Nah, we love the carnival shit man! lol. That's Haken. To me it's what makes them so good. Their songs are never boring no matter how long they are because of those goofy, carnival, and jazzy parts. It's what made me love them. Aquirius man. I can't believe no one has mentioned Cockroach King by them. You have to go in listening with an open mind. It's goofy, silly, and so catchy. They're serious about their music but they like to mess around a lot. It's a good thing imo.
Nice I am glad it hits the spot for you. Others have mentioned Cockroach King but with the same disclaimer as you knowing my style. Lol I may do it and be surprised like I was with 1985... Cheers!
Wow, this is niiiice. I haven't checked out Haken before but this was really nice. Great vocals and instrumentals with some sweet groove and keeps it interesting throughout. Don't know why I haven't checked these out before.
Have fun diving into their discography. If you liked this song I'm sure there is plenty more you'll like from Haken. I just found them about 5 months ago from UA-cam and they quickly became one of my favorite bands. All their albums are basically on repeat in my car every day.
Hey, man! I was confused when there was no intro, and I was aboutta comment about that. Anyways, I hope you get well soon! Great reaction! Here I am, as always, in order to object to some commentary :P First of all, I don't agree with "Dammit Haken, stop the carnival" thing. They are known for the carnival sounds, since their demo EP, Enter The Fifth Dimension. It's like asking Dream Theater to stop with complex solo sections :/ Secondly, you mentioned you couldn't find any sources to see what the song us about. Well I have written a summary for the entire album in your previous Haken reaction's comment section. Also, TheProgMind has great summaries for Haken albums too. As I mentioned before, all Haken albums are concept albums (like Metropolis pt2, or The Astonishing). It may not always be possible to find song analysis for that reason. Anyways, short summary for the song: The "Visions" album is about a young boy searching for his killer basically. In the first songs of the album, it explains the visions, or premonitions that the boy has seen. He sees himself being killed every night. He thinks he is innocent, but at the same time, he canmot understand why he must die! (I will not get deeper into the rest of the album again, to avoid possible spoilers. I really recommend checking out TheProgMind for Haken stories, though.) Lastly, you said you think Ross Jennings is one of the best vocals in prog metal. To be honest, he's my second favourite too. I really recommend checking out Slave by Leprous (Live at Rockefeller House) in your free time. He's a beastly vocalist too. If you want any Leprous suggestions, I'd certainly go for Forced Entry. So yeah, enjoyed your commentary as always. Keep up the good work! I don't have much songs to recommend, knowing that you are a bit picky in electronic and carnival sounds. Unfortunately they define Haken's sound :( Maybe you can try "Pareidolia" and "Drowning In The Flood"? They don't have electronic drums or carnival sounds, as far as I remember.
Drowning in the Flood was my next one for him. I chose this song because it was very light on the carnival sounds compared to the rest of Visions, as is Drowning. . . For Aquarius.
Thanks for the extensive explanation of the album again, really appreciate it. For clarity, the fact that the "carnival" sound was literally like 20 seconds of the song I think is the best it can get...so, it was a small part, in this song anyways. Singing isn't too important to me, but thanks for the suggestion of the other singer. Everyone keeps saying Nightwish singer is amazing too. Will get to them at some point. I think 1985 is coming...hate it or like it, I want to check it out as well as Aquarius(sp)?
@@captainmorgan1978 1985 is a great song too. But be warned, Affinity album is full of 80s electronic drum sounds, even though you won't find carnival sounds :/ The album is meant to be half electronic. (There is even a dubstep-like breakdown in The Endless Knot)
Told ya you would like it :). You always talk about awkward transitions in songs and I figured you would respect how clean all the transitions in this song are and how well it flows with that beautifully eerie vibe. Great reaction as always and hope you get better soon. Keep up the good work!
@@captainmorgan1978 I think this is the first suggestion you've reacted to by me so far but I really think you would like Drowning in the Flood for the next Haken song. I'm also patiently waiting for you to check out The Mars Volta because I'm honestly not sure what you will think about them. The Widow and Goliath are good songs to start with and if you don't hate those then we can dive into some of the longer more proggy songs
Gonna comment again, you need to try listening to "Dream the Dead" by Caligula's Horse. You'll love it. The whole "In Contact" album is fantastic, and has some very powerful lyrics.
Just one point, I've noted that you keep referring to the guitarists as "him" when in fact they are two. Not only in this video, but in some of the others as well. Weren't you aware of this fact? They also both play lead parts, and their tone is easily distinguishable, so you can clearly make out who plays what. They also come from very different backgrounds musically, which you can clearly see as their sound and songwriting has evolved. During their first 3 albums, it was mainly Richard Henshall who wrote the music, while on Affinity, Vector and the upcoming Virus, it's been more of a collaborative effort. Charlie Griffiths comes from more of a death metal background actually, and this is very much a reason why they sound a lot heavier on their latest albums, and more progressive on their earlier. Btw. I like your reactions since you obviously is a bit more musically literate than many others, and can give a little more depth in your analysis. I don't agree with you on the carnival stuff though, as I think this is what sets them apart from the rest, and Dream Theater specifically. To me it brings a playful element into the music that I really enjoy. But this is of course just my opinion, and to each his own, and there is no right or wrong. As to suggestions, these songs are high on my list: The Cockroach King, Crystallized, Lapse, Deathless, Puzzle Box, Earthlings, Bound by Gravity, Portals/Shapeshifter (two songs that should be listened to as one), Drowning in the Flood. Just to mention a few off the top of my head.
Nice a lot to get to for sure...I did know they had 2 guitar players, but I don't know them enough yet to know the difference between the two. You seem well versed in their catalogue, but I am only like 10 songs in ...lol Cheers.
Pressed instantly like, because the reaction started right away. I don't like the "like and subscribe, check me out on patreon blablabla" beginning in all those reaction videos. I like to hear all that stuff after the reaction :) Another Band you might want to check out is Pain of Salvation, if you don't know them. But it's hard to suggest a song, because they also change their style on every album and they are tying their music very strongly with their lyrics. I first started to really to enjoy them, when I had an evening the lyrics by my side and listened to their whole "Remedy Lane" and "Be" Album. He has also a great voice imho and their songs often rely heavy on polyrhythm. As hard as it is to suggest a song (you may have to listen to some of them, to get their full "spectrum"), I'd like to try: - !(Foreword) - New Year's Eve - The Perfect Element - On a Tuesday (It's from their last concept album and was written by their singer, when he was in a hospital with flesh eating bacteria and it wasn't clear, if he'd survive. It's also what's the album is about, his thoughts in this situation and so on.) - King of Loss (More of a "slow" song) - A Trace of Blood (If you are into lyrics, try this one - It really is an awesome example, how they can capture feelings) Ok, this comment is getting to long^^ anyway - it took me some time to get into these guys, but I'm glad I did and maybe you like them too one day!
You mentioned how the lyrics aren’t very practical in the songs you’d heard thus far and I would agree. They do have songs with more practical lyrics but they tend to be in their slower/ballad style songs. The best recommendation I could give you if you were looking for that is the song ‘Somebody’, it’s super powerful and the lyrics are pretty relatable.
You’ve gotta do 1985 next man. You said you liked 80’s stuff if it’s in context. This song uses it in context. It’s progressive but meant to sound like something along the lines of The Talking Heads or something along those lines
well, i hate to hearken over and over, but Pain of Salvation's lyrics are usually extremely "practical" and uses symbolism and poetic language to enrich very REAL situations. Especially the last album, about Daniel's life threatening flesh eating bacteria and months stay in the hospital in 2014. I mean, it starts with "I was born in this building It was the first Tuesday I had ever seen And if I live to see tomorrow It will be my Tuesday number: 2119" can't get much more practical than that...
I got to know Haken, when they we're warming up Devin Townsend last November. Haken is quite listenable, but on the other hand the singer sounds the same in every song. They are semi-good prog group for me. Not quite cutting the mustard.
Haken is opening for Devin here in May and I can't wait. I saw Devin with Between the Buried and Me 2 years ago and it was great, although I wish it wasn't the Coma Ecliptic tour because that's my least favorite Btbam album. Btbam playing Colors live was my favorite. Excited to see Haken and Devin with the Contortionist though!
If you despise the 'carnival shit' don't watch it jeez. U can't be a fan while hating one element so much. Similar to DT you can't be a fan of the band if you despise the singer's voice so much. Lastly prog has never been about the lyrics. The music has always come first.
Nah, we love the carnival shit man! lol. That's Haken. To me it's what makes them so good. Their songs are never boring no matter how long they are because of those goofy, carnival, and jazzy parts. It's what made me love them. Aquirius man. I can't believe no one has mentioned Cockroach King by them. You have to go in listening with an open mind. It's goofy, silly, and so catchy. They're serious about their music but they like to mess around a lot. It's a good thing imo.
Nice I am glad it hits the spot for you. Others have mentioned Cockroach King but with the same disclaimer as you knowing my style. Lol I may do it and be surprised like I was with 1985... Cheers!
@@captainmorgan1978 Haken likes that song so much, they wrote an entire 2 album arc about that character (Vector and the new Virus)
@@Mrdardas99 haha that is a cool piece of info! nice!
I don't care for the carnival crap either. I never liked it in DT, and I largely blame Jordan Rudess for it, as you begin hearing it in the first LTE.
I clicked on this SO FAST, you have no idea
Awesome, hope you enjoyed it! :)
Favorite Haken song for a reason. Glad you enjoyed it.
I have liked all their songs, save a few minor parts IN the songs :)
The slow section gives me chills every time, pure euphoria
Very well written, I agree
You should react to their song "Somebody" from The Mountain album. The outro on that song is so powerful. Oh, and it's Russell Allen by the way haha.
Right, see the pinned comment at the top! :) Thanks for the suggestions :)
The pinned comment on the SmX video, that is...
Somebody is such an amazing song.
Russel Wilson must be a clone between Russel Allen og Steven Wilson. And interesting mix for sure!
@@chessbrainiac Wonder if he can sing lol
The first song that really got me hooked, still my favorite Haken song. I have a feeling im in the minority on this one ^^' Great reaction Captn!
One of my favs too. I had to recommend this to him bc nobody else on UA-cam has reacted to this song that I've found
@@ryanmcgill5048 I'm glad you did Ryan :) \m/
I liked it, though not my fav by them...cheers!
The Visions album really hooked me into Haken, after hearing Prosthetic first of course!
Wow, this is niiiice. I haven't checked out Haken before but this was really nice. Great vocals and instrumentals with some sweet groove and keeps it interesting throughout. Don't know why I haven't checked these out before.
Thank you for just stating clearly the purpose of this channel! lol Cheers!
Have fun diving into their discography. If you liked this song I'm sure there is plenty more you'll like from Haken. I just found them about 5 months ago from UA-cam and they quickly became one of my favorite bands. All their albums are basically on repeat in my car every day.
This album is one of the most amazing things ever created... when a listen this and i'm drunk i go to another dimension... haha
Try it with some better drugs next time lol
@@captainmorgan1978 if i try i'll go to another multiverse..haha.. \m/
6:56 that part is a dark eternal night riff with ducks sounds. Hakens homage to dream theater.
haha like it.
Fantastic tune to open up the amazing Visions album.
Hey, man! I was confused when there was no intro, and I was aboutta comment about that. Anyways, I hope you get well soon!
Great reaction! Here I am, as always, in order to object to some commentary :P
First of all, I don't agree with "Dammit Haken, stop the carnival" thing. They are known for the carnival sounds, since their demo EP, Enter The Fifth Dimension. It's like asking Dream Theater to stop with complex solo sections :/
Secondly, you mentioned you couldn't find any sources to see what the song us about. Well I have written a summary for the entire album in your previous Haken reaction's comment section. Also, TheProgMind has great summaries for Haken albums too. As I mentioned before, all Haken albums are concept albums (like Metropolis pt2, or The Astonishing). It may not always be possible to find song analysis for that reason. Anyways, short summary for the song: The "Visions" album is about a young boy searching for his killer basically. In the first songs of the album, it explains the visions, or premonitions that the boy has seen. He sees himself being killed every night. He thinks he is innocent, but at the same time, he canmot understand why he must die! (I will not get deeper into the rest of the album again, to avoid possible spoilers. I really recommend checking out TheProgMind for Haken stories, though.)
Lastly, you said you think Ross Jennings is one of the best vocals in prog metal. To be honest, he's my second favourite too. I really recommend checking out Slave by Leprous (Live at Rockefeller House) in your free time. He's a beastly vocalist too. If you want any Leprous suggestions, I'd certainly go for Forced Entry.
So yeah, enjoyed your commentary as always. Keep up the good work! I don't have much songs to recommend, knowing that you are a bit picky in electronic and carnival sounds. Unfortunately they define Haken's sound :( Maybe you can try "Pareidolia" and "Drowning In The Flood"? They don't have electronic drums or carnival sounds, as far as I remember.
Drowning in the Flood was my next one for him. I chose this song because it was very light on the carnival sounds compared to the rest of Visions, as is Drowning. . . For Aquarius.
Thanks for the extensive explanation of the album again, really appreciate it. For clarity, the fact that the "carnival" sound was literally like 20 seconds of the song I think is the best it can get...so, it was a small part, in this song anyways.
Singing isn't too important to me, but thanks for the suggestion of the other singer. Everyone keeps saying Nightwish singer is amazing too. Will get to them at some point. I think 1985 is coming...hate it or like it, I want to check it out as well as Aquarius(sp)?
@@captainmorgan1978 1985 is a great song too. But be warned, Affinity album is full of 80s electronic drum sounds, even though you won't find carnival sounds :/ The album is meant to be half electronic. (There is even a dubstep-like breakdown in The Endless Knot)
@@berkefiliz3410 Yea, you have warned me before :) And I LOVE Dubstep so guess we will see! lol
Great tack. one of my favorites from them
def good!
Told ya you would like it :). You always talk about awkward transitions in songs and I figured you would respect how clean all the transitions in this song are and how well it flows with that beautifully eerie vibe.
Great reaction as always and hope you get better soon. Keep up the good work!
that makes you 2 for 2 right? lol Nice work! Thanks!
@@captainmorgan1978 I think this is the first suggestion you've reacted to by me so far but I really think you would like Drowning in the Flood for the next Haken song.
I'm also patiently waiting for you to check out The Mars Volta because I'm honestly not sure what you will think about them. The Widow and Goliath are good songs to start with and if you don't hate those then we can dive into some of the longer more proggy songs
@@ryanmcgill5048 haha love the persistence...it usually pays off! ;)
Gonna comment again, you need to try listening to "Dream the Dead" by Caligula's Horse. You'll love it. The whole "In Contact" album is fantastic, and has some very powerful lyrics.
Thank you!
Just one point, I've noted that you keep referring to the guitarists as "him" when in fact they are two. Not only in this video, but in some of the others as well. Weren't you aware of this fact? They also both play lead parts, and their tone is easily distinguishable, so you can clearly make out who plays what. They also come from very different backgrounds musically, which you can clearly see as their sound and songwriting has evolved. During their first 3 albums, it was mainly Richard Henshall who wrote the music, while on Affinity, Vector and the upcoming Virus, it's been more of a collaborative effort. Charlie Griffiths comes from more of a death metal background actually, and this is very much a reason why they sound a lot heavier on their latest albums, and more progressive on their earlier.
Btw. I like your reactions since you obviously is a bit more musically literate than many others, and can give a little more depth in your analysis. I don't agree with you on the carnival stuff though, as I think this is what sets them apart from the rest, and Dream Theater specifically. To me it brings a playful element into the music that I really enjoy. But this is of course just my opinion, and to each his own, and there is no right or wrong.
As to suggestions, these songs are high on my list: The Cockroach King, Crystallized, Lapse, Deathless, Puzzle Box, Earthlings, Bound by Gravity, Portals/Shapeshifter (two songs that should be listened to as one), Drowning in the Flood. Just to mention a few off the top of my head.
Nice a lot to get to for sure...I did know they had 2 guitar players, but I don't know them enough yet to know the difference between the two. You seem well versed in their catalogue, but I am only like 10 songs in ...lol Cheers.
Pressed instantly like, because the reaction started right away. I don't like the "like and subscribe, check me out on patreon blablabla" beginning in all those reaction videos. I like to hear all that stuff after the reaction :)
Another Band you might want to check out is Pain of Salvation, if you don't know them. But it's hard to suggest a song, because they also change their style on every album and they are tying their music very strongly with their lyrics. I first started to really to enjoy them, when I had an evening the lyrics by my side and listened to their whole "Remedy Lane" and "Be" Album. He has also a great voice imho and their songs often rely heavy on polyrhythm.
As hard as it is to suggest a song (you may have to listen to some of them, to get their full "spectrum"), I'd like to try:
- !(Foreword)
- New Year's Eve
- The Perfect Element
- On a Tuesday (It's from their last concept album and was written by their singer, when he was in a hospital with flesh eating bacteria and it wasn't clear, if he'd survive. It's also what's the album is about, his thoughts in this situation and so on.)
- King of Loss (More of a "slow" song)
- A Trace of Blood (If you are into lyrics, try this one - It really is an awesome example, how they can capture feelings)
Ok, this comment is getting to long^^ anyway - it took me some time to get into these guys, but I'm glad I did and maybe you like them too one day!
Pain of Salvation will be coming at some point...alot to get to!
@@captainmorgan1978 np man, looking forward to it, hope they'll give you as much, as they gave me :)
You mentioned how the lyrics aren’t very practical in the songs you’d heard thus far and I would agree. They do have songs with more practical lyrics but they tend to be in their slower/ballad style songs. The best recommendation I could give you if you were looking for that is the song ‘Somebody’, it’s super powerful and the lyrics are pretty relatable.
that has been suggested by a few others as well..1985 is next..after that maybe Somebody! Cheers!
@@captainmorgan1978 Then get back into the heavier side with Drowning in the Flood! :)
@@ryanmcgill5048 Noted...
Also, I think you meant "Russell Allen". Are you a Seahawks fan?
Every comment is saying this now...lol see the pinned comment at the top of the comments! lol
And NO, I care less about NFL haha
You’ve gotta do 1985 next man. You said you liked 80’s stuff if it’s in context. This song uses it in context. It’s progressive but meant to sound like something along the lines of The Talking Heads or something along those lines
Yup, probably coming up next!
listen to celestial elixir. its got a solid couple minutes of carnival shit, its pretty awesome.
Already done yo... Search and you shall find 😊
@@captainmorgan1978 in that case you should react to thank you scientist. psychopomp, blood on the radio, and caverns are good places to start.
well, i hate to hearken over and over, but Pain of Salvation's lyrics are usually extremely "practical" and uses symbolism and poetic language to enrich very REAL situations. Especially the last album, about Daniel's life threatening flesh eating bacteria and months stay in the hospital in 2014. I mean, it starts with
"I was born in this building
It was the first Tuesday I had ever seen
And if I live to see tomorrow
It will be my Tuesday number: 2119"
can't get much more practical than that...
Like it, definitely hard to pick up sometimes on the first listen, thanks for poijnting it out
For me Haken is "british DT"
Haha nice comparison 😊
I got to know Haken, when they we're warming up Devin Townsend last November. Haken is quite listenable, but on the other hand the singer sounds the same in every song. They are semi-good prog group for me. Not quite cutting the mustard.
They are my favorite out of the bands I am listening to right now...outside of the "carny" sounds! :0
Haken is opening for Devin here in May and I can't wait. I saw Devin with Between the Buried and Me 2 years ago and it was great, although I wish it wasn't the Coma Ecliptic tour because that's my least favorite Btbam album. Btbam playing Colors live was my favorite. Excited to see Haken and Devin with the Contortionist though!
@@captainmorgan1978 We can't love everything the same way. ;o)
@@ryanmcgill5048 Damn, lucky bastard! envious!
@@pasit1738 that is the beauty of music, we don't HAVE to...:)
If you despise the 'carnival shit' don't watch it jeez. U can't be a fan while hating one element so much. Similar to DT you can't be a fan of the band if you despise the singer's voice so much. Lastly prog has never been about the lyrics. The music has always come first.
haha we just don't see eye to eye on anything I guess...I also said lyrics ar emy number 3 or 4, but they are a part...