ChoccyPhilly
10.23.20 | I wish I could like these guys more, but Virus is the only one which truly clicks with me |
kalkwiese
10.23.20 | I obviously completely disagree with most of this, especially with 1 and 2. 3 is in a good place imo, but I would still change everything about this lol
I like rankings that are different though. So good job |
JakeStallion
10.23.20 | I'd put Affinity in the top 3 (can never decide if I like it more than Virus or not) but other than that I agree with this ranking. The Mountain will forever be not only my favorite Haken, but probably my all time favorite prog album. |
ThyCrossAwaits
10.23.20 | Yup. Yeah. |
kalkwiese
10.23.20 | Nocturnal Conspiracy > Everything on The Mountain |
WalrusTusk
10.23.20 | Nocturnal Conspiracy just drags Visions down right off the bat. It's too plodding.
I would love to hear an argument for the Mountain NOT being their best album. To me it seems like an obvious placement, but apparently there are people out there that don't agree. I would agree that it's one of my favorite prog albums of all time, if not my favorite. |
YRI
10.23.20 | @WalrusTusk I like the Mountain but quite a few of the tracks just don't do it for me (eg Pareidolia, Somebody, or Falling Back to Earth, which I feel like is way too long).
I'd personally put Visions or even Virus at #1. |
kalkwiese
10.23.20 | Yea, The Mountain is pleasant, but I don't see many highlighta there. It's a little boring imo. |
JakeStallion
10.23.20 | Not OP but man Falling Back to Earth is one of my favorite songs EVER. It's funny how we all agree that Haken are fucking great but disagree on so much at a micro level lol. For me personally, The Mountain is one of the most engaging and evocative prog albums I've ever heard |
kalkwiese
10.23.20 | Yea, I disagree at the macro level as well. Haken are a consensus band most fans of modern prog can agree on and that's sweet, but overall they don't reach the highs their peers do imo. But they're great songwriters and really consistent. |
WalrusTusk
10.23.20 | @YRI
Dude, you don't like "Pareidolia"? That track is literally one of my favorites of all time. Basically a master class in how to build to a climax haha.
@kalkwiese
You and I have a very different idea of what makes things exciting then haha. And just curious, who would you say is making better modern prog than them? |
kalkwiese
10.23.20 | I mean, I know you'll probably disagree with a few of my favorites, but I prefer: Pain of Salvation, Caligula's Horse, Plini, Leprous, the latest Periphery album is very cool, Empath by Devin Townsend (I still need to dig into his discography though), oh, The Hirsch Effekt! They're fucking cool. Arch/Matheos, Earthside, Karnivool (based on Sound Awake alone tbh), Native Construct, The Ocean. Do SikTh count? These are just the modern ones. I prefer all of these tbh. But Haken are cool, no hate there. |
porcupinetheater
10.23.20 | The last three Haken albums have been so drab to listen to. Like, you aren't out of the woods once you get to the top of The Mountain, you can still plummet into a ravine on the way back down |
kalkwiese
10.23.20 | Yea, I think the heavy approach was tiring, maybe already with Vector, but definitely with Virus. I love Vector though. My second favorite after Visions. It's just so concise and slaps |
CygnusX1
10.23.20 | Vector and Virus are so great together. I like their older stuff but I just love the songwriting on those 2. A great mix of heaviness and catchy hooks with some proggy riffs that's different enough from their other albums. Hakens discog is just really solid all around, I just had to take a minute to get used to the vocals |
LeddSledd
10.23.20 | Vector is far better than Virus and probably in contention with the Mountain for the best Haken album. The Dream Theater worship albums do very little for me; Affinity is good but not great.
The Mountain and Vector are the sweet spots of their sound. Virus was just Vector but less fun to revisit. |
kalkwiese
10.25.20 | Yea, Vector was probably the best version of their overprocessed sound and and slicker, heavy songwriting. Loved it, it's tied with Visions as their best for me |
WalrusTusk
10.26.20 | "The Dream Theater worship albums" Listening to Visions this morning the DT worship is SOOOOO apparent. |
kalkwiese
10.26.20 | Yea, but it's their best album sooooooooo |
WalrusTusk
10.26.20 | It's one of Dream Theater's best albums, sure! |
porcupinetheater
10.26.20 | Aquarius is still 1 after all these years. Nostalgia’s for sure a huge part of that, but most everything else in that style’s grown off so hard since |
WalrusTusk
10.26.20 | You mean you just don't enjoy prog anymore? |
porcupinetheater
10.26.20 | At least that style of prog metal, for the most part. Still jam heavy on Leprous and shit |
WalrusTusk
10.27.20 | Fair enough. I would say that, for the most part, I tend to stray from prog that gets too tropey. I think that's why I've really enjoyed their last four (five if you include Restoration) releases. They are a little more traditional prog with their style, but their unique flairs and sound set them apart IMO.
That being said, I really need to get into Leprous. I loved Pitfalls but haven't found one that clicked quite like it since. |
LeddSledd
10.28.20 | imo Coal and Bilateral were the best they ever did. The first took a while to grow on me but the latter became my favorite very quickly. Damn near perfect album |
porcupinetheater
10.28.20 | Totally agreed, Bilateral’s such a unique, visceral listen. And weirdly catchy the whole way through |
WalrusTusk
10.28.20 | I'll check Bilateral out then! Thanks for the rec! |
Happy2review
10.28.20 | "Many fans are disappointed by it leaning on the heavier side".
Err I would say a vocal minority. Judging by it's overall reception, it's par for the course. Which I personally think is undervaluing the album, but we're probably splitting hairs at that point. They are consistent and I can see Haken moving their sound away from what they've been slinging the past 2 albums (to my dismay unfortunately). |
Flugmorph
10.28.20 | pretty good ranking |
WalrusTusk
10.28.20 | Thanks Flug.
@Happy, I can agree with that as well. Knowing them, the next album will be an acoustic or something. |
kalkwiese
10.28.20 | I'd be happy about them abandoning the heavy approach soon tbh. Actually them being heavy isn't bad at all. It's songwriting choices likes Prosthetic's chorus that grate on me. But tbh I should revisit Virus |
Happy2review
10.28.20 | The whole concept they had going from album to album is wrapped up now, so only makes sense for them to go bold into new direction.
If you liked Pitfalls, then I'd recommend Malina over anything else they've put out. Pitfalls is Leprous' new direction album and while I didn't like it, Malina basically was dropping hints that Pitfalls was to come. Malina I enjoyed a lot, little top-heavy (favoring the first half), but if you liked Pitfalls maybe you'd enjoy that album more than I did.
Post-note: Going through their Leprous' albums I find most of them top heavy. I find no particular allegiance to any single album, but on each one there are some gems, so if you can't get through an album I recommend cherry picking. Least that's what worked for me. |
WalrusTusk
10.29.20 | I would say Pitfalls has a stronger back half, but there are really only two duds on it.
@Kalk you should. I'll be putting out a list soon that does a story walk-through, but I would recommend hitting Vektor, Cockroach King, and Virus in succession. |
kalkwiese
10.29.20 | Vector has pretty good storytelling for a concept album imo. Most concept albums are pretty bad at this though |
WalrusTusk
10.29.20 | I definitively feel like Haken has some of the stronger storytelling in their albums. Them and Coheed are pretty solid. |
StormChaser
10.29.20 | Glad that there is a Haken thread going.
My list:
1. Visions
2. Mountain
3. Vector
4. Virus / Aquarius
5. Affinity
|
kalkwiese
10.29.20 | Finally someone who appreciates Visions as much as I do.
It has their best production as well imo |
Happy2review
10.30.20 | @WalrusTusk I can't really speak for Pitfalls. Sampled a few tracks and didn't like the direction. About a week ago I decided to give it a single run through, just to make sure, and yeah... it didn't change my mind about it. Not my cup of tea, so to speak. |
WalrusTusk
10.30.20 | Maybe check out their live stream? The trailer seemed to insinuate some of the songs would have a little more energy live? Being someone who hasn't checked their backlog I'm not sure I'm the best to speak on the "strength" of a Leprous album haha.
@Storm For me Visions is as much of a sophomore slump as they've ever had. Is it bad? Of course not! But it has their DT worship sound that the first two albums struggle with, without any of the energy that Aquarius has. None of the songs on Visions (with the exception of the TT) come close to "Streams", Drowning in the Flood, or Celestial Elixir. |
kalkwiese
10.30.20 | Disagree. Visions has way better songwriting overall than Aquarius and more energy as well. Aquarius tries a lot and achieves little compared to Visions. It has some awesome tunes though |
WalrusTusk
10.30.20 | We're gonna have to disagree on that one Kalk but I respect a man of good prog taste.
Besides the TT, what would you say is the best song off Visions. I'll give it another spin today or tomorrow. |
StormChaser
11.03.20 | @Walrus, idk man, I love the concept, I can't skip a single song when it starts, and that's usually a sign that it's a classic for me. I love the production and it has as much energy as it needs to convey the story. Sure, it's not as extravagant as Aquarius, but that's why I like it more. Also Deathless has my favorite Ross performance and grew into maybe my favorite rock/metal ballad ever. Also, I'm not a Dream Theater fan by any means, and while the influence is def there, these guys do it just so much better |
StormChaser
11.03.20 | Also, Restoration has some of their best work, it's almost a shame I can't rank it among the LPs
Oh and yeah, Deathless is the best song on Visions |
WalrusTusk
11.03.20 | ^Agreed on Restoration. I debated putting it on the list but didn't feel like it was long enough to include, although "Crystallized" certainly is an Ep in itself haha. At some point I'll do a list of favorite Haken songs. You're making me want to return to Deathless in particular and see what I'm missing. I personally prefer "Host", "As Death Embraces", or "Bound by Gravity" when it comes to their ballads. |
StormChaser
11.03.20 | I think Deathless has a lyrical theme and lines that just intrigue me.
"On immortality I will overdose
All of this you can read in my suicide notes"
Something about that just hits in all the right spots for me.
Also, the section from 4:20-ish until the end is breathtaking as a culmination of the song, I just love it.
Yeah man do the list, I'll probably do my own on your thread. They're definitely in my top 5 favorite bands for years already. |
WalrusTusk
11.03.20 | I was also thinking about ranking their closers because, tbh, those are some of their best songs. |
