The TAC Roulette V.5...DTF Faves..WTF Am I Missing?? MastoDONE!

[Crow]

what does veil even sound like

[King Postwhore]

Fuck yeah. Take that, Veil naysayers!

Word.

[Buddyhunter1]

what does veil even sound like

You tell me, you're the one who put that album on your honorable mentions for that year.

[TAC]

First Impressions!


Pareidolia
Shapeshifter


Starting with a nice guitar solo, the second half of this song crushes.

This song needs more listens, has a lot of potential.


Wow! Holy shit![Nocturnal Conspiracy]


This is a good song, but there’s no way I can dissect it in one listen.[Carousel]

This song rocks. Pretty simple and straightforward.[Prosthetic]

Pretty incredible song right here.[Veil]

One of the mellower songs, but has a nice steady pace and build. [Deathless]

This song feels a lot longer than it is. Not necessarily a complaint, but more of an observation.[Darkest Light]

Wow, this song was wonderful.[Falling Back To Earth]

Lots going on in this relatively shorter song.[The Endless Knot]

The last two minutes of this was fantastic.[Atlas Stone]

Not quite as immediate as some of the other longer songs.[1985]

Strong Structural Disorder vibe on this one.[Drowning In The Flood]

I hope this song grows. It was a bit underwhelming at first.[In Memoriam]

Even the electronic section in the middle couldn’t ruin this. [Puzzle Box]

On the short side for this round, but I thought it was excellent.[The Strain]

This song starts a bit iffy, but builds nicely.[Lapse]

[Crow]

what does veil even sound like

You tell me, you're the one who put that album on your honorable mentions for that year.

veil was not one of my favorite songs on the album to begin with but also it's been three years and i haven't listened to the album a single time since that video 
i kinda remember what the songs i actually liked from vector sound like at least, or parts of them
there was a reason it wasn't on my list proper tho 

[Buddyhunter1]

what does veil even sound like

You tell me, you're the one who put that album on your honorable mentions for that year.

veil was not one of my favorite songs on the album to begin with but also it's been three years and i haven't listened to the album a single time since that video 

Hah, we might like the album about equally then. Puzzle Box and Veil are the only reason I bought it.

[Crow]

i wouldn't be able to tell you why i bought virus either

i didn't even finish my usual 3-4 week cycle with it like two weeks of trying to get /something/ from it and i just quite out of disappointment. such a mediocre, boring album

[King Postwhore]

This Atlas Stone?

The last two minutes of this was fantastic

[Buddyhunter1]

Yeah I didn't get Virus either. Prosthetic is the only song that made me kinda want to but I never feel the desire to listen to anything else from it.

[TAC]

This Atlas Stone?

The last two minutes of this was fantastic

Yes!

[425]

Okay, seeing as it's the only sub-10 minute one left, Shapeshifter has gotta be "crams a lot into its relatively short length," right?

[TAC]

Okay, seeing as it's the only sub-10 minute one left, Shapeshifter has gotta be "crams a lot into its relatively short length," right?

Forget you ever saw that impression. I had two impressions down for one song. 

[King Postwhore]

Carousel?

This song needs more listens, has a lot of potential.

[TAC]

Carousel?

This song needs more listens, has a lot of potential.

Close enough!

[425]

I think Pareidolia was already confirmed not "Wow! Holy shit!" so considering the other two, I'll guess Nocturnal Conspiracy for that.

[TAC]

I think Pareidolia was already confirmed not "Wow! Holy shit!" so considering the other two, I'll guess Nocturnal Conspiracy for that.

Yes!

[425]

I feel like that's a song that gets forgotten about a lot with all the long tracks they've released in the years since and on the same album, but it is really, really good.

[Crow]

i don't think either of the songs left starts with a guitar solo so i have no real clue which is which 

[425]

I think it means the second half begins with a guitar solo, but I don't remember how those songs go well enough to name which one it fits.

[TAC]

i don't think either of the songs left starts with a guitar solo so i have no real clue which is which 

Starting with a nice guitar solo, the second half of this song crushes.

the second half starts with a guitar solo.   

[Crow]

I would never have parsed it that way 
50/50 so I'm just gonna guess that one is pareidolia anyways

[TAC]

First Impressions!

Starting with a nice guitar solo, the second half of this song crushes.[Shapeshifter]

This song needs more listens, has a lot of potential.[Pareidolia]

Wow! Holy shit![Nocturnal Conspiracy]


This is a good song, but there’s no way I can dissect it in one listen.[Carousel]

This song rocks. Pretty simple and straightforward.[Prosthetic]

Pretty incredible song right here.[Veil]

One of the mellower songs, but has a nice steady pace and build. [Deathless]

This song feels a lot longer than it is. Not necessarily a complaint, but more of an observation.[Darkest Light]

Wow, this song was wonderful.[Falling Back To Earth]

Lots going on in this relatively shorter song.[The Endless Knot]

The last two minutes of this was fantastic.[Atlas Stone]

Not quite as immediate as some of the other longer songs.[1985]

Strong Structural Disorder vibe on this one.[Drowning In The Flood]

I hope this song grows. It was a bit underwhelming at first.[In Memoriam]

Even the electronic section in the middle couldn’t ruin this. [Puzzle Box]

On the short side for this round, but I thought it was excellent.[The Strain]

This song starts a bit iffy, but builds nicely.[Lapse]

[Crow]

alright, and how many of them are better than peruvian skies?

[King Postwhore]

 

[TAC]

alright, and how many of them are better than peruvian skies?

I don't think any, actually.

[Buddyhunter1]

alright, and how many of them are better than peruvian skies?

Two (the ones I sent)

[Crow]

alright, and how many of them are better than peruvian skies?

I don't think any, actually.

[ProfessorPeart]

First Impressions!

Starting with a nice guitar solo, the second half of this song crushes.[Shapeshifter]

I thought it risky to send what is essentially the last part of a 3 track suite, but this pleases me. Now throw The Mind's Eye and Portals in front of it and see what you think.

[TAC]

Even though I just posted First Impressions today, I am now basically 4 plays through the songs.

I thought I'd share where I am with this.

I really enjoyed my first couple of listens. The music is really good, the hate on the vocals was overrated, and the songs were pretty strong.


I am noticing some warts though.

There's a reason Dream Theater are the standard bearers of this genre. Mostly, it's Dream Theater's musicality. They are melodically superior while still displaying virtuosic chops. And for me, they have a vocalist that pulls emotion out of me.


1. Seems like Ross is a lightning rod around here.  The positive.. I think he sounds fine. He's an excellent vocalist with range and variation. I don't have an issue with his voice.

BUT... I'm not saying he doesn't sing with passion, because I think he does, but for the most part, it's not really drawing it out of me. There's a handful of melodic choruses that are really effective though, but not every song is blessed with one.


2. The keyboards... Again, my point of reference is again, Dream Theater. No one is more wanky than Jordan, but 95% of the time, he's doing what is right for the song. I think of the brilliant piano outro to Transcending Time. There's nothing even remotely as moving in these songs. As much as Jordan stands out, his accompaniment is amazing. With Haken, I feel like this guy has no idea how to...blend. I don't mind keyboards in my music, but there's a tastefulness that is lacking generally. There ARE exceptions to this though. But generally..
And I am frankly not a fan of electronic elements in my music. 7:15 of ITNOG is as much electronica as I want in my music.

3. I'm hearing low tuned guitars. That is grating.

4. The drumming is fantastic, as is the bassist.

[LudwigVan]

Why are Haken so polarizing?


@LudwigVan, I want your opinion on this as well.

When I first sampled Haken (courtesy of some posts way back when by Arich), I thought they sounded interesting enough that I went out and bought their first album, Aquarius, reckoning that they'd be right in my wheelhouse. Then I listened to the album. 

For me, the music seemed to meander pointlessly. To use a classic TAC phrase, "the music didn't really go anywhere". I didn't hear any songs, just arrangements (extremely well-played, I'll grant) that moved from section to section without any point of reference for me grasp. On top of that, I couldn't latch onto the vocals. It all left me feeling cold.

That said, I've come to dig many of the shorter songs that have been submitted in this roulette, especially the ones that have some heavy riffage. I guess I'm a metalhead at heart.

When I listen to Haken, it makes me appreciate Dream Theater that much more, i.e. ... why am I listening to this when I could be listening to DT?

[TAC]

Thanks Gord! I appreciate it.

I listened to their first album once...once.

I guess you more or less said some of the things that I said in the previous post.

[HOF]

Even though I just posted First Impressions today, I am now basically 4 plays through the songs.

I thought I'd share where I am with this.

I really enjoyed my first couple of listens. The music is really good, the hate on the vocals was overrated, and the songs were pretty strong.


I am noticing some warts though.

There's a reason Dream Theater are the standard bearers of this genre. Mostly, it's Dream Theater's musicality. They are melodically superior while still displaying virtuosic chops. And for me, they have a vocalist that pulls emotion out of me.


1. Seems like Ross is a lightning rod around here.  The positive.. I think he sounds fine. He's an excellent vocalist with range and variation. I don't have an issue with his voice.

BUT... I'm not saying he doesn't sing with passion, because I think he does, but for the most part, it's not really drawing it out of me. There's a handful of melodic choruses that are really effective though, but not every song is blessed with one.

So I made a joke a few pages back that Haken are better without the vocals. It wasn’t even really a joke. It’s not on Spotify, but the CD for Affinity included a second disc of all instrumental versions of the songs. Aside from my feelings about Ross’s voice, it’s amazing how much the vocal melodies detract from the underlying arrangements, which are fantastic on their own. Lapse is a really good example of that. There is a lot of cool stuff going on underneath that kind of gets lost under the vocal melody. I made my own playlist of the album that replaced some of the tracks with the all instrumental versions, and that’s mostly what I’ve listened to.

[TAC]

HOF, the instrumental version of Affinity IS on Spotify.


I can hear the subtleties in Lapse. Especially early in the song. But I generally don't listen to instrumental music. If a band includes one on an album, fine.

[HOF]

HOF, the instrumental version of Affinity IS on Spotify.


I can hear the subtleties in Lapse. Especially early in the song. But I generally don't listen to instrumental music. If a band includes one on an album, fine.

I thought I checked Spotify, but maybe after you nixed instrumentals I never did.

I like a lot of instrumental music, so maybe I’m just weird. But most of my issues with prog metal (and to a lesser extent other forms of prog and metal) are with the vocals. Some of it is subject matter, but a lot of it is just shoehorning a vocal melody over the underlying instrumental craziness. For instance, I think LTE is great, the new album included. But since JR joined DT, I’ve never really thought JLB fit anymore. I think I’d be more likely to listen to an all instrumental version of Train of Thought for instance (and Stream of Consciousness is easily my favorite track on that album).

[v_clortho]

So funny thing for me with Haken. I really used to be bothered by Ross's voice. I had the cd of Affinity and listened to the instrumental version. For some reason after that I found that the vocals didn't bother me anymore. That makes zero sense, since I enjoyed the instrumental version.