. If I had to guess, I'd say it's going to be more popular among fans than Vector.
Plus, it makes Vector whole. The whole "double" package Vector/Virus makes absolute sense.

Oh man, now I'm even more excited than I already was.  Here's to a back to back Vector/Virus listening session on release day! 

[ariich]

Ok, so how special does one need to be in order to hear the entire album 6 weeks before release?

It's just the promo that has been sent out to review outlets.

Or be friends with the band like some mod in this forum...

Well, yes, but that was more than 6 weeks.

[MinistroRaven]

Ok, so how special does one need to be in order to hear the entire album 6 weeks before release?

It's just the promo that has been sent out to review outlets.

Or be friends with the band like some mod in this forum...

Well, yes, but that was more than 6 weeks.

HAHAHA correct.

[Zydar]

I bet ariich was even in on the writing sessions

[Max Kuehnau]

Single number two from Virus will be Canary Yellow, out this Friday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlVOEl9V-9k
(and I would guess that single number 3 will be out on May 29th as per the usual IO logic)