Well I've given in at least 10 spins, so I'm getting a good grasp on where this album sits with me so far. It's growing on me the way all of their non-Vector albums have, which is that I have to take a few listens to get used to the weird-ness of it. Vector I found was a bit predictable as far as the Haken sound goes. It was still a great album, but it didn't take very long for me to 'get' it like the rest of their discography. Not a bad or good thing necessarily, just an observation I had.
Prosthetic I think is one of their most unique singles and opening songs. They haven't really done such a thrashy, riffy song like this much, certainly not as one of their singles, and most of their opening tracks are more theatrical, or use an intro of some kind. Only other album to not have an intro track is Aquarius (as well as the Restoration EP). I guess that makes sense if you consider that it's a continuation of the last album, and in that context, it works as an "ACT II Opener" if you will, but in general it's probably their weakest album opening. Still a great track, but probably my least favourite from the album.
After saying what I said about Prosthetic being a unique Haken single, I realized that all the singles from this album were pretty particular. Invasion wouldn't be anywhere near my first guess as to what would be a single from Virus having heard the whole album now. Especially since it's probably one of my favourite songs from Virus. I love how they used the really low, djenty guitar sound, without actually making the song absurdly heavy. (I guess that's something they're known for a little bit by this point though). The lyrics really catch me too, especially "Losing our sense of direction has led us to where we all need to be". The video was really awesome too.
I'm not entirely sold on Carousel yet, but it's growing fast on me, especially a few parts like the jazzy bridge and the end of the final chorus. That jazzy bridge reminds me of the electronic sections with choppy rhythms they would include in songs like The Architect and Because it's There (or the entirety of Red Giant), but without any actual electronic sounds. That was a cool progression of their sound. In terms of other similar-ish songs in their discography, I probably like Veil and the two long songs from The Mountain quite a bit more, but I'll see if that changes at all as I digest it more.
I'm not sure why The Strain was not a single, but it kicks so much ass. Also one of my favourites. Haken has a knack for really powerful and memorable vocal melodies, and this is easily among their best. There's this really cool lead guitar line during the main riff that I really love. Also damn, the vocals in the bridge section are SO good, and once again Haken loves showing off their fusiony chord progressions.
Canary Yellow
kind of makes sense as a single since it's more on the accessible and simple side, but it's not the type of sound I would expect Haken to use in a single. Nevertheless, also a really great song. It reminds me of a weird mix of Earthlings, Red Giant, and Host. The lyrics are really good here too.
Ok... now Messiah Complex. Honestly I was a little bit baffled the first few times through this suite, but it grew on me, and all the sections it goes through feels more unified to me. I love all the references it makes, and even though I
knew a more blatant Cockroach King reference was gonna happen, as soon as I heard the background vocals in The Sect, I still almost leapt up in the air with pure joy. And then Ectobius Rex....
GOD DAMN! What a dirty, chonky riff that is. It's so great. And then it closes up with the chorus from Ivory Tower and the bridge riff from Prosthetic. What a fantastic climax to this album honestly.
I'm a lot higher on Only Stars than a lot of people are. I like that they made a true, short outro song in the vein of a lot of their intro tracks. They've usually ended with a long, epic song, or at least a regular, fitting closing song. It was a neat little companion to Clear and to me it's just as beautiful and pristine as The Path or As Death Embraces. I think it improves the album a lot. Ending with Ectobius Rex, although climactic, doesn't really give a proper conclusion since it just kinda drops off from a heavy chunky riff.
As far as what I think overall, I think this is probably somewhere in the middle for now, maybe a bit on the stronger side. That's not saying much, since I feel their entire discography is really brilliant, and the level of quality between them all is pretty close. In fact, they're so close that I can't decide between a couple pairs of albums as to which one I like more. I think I'd go like this right now:
1) The Mountain
2) Affinity / Visions (tie)
3) Virus
4) Vector / Restoration (tie)
5) AquariusVirus could very well get higher on the list as I listen more. Visions was one of my favourite concept albums since I got into prog music (I got into Haken right as Visions came out and that's when I ventured into the world of prog past Dream Theater and Pink Floyd), so it's a tough act to beat, and Affinity was probably the biggest sound change Haken has done so far, and is a beautiful masterpiece. Sometimes I feel like it's better than The Mountain, it really depends on my current mood and if I've listened to either recently.
It's so cool when I've listened to an album many, many times, and then after a while, after not listening to it for maybe over a year or longer, coming back to it and rediscovering what I loved about it and more.
Topic: Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26) (Read 440195 times)
