Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[Buddyhunter1]

Messiah Complex has big Black Rose Immortal energy and to me that's not a good thing at all

[Dedalus]

Given the chatter in the TA thread, I thought I would give something from the last album another try.

Just gave the Messiah Complex suite another listen. 

What a complete and utter train wreck. It just ended and I remember zero about it, other than it felt like it just bounced from idea to idea with no rhyme or reason, and as for memorable melodies?  Nada.

It makes me sad to see how quickly this band has fallen off the cliff. 

I know you're specifically talking about MC, but I can expand that to the whole album. Almost a year since I last listened to it and I don't remember ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING! Impressive.

The recalls to prior songs doesn't make the new ones good, though, IMO.

And to clarify, I will give them props for the change in direction.  Bands who do not stay stagnant are often the best ones, and many of my favorite albums are ones that were considered a radical departure at the time.  I just do not care for the direction that Haken went on these records.

I agree. For me the band only has one really good record, but their restlessness is admirable, trying out different sounds.

[Evermind]

Messiah Complex is the least digestible track on the album. Sceptics should start with Invasion.

Invasion is so great, my favourite on the album and one of my favourite Haken songs.

Invasion, The Strain and Canary Yellow are the songs I keep coming back to.

Virus is still my second least favourite album by the band, but I'm excited to hear what they've got in store with their next album.

[Mladen]

As far as the memorable moments on Virus go, I think Messiah complex has the most of them. But it's still not great overall. I am just as underwhelmed by the entire album as I was a year ago. Which is a shame, because I loved Vector.

[Fritzinger]

Are we all listening to the same record? Virus blew me away on first listen and it still does a year later.

[kirksnosehair]

Definitely listening to the same record, but I have literally no use for anything this band did after the first couple of albums and even those I can only take in small doses because the vocals are just awful.  I think one of the biggest drawbacks for me with this group is their tendency to do complexity for the sake of complexity.  I guess I just tend to gravitate more towards music with vocalists who don't sound out of pitch 1/2 the time and music that has more emotional impact.  When I listen to Haken I feel like I'm listening to 4 guys trying to 1-up each other.


That said, it all really just comes down to taste and this band is just not something I tend to go for despite valiant efforts on every album of theirs I very rarely reach for any of their music. 

[TM172003]

When I listen to Haken I feel like I'm listening to 4 guys trying to 1-up each other.

Okay, now I’m sure you’re talking about a different band.

[kirksnosehair]

No, pretty sure the CDs all have the word "Haken" on them 

[KevShmev]

Are we all listening to the same record? Virus blew me away on first listen and it still does a year later.

You tell me, as you were the one who talked about these melodies that I feel aren't there.

[me7]

When I listen to Haken I feel like I'm listening to 4 guys trying to 1-up each other.

This is true for Messiah Complex, but I don't feel that way about them on general.

What I like most about virus is the recording/production/mix. You have bass and keyboard in the center and two guitars left and right. The interplay between the two guitar lines is sooo tasteful at times. Quite the opposite of 1-upping each other in my opinion, it's a 50+ minutes album with only 4 solos, none of them exceeding the 1 minute mark.

[DTA]

Are we all listening to the same record? Virus blew me away on first listen and it still does a year later.

I enjoy Vector enough, but Virus may be one of the least memorable albums I've ever heard by a band I was completely obsessed with. There's just nothing there to latch onto. If Vector didn't end on such a weak note, it'd probably rank above Visions for me so it's not necessarily the heavier style that turns me off. The music is just boring imo.

[Kram]

Are we all listening to the same record? Virus blew me away on first listen and it still does a year later.

Fritzinger, I've noticed you and I have similar tastes with a lot of this - I too think Virus is a very strong effort.  Not their best, but for the sound and style they where trying to achieve, I think they knocked it out of the park.  Now if you don't like that sound and style, fair enough - but IMO, they did a good job with it.

[jammindude]

I can almost wrap my head around not liking Virus. But nothing memorable does not compute for me at all.

I couldn’t get the intro to Invasion out of my head for a week after only hearing it once. Biggest earworm since Cockroach King.

[ariich]

I can almost wrap my head around not liking Virus. But nothing memorable does not compute for me at all.

I couldn’t get the intro to Invasion out of my head for a week after only hearing it once. Biggest earworm since Cockroach King.

Agreed on all counts.

Also the Invasion chorus is just

[Ben_Jamin]

Are we all listening to the same record? Virus blew me away on first listen and it still does a year later.

Fritzinger, I've noticed you and I have similar tastes with a lot of this - I too think Virus is a very strong effort.  Not their best, but for the sound and style they where trying to achieve, I think they knocked it out of the park.  Now if you don't like that sound and style, fair enough - but IMO, they did a good job with it.

I'm the same way. The album is what it is. And they accomplished that really well. It's jarring, brooding, disjointed, chaotic, pulsating, and ethereal.

That tone is felt perfectly and makes one feel what the "patient" is going through. The jarring, pulsating, chaotic shock treatments, and the brooding, ethereal, disjointed experiments of the "Good Doctor".

I enjoy the album because of that tone, and the atmosphere it creates. A Cell Divides, Host, Canary Yellow, have that ethereal, brooding, atmosphere that represents the effect of the Gene Experiment the Patient undergoes that makes his DNA change form and merge with the Cockroach genes.

Vector is about the "Patient", the host. While Virus, is about the effects of the virus in the host, the conclusion to the "Good Doctors" experiment.

Regardless if it's to my tastes. They're both really good and well done albums.

And I prefer Ketchup.

[KevShmev]

Are we all listening to the same record? Virus blew me away on first listen and it still does a year later.

I enjoy Vector enough, but Virus may be one of the least memorable albums I've ever heard by a band I was completely obsessed with. There's just nothing there to latch onto. If Vector didn't end on such a weak note, it'd probably rank above Visions for me so it's not necessarily the heavier style that turns me off. The music is just boring imo.

This.  Even though Vector was a bit lacking (just three keepers for me, none of which I would call one of my favorites) and felt like a step back, my fandom for the band didn't really take a hit, but Virus was just so darn blah and mostly forgettable that they are off my automatic buy/go see in concert list as quickly as they were on it.  I will take the wait and see approach with them going forward.

[axeman90210]

Ross put out the first song from his solo album today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqanmamI1c

[Lonk]

Fun song, I like it

[MinistroRaven]

HAKEN’s vocalist ROSS JENNINGS has released the lyric video for his debut single as a solo artist "Words We Can’t Unsay" via Graphite Records.
The song is the first single from his debut solo album ‘A Shadow of my Future Self’ which is set to be released later this year, and sees him take a step into pop territory for the first time.

"Words We Can’t Unsay" features Ross Jennings on vocals and guitar, with Nathan Navarro (Devin Townsend) on Bass, Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus, Silent Skies) on Keyboards & Simen Sandnes (Arkentype) on drums plus special guests Norwegian brass sensations ‘Blasemafian’ also make an appearance. The song is mixed by Karim Sinno & mastered by Ermin Hamidovic (Haken, Plini) with artwork designed by longtime Haken collaborator BLACKLAKE.

Ross has the following to say about the track:
“This was one of the first pieces I committed to demo when embarking on this project. I knew I wanted a more accessible direction but I never predicted how well all the layers and different genre references would come together. The song is about relationships, about those heated moments when we say hurtful things we don’t mean. It’s a very real experience we’ve all had and writing a song about it has been a kind of healing therapy for me.”

The lyric video is created by Jack Vashko, who was selected by Ross based on his incredible fan-made lyric videos of HAKEN songs. Jack has captured the single and album aesthetic perfectly on this video, which you can watch here:
https://youtu.be/UNqanmamI1c

[MinistroRaven]

In conjunction with his first single release, ROSS JENNINGS has also announced details of a Global Livestream event called ‘Acoustic Shadows’ which airs on July 23rd via Munin.live.

Ross will perform acoustic renditions of songs from his forthcoming debut album ‘A Shadow of my Future Self’ and much more including songs from other projects he is known for.
Standard and VIP Tickets are on sale now from https://ross.munin.live/

Ross adds about the event:
“We’re in lockdown and I can’t meet up with my bands to perform, so I’ve decided to make a bold move, dust off that guitar and face a solo live gig head on, even if it is just to cameras!
I haven’t performed solo like this since my days playing open mic nights in the local pub, but I know for sure this is going to be a wildly unique experience”
UK & EUROPE STREAM - FRIDAY JULY 23rd at 8PM BST / 9PM CEST.
NORTH / CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA STREAM - FRIDAY JULY 23rd at 6PM PDT / 9PM EDT.
AUS, NZ & ASIA STREAM - SATURDAY JULY 24th at 8PM AEST / 10PM NZST / 7PM JST & KST.

[jammindude]

I like it! I like that it’s completely different from Haken. I hope the new Haken album is as big a shift in style as this is.

[The Letter M]

-Marc.

[nick_z]

-Marc.

Neat 

[axeman90210]

So at some point they have to announce who's replacing Diego, right?

[RodrigoAltaf]

So at some point they have to announce who's replacing Diego, right?

Was there an official announcement that he left?

[axeman90210]

So at some point they have to announce who's replacing Diego, right?

Was there an official announcement that he left?

There's been everything but an official announcement.

[me7]

A 90 minute interview with Diego went up on youtube two weeks ago where he didn't mention Haken even once.

[cramx3]

A 90 minute interview with Diego went up on youtube two weeks ago where he didn't mention Haken even once.

How does that not come up?  I guess the interviewer was probably told not to is the only reason. 

This situation is so ridiculous because of how long it's been going on. I have to image if there wasn't a pandemic we'd know the situation by now.

[ariich]

I've said it before, but the band really would be explaining things if they could.

Anyway, the tour news is great, especially the Shepherd's Bush Empire here in London! That'll be the biggest venue they've ever headlined in the UK.

[cramx3]

I've said it before, but the band really would be explaining things if they could.

Which implies, to me, a legal issue.  But what if this issue is not resolved before the tour?  I mean, I feel like they could just say something basic though.  Ignoring has, however, kind of worked.  They aren't that big of a band to have such drama blow up in the media or anything.  But it's going to be odd if it's not explained before their next live show and either he is there or not. 

[ariich]

I've said it before, but the band really would be explaining things if they could.

Which implies, to me, a legal issue.  But what if this issue is not resolved before the tour?  I mean, I feel like they could just say something basic though.  Ignoring has, however, kind of worked.  They aren't that big of a band to have such drama blow up in the media or anything.  But it's going to be odd if it's not explained before their next live show and either he is there or not. 

True, I can't see how they could tour without being able to say something, even if that's just, as you say, some sort of basic acknowledgement.

To your previous post, I don't know that COVID has necessarily dragged it out it and of itself, but given that nobody can tour and they released an album early in the pandemic anyway, I feel like not being able to say anything hasn't been as problematic as it might otherwise have been.

[Kram]

It has to be a legal issue.  The only other thing I could think is maybe they're trying to "save" the relationship, or "fix" whatever is broken - with the hopes of Diego returning - so no announcement until everything is finalized and "for certain" - but I doubt that

[Max Kuehnau]

This seems to be official: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/OC421678/officers (I'm not a UK resident though, but Diego indeed resigned, date and all)

[cramx3]

This seems to be official: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/OC421678/officers (I'm not a UK resident though, but Diego indeed resigned, date and all)

Yeah, not surprising.  Although I didn't realize there was such an age gap between Charlie and Connor.  I mean, one looks much older than the other, just didn't know it's 18 years difference. 

[MoraWintersoul]

I feel bad for the band and grateful that most of us seem to be minding our own business and keeping speculation outside of their own comment sections for the most part. Like most of us here (except for Rich), I too have no idea what's going on, and I'm patiently waiting for the band to explain, though I do get nosy from time to time.