Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[Mladen]

This reminds me of when The King of limbs by Radiohead came out, everybody guessed there must be a sequel to a 37 minute long album. There were numerous hints and clues, but nothing ever happened. The album was just short.

[me7]

Did anyone listen to the instrumental mixes? There's an easter egg in the end of A Cell Divides that I'm not sure if hides any kind of message... Probably indicating a sequel?

https://www.bfskinner.org/verbal-summator-files/

[lucasembarbosa]

Did anyone listen to the instrumental mixes? There's an easter egg in the end of A Cell Divides that I'm not sure if hides any kind of message... Probably indicating a sequel?

https://www.bfskinner.org/verbal-summator-files/

Interesting!

[twosuitsluke]

Did anyone listen to the instrumental mixes? There's an easter egg in the end of A Cell Divides that I'm not sure if hides any kind of message... Probably indicating a sequel?

https://www.bfskinner.org/verbal-summator-files/

That's really clever, I love this.

[King Postwhore]

Ok.  I'm digging this album.  Not as good as the last 2 but those were extremely high levels of awesomeness.

The heaviness is cool.

[KevShmev]

Given that the new album is mostly pretty rocking, I think it would make sense to incorporate a few mellower tunes from prior albums on the upcoming tour, that way it isn't one rocking tune after another.

I could see a set list like this:

Clear
The Good Doctor
In Memoriam
1985
Puzzle Box
Lapse
Cockroach King
A Cell Divides
Deathless
Veil
The Endless Knot
Bound by Gravity

Celestial Elixir

[The Letter M]

HAKEN'S VECTOR is now available for pre-order!


I also found the track lengths on the insideout shop website.

Not sure if you guys want it spoiled, so here's a little warning: Warning.

01. Clear (01:52)
02. The Good Doctor (03:55)
03. Puzzle Box (07:42)
04. Veil (12:35)
05. Nil By Mouth (06:51)
06. Host (06:45)
07. A Cell Divides (04:57)
08. Verbal Summator (01:02)

So it seems, that this will be a very short album, not longer than 45mins if I counted correctly. I wonder why they would press it on 2 LPs though.

I guess we now know where the track "Verbal Summator" came from, and it was only on the instrumental disc. Weird.

-Marc.

[frogprog]

Just gave Vector a good, thorough headphone listen and really enjoyed it! Drums sound great! Can't wait to see the lads next week in Philly and see some of this new material live

[RoeDent]

I prefer to speak in short observational bursts, so:

- The first sound on the album makes me think the NOMACs are descending again.

- As I'm listening more and more, some parts are really making me smile, especially on Nil By Mouth.

- I gave Puzzle Box a listen or two when it came out as a single, but now I'm hearing it properly, I am really enjoying it. The final chorus is gorgeous, the vocal melody changing compared to the other choruses, but still fitting the chord progression.

- Host reminds me quite a bit of Sun from their first album Aquarius, not just in its placement as the 2nd-to-last track, but its general mood of being a bit of a breather between the heavier tracks that flank it.

[gzarruk]

HAKEN'S VECTOR is now available for pre-order!


I also found the track lengths on the insideout shop website.

Not sure if you guys want it spoiled, so here's a little warning: Warning.

01. Clear (01:52)
02. The Good Doctor (03:55)
03. Puzzle Box (07:42)
04. Veil (12:35)
05. Nil By Mouth (06:51)
06. Host (06:45)
07. A Cell Divides (04:57)
08. Verbal Summator (01:02)

So it seems, that this will be a very short album, not longer than 45mins if I counted correctly. I wonder why they would press it on 2 LPs though.

I guess we now know where the track "Verbal Summator" came from, and it was only on the instrumental disc. Weird.

-Marc.

Very interesting that, in Spotify, the main version of ACD is 4:57, but the instrumental version is 6:04. The hidden track is there, but it's only on the instrumental version and it isn't listed as a separate track, that's why most people haven't noticed about it.

[RoeDent]

The hidden instrumental is at the end of A Cell Divides on the standard 1-disc version.

[Ben_Jamin]

First listen through, I enjoyed it a lot. Not enough listens to rank. At the moment, Puzzle Box is my favorite, but Veil is up there.

Nil By Mouth is pretty neat as well, although it does get a bit reptitive towards the end. I do like how the instrumental is called Nil By Mouth.

The Cell Divides is a great ending as well. I need to buy the cd, or see the linear notes to get into the concept more. All, I know is its about a guy in a mental ward that is being experimented on.

[RoeDent]

I've just noticed the handwriting on the lyric page for A Cell Divides:

"More treatment required
virus spreading.
Begin verbal summator testing."

It's a very very long shot, but as I'm listening now I'm toying with the idea that all the previous Haken albums' concepts are "dreams" of the patient being examined in Vector.

[Ben_Jamin]

HAKEN'S VECTOR is now available for pre-order!


I also found the track lengths on the insideout shop website.

Not sure if you guys want it spoiled, so here's a little warning: Warning.

01. Clear (01:52)
02. The Good Doctor (03:55)
03. Puzzle Box (07:42)
04. Veil (12:35)
05. Nil By Mouth (06:51)
06. Host (06:45)
07. A Cell Divides (04:57)
08. Verbal Summator (01:02)

So it seems, that this will be a very short album, not longer than 45mins if I counted correctly. I wonder why they would press it on 2 LPs though.

I guess we now know where the track "Verbal Summator" came from, and it was only on the instrumental disc. Weird.

-Marc.

Very interesting that, in Spotify, the main version of ACD is 4:57, but the instrumental version is 6:04. The hidden track is there, but it's only on the instrumental version and it isn't listed as a separate track, that's why most people haven't noticed about it.

I listened to it too. Why it isn't on the actual album Spotify is odd. It adds to the story too.

[GasparXR]

I bought the vinyl/cd version and can also confirm that the hidden nugget is on the main album.

I've listened twice through so far. Gonna go for the old 5-spin rule before judging it too much, but I know that I REALLY like it so far.

[The Letter M]

It seems that Haken are going to release a vinyl LP with the 4 L-1VE bonus tracks recorded at Prog Power!
https://www.insideoutshop.de/Item/Haken_-_L-1VE_-black_LP-CD-/16496

I don't quite understand this release but Haken is always a no brainer for me.
I just hope they will release the "actual" L-1VE on vinyl too!

I'm just gonna repost this here since it was completely ignored and I'm not sure if it was just overseen between all the Puzzle Box hype 

Since the new album seems to have overshadowed any attention to the upcoming release of L+1VE, I'm bumping this reply up so I can see if anyone knows where I can order this set within the US so I don't have to pay ridiculous amounts of shipping. I'd really like to get this, mostly because of the CD, unless the band are willing to sell the four tracks as a digital set. I saw one listing on Amazon for the vinyl, but it's not listed as being Available, so I'm not sure if they'll even get it. There isn't even a price listed.

-Marc.

I just checked the shipping from insideout for you, you'd pay 18,99 for the LP (and CD) plus 10€ shipping to the States. That's 29€. Not sure if you wanna spend that kind of money (given that you're not a vinyl collector).

Where does omerch ship from?

I think it's not available on Amazon because it will be released in December! I'm sure it will become available there once it get released.

Just got an alert from Amazon saying the item was now available so I preordered it. My total $34.97 after tax, so about the same as 29 euros, which isn't bad. And since its Amazon, I can always cancel my order before I'm charged/it ships, or the price might go down a bit, which would be nice. Either way, I've got at least 6 weeks til release.

-Marc.

[Evermind]

I'm five listens in and I still think this album is awesome. Pretty much every song is great. I like it way more than Affinity and Visions.

Also I just realized that the middle section of Veil (4:00 - 7:00) reminds me of some Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson song. I don't remember which one though, but the vocal melodies are almost exactly the same if I recall correctly. Anyone?

[Elite]

I'd tell you if I'd actually heard Vector.

[KevShmev]

After a few more listens today...

Clear - cool intro, I suppose. 
The Good Doctor - solid tune. Kind of seems like this album's Initiate, but with a better hook.  Won't be a favorite of mine, but should make for a (likely) fun concert opener.
Puzzle Box - I didn't know what to make of this at first, but I am starting to really like it.  The keyboard instrumental part about halfway through the song is pretty rad.
Veil - I am still trying to wrap my head around this one.  It has a lot of cool thins going on and I am still trying to figure out if they all come together or not.
Nil by Mouth - I get why this seems to be the least favorite.  Sure, it rocks, but it kind of just seems like an instrumental that runs through a gauntlet of ideas they had without having a lot of direction.
Host - they do this kind of vibe really well and this is no exception.  I can see this being one of my two or three favorites once I've fully grasped the whole album.
A Cell Divides - ick. Just ick.  The chorus literally makes me cringe. Bummer, since that keyboard part around the 3-minute mark that leads back into the final chorus is really neat, but that chorus is just so bad.  This will be my piss break song when I see them next month.

Overall, I like the album, but I'd be shocked if overtakes any of the others, meaning I would call it their least best to date, but that is okay. Not every album is going to be a major winner.  Not much new stuff stylistically on this one, as it kind of strikes me as Affinity's sister record, but not every album has to reinvent the wheel.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I just went through my first listen.

First impressions:

- I don't think this album will ever get close to topping The Mountain or Affinity, which are for me two of the most definitive and quintessential progressive albums of the decade (and the 2000s so far), but I don't mind that. This album is super different to anything they had done up to this point and that's good.

- The musicianship is, as always, incredible. It's impressive how tight they've become. They somehow manage to take djent and extreme progressive metal riffing and make it somewhat melodic and easy to grasp. Somewhat.

- That being said, this album for me is missing some awesome themes and motifs. Both The Mountain and Affinity had some incredible musical motifs and themes tying up the heaviness and the proginess quite nicely, but I didn't feel that in this record. Veil has a pretty awesome theme, but that's about it. Some vocal melodies feel somewhat disjointed and forced and I don't see myself right now singing along to the tunes because it's gonna take me some time to actually digest and learn the melodies; but that's fine, though. In my book, Haken has always had weird and not-so-easily-digestable vocal melodies and they've always managed to stick in my brain at some point. Either way, I was not as excited by the end of this album as I was a couple of years ago with Affinity, for example. That record was intense as hell, but I remember feeling so satisfied by the end even if I couldn't remember a single note of it. I hope this one is a grower in that regard.

- I think my favorite track is Veil so far, and my least favorite is Nil By Mouth. True, the instrumental is pretty impressive and something that's technically light years above most things rock bands do nowadays, but it didn't grab my attention so much as, for example, a Dance of Eternity does. I think they went way too deep into the djent-y realm with this track (and most of the rest as well) and I'm not the biggest fan of that style except for a few albums and bands. To me, that track felt like a bunch of ideas thrown in at once into a song without having a memorable musical resource making everything tie up nicely. I may be wrong, though. I hope the track grows on me because it's very impressive to say the least.

- Production and mixing were awesome. Dream Theater should take a note or two on how Haken are doing their records, because I feel they are sonically light years ahead their last couple efforts. Ironic, given DT has probably twice or more the budget Haken has to create a record.

I know that this album has some mind blowing stuff in it, but it just failed to grab me with the same intensity the past couple Haken albums did. I will spin it a couple more times to see what happens. Either way, I'm really looking forward to the tour (they're coming to Mexico FYEAH) as I can imagine that the new songs will be extremely impressive to watch live.

[gzarruk]

- That being said, this album for me is missing some awesome themes and motifs. Both The Mountain and Affinity had some incredible musical motifs and themes tying up the heaviness and the proginess quite nicely, but I didn't feel that in this record. Veil has a pretty awesome theme, but that's about it.

My thoughts as well, and I've listened to the album a lot more times than you. It just feels like a bunch of riffing and chugga chugga, but no motifs or melodic/memorable sections.

- I think my favorite track is Veil so far, and my least favorite is Nil By Mouth. True, the instrumental is pretty impressive and something that's technically light years above most things rock bands do nowadays, but it didn't grab my attention so much as, for example, a Dance of Eternity does. I think they went way too deep into the djent-y realm with this track (and most of the rest as well) and I'm not the biggest fan of that style except for a few albums and bands. To me, that track felt like a bunch of ideas thrown in at once into a song without having a memorable musical resource making everything tie up nicely. I may be wrong, though. I hope the track grows on me because it's very impressive to say the least.

And to compare it to something by Haken and not by DT, take Portals as an example. Portals is technical as hell (like TDOE), but it's still interesting and memorable. NBM sounds to me like a djent fest, that's about it.

[Zydar]

After giving it a few spins this weekend, Puzzle Box is easily my favourite track here. The Good Doctor and A Cell Divides are good too.

Don't know where I'd rank the album this early on, but it's not among the Top 3 right now. It's hard to top The Mountain, Affinity and Aquarius for me.

[me7]

After giving it a few spins this weekend, Puzzle Box is easily my favourite track here. The Good Doctor and A Cell Divides are good too.

Don't know where I'd rank the album this early on, but it's not among the Top 3 right now. It's hard to top The Mountain, Affinity and Aquarius for me.

This + a huge appreciation for Host = how I feel about Vector

[Nick]

I can see from here and FB, as with Red Giant last time around, I'm going to be in the minority not getting all hyped on Host.

[Implode]

Same here.

[cramx3]

It's easily my least favorite on the album (not including Clear).  I don't hate it by any means, I actually LOVE the intro to it.  Seems so perfect coming out of Nil by Mouth, and I also really like the ending.  Some great vocal parts there, but I feel it just drags in the middle of the song.  I guess I can see why people like it though, but it's just not there for me.

Anyway, having had more listens and feeling more comfortable about my views on the songs, here are my track rankings (from top to bottom, best to least best):

Veil
The Good Doctor
Puzzle Box
A Cell Divides
Nil By Mouth
Host
Clear

I am finding I really do like this more metal style personally than the more proggierish of say The Mountain, but there's just not enough content here to make me think this album is better.  It's really good and I like the distinction this album has in their catalog, I just wish there were more of it.  I guess that's a good thing to be left wanting more, but it also doesn't help when you compare it to such beasts of albums they have.

[jammindude]

 I will post more of my thoughts later, because today's the first day that I've really been able to sit down and listen to it a few times through. I'm out running errands and listening to it in the car. But has anybody been able to figure out what the voice at the end says?

[Nick]

It's easily my least favorite on the album (not including Clear).  I don't hate it by any means, I actually LOVE the intro to it.  Seems so perfect coming out of Nil by Mouth, and I also really like the ending.  Some great vocal parts there, but I feel it just drags in the middle of the song.  I guess I can see why people like it though, but it's just not there for me.

To me I've come to the conclusion it's a less extreme version of DTs Disappear for me. I find the first 2/3rds of that song just boring and awful, but think the ending is one of the most brilliant sections of the double album. With Host it simply doesn't excite me at all for awhile and kicks up a notch at the end, but still stays below the album average.

[Evermind]

I fell like Host is similar to Sun (which I love), except darker (which I love) and it does a great job changing the pace a bit (which I love).

So it's awesome for me. One of the best, if not the best song from Vector.

I will post more of my thoughts later, because today's the first day that I've really been able to sit down and listen to it a few times through. I'm out running errands and listening to it in the car. But has anybody been able to figure out what the voice at the end says?

It's basically an audio version of a Rorschach test.

[ariich]

Yeah Host is the best them.

I will post more of my thoughts later, because today's the first day that I've really been able to sit down and listen to it a few times through. I'm out running errands and listening to it in the car. But has anybody been able to figure out what the voice at the end says?

Read the thread

Did anyone listen to the instrumental mixes? There's an easter egg in the end of A Cell Divides that I'm not sure if hides any kind of message... Probably indicating a sequel?

https://www.bfskinner.org/verbal-summator-files/

[Elite]

Still haven't listened to it.

[Elite]

Also, it's back: The HAKEN Survivor 2018. Starting very soon.

[Evermind]

Hell yes! Thanks for running this once again Rich!

[Ben_Jamin]

Well I think I've listened enough to rank the songs...

Veil
Host
A Cell Divides
Puzzle Box
Nil By Mouth
The Good Doctor
Clear

All these songs are amazing. The Good Doctor is your usual Haken song. Veil is amazing, that middle section and solo are very Floydish.

I'm enjoying how they used Djent in their own way. Utilizing the heavy, yet still being melodic. Deigos sounds are what really defines this album, without them it'd sound like your usual prog-djent band.

[goo-goo]

The more I listen to this album, the more I hear a "Dream Theater" sound in the music. I'm really digging this album but I keep thinking it's Dream Theater with Ross singing.