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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Haken - Visions + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-18-2012 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2011 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........08 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.haken.fr ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Haken Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Visions Label : Sensory ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ When I first heard "Aquarius", I was not ║ │
│║ impressed. After the millionth listen, I was in ║ │
│║ love. You could call me a fanboy, or one of ║ │
│║ those annoying dudes mindlessly infiltrating ║ │
│║ message boards all over the internet, telling ║ │
│║ you, your friends, and even your dog to listen ║ │
│║ to Haken; that is a crime in which I am guilty. ║ │
│║ Lock me up and throw away the key. I waited and ║ │
│║ waited and waited for a follow-up to "Aquarius", ║ │
│║ and it didn't disappoint. Hell, "Visions" might ║ │
│║ even surpass the record with its magical ║ │
│║ essence, but that's not a worthwhile ║ │
│║ deliberation. However, "Visions" progresses the ║ │
│║ transcendental songwriting and instrumental ║ │
│║ mastery of Haken's debut into a new frontier of ║ │
│║ brilliance, and it only goes to show that Haken ║ │
│║ is no one-trick pony. Instead, they've ║ │
│║ maintained the consistency of their debut and ║ │
│║ added a handful of new tints to their agenda ║ │
│║ which shine beyond what the human eye can see. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ "Visions" generally sounds like a continuation ║ │
│║ of "Aquarius", but it again goes beyond the ║ │
│║ spectrum of sight, if you will. For one, the ║ │
│║ focus on keyboard melodies and situations seems ║ │
│║ to have been reduced, instead utilizing a ║ │
│║ guitar-driven approach that focuses more so on ║ │
│║ sturdy riffs and guitar work. Even the basic ║ │
│║ craziness of "Aquarius" seems to have been cut a ║ │
│║ bit, perhaps traded for a song-driven album that ║ │
│║ isn't loaded with unpredictable themes or such a ║ │
│║ deep touch of insanity. "Visions" overall has ║ │
│║ less to do with the wacky instruments and ║ │
│║ keyboard postulates featured throughout ║ │
│║ "Aquarius" anthems like "Celestial Elixir", but ║ │
│║ it is undeniably the same group of musicians ║ │
│║ subpoenaing superb music. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ And why does it work so well? Well, the dudes of ║ │
│║ Haken are incredibly cohesive and flexible as ║ │
│║ songwriters. They manage to add fantastic guitar ║ │
│║ work and hooking choruses into perplexing ║ │
│║ anthems like the versatile "Shapeshifter" with ║ │
│║ so much power that I'm sure Mike Portnoy would ║ │
│║ piss himself. Haken can basically compose these ║ │
│║ deep, multi-layered tunes that weave through so ║ │
│║ many levels and ideas that there's really ║ │
│║ nothing the listener can do but gawk at the ║ │
│║ sheer dominance they display on the musical end. ║ │
│║ Granted, the monolithic title track is certainly ║ │
│║ the most "progressive" song on the album, and ║ │
│║ there are masterful sections popping up on such ║ │
│║ a dazzling scale that it may be the finest thing ║ │
│║ these Brits have ever created. Overall, the bass ║ │
│║ work rules, the keys are magical, the guitar ║ │
│║ work jaw-dropping, and Ross Jennings sounds just ║ │
│║ as excellent as he did on "Aquarius", ║ │
│║ thankfully. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As I said, the toned-down songwriting pays off, ║ │
│║ with huge hits like the record's three-hit combo ║ │
│║ of "The Mind's Eye", the instrumental "Portals", ║ │
│║ and the breathtaking "Shapeshifter", just a ║ │
│║ sample of what makes "Visions" a total smash of ║ │
│║ an album. And again, there so many exemplary ║ │
│║ factors that shape Haken's soul that no review ║ │
│║ or reviewer could plausibly describe the band in ║ │
│║ a few paragraphs. And as you see, I have no ║ │
│║ quarrel with "Visions" on any level, and much ║ │
│║ like its older brother, I've come to truly ║ │
│║ treasure the sheer ability and prose that flows ║ │
│║ like blood within the veins of Haken. "Visions" ║ │
│║ is something more than an album, like a journey ║ │
│║ through tales of dark premonitions and the ║ │
│║ understanding of fate, instrumentally provoked ║ │
│║ and matched into an hour of unbelievable power. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ There is nothing about Haken that isn't ║ │
│║ absolutely fascinating, and you are totally ║ │
│║ missing out on progressive metal's next legend ║ │
│║ if you aren't meeting eye-to-eye with the ║ │
│║ magical "Visions". ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Lineup: ║ │
│║ Ross Jennings - vocals ║ │
│║ Richard Henshall - guitars and keyboards ║ │
│║ Charlie Griffiths - guitars ║ │
│║ Diego Tejeida - keyboards and sound design ║ │
│║ Thomas MacLean - bass ║ │
│║ Raymond Hearne - drums and percussion ║ │
│║ ******s ║ │
│║ The Haken String Quartet: ║ │
│║ Jennifer Murphy & Alison Comerford - violins ║ │
│║ Martin Wray - viola ║ │
│║ Lucy Butcher - cello ║ │
│║ ******s ║ │
│║ Joey 'Dah Lipz' Ryan - french horn ║ │
│║ Patrick Harrild & Christopher Currie - voices ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Premonition [04:10] │
│ 02 - Nocturnal Conspiracy [13:08] │
│ 03 - Insomnia [06:06] │
│ 04 - The Mind's Eye [04:05] │
│ 05 - Portals [05:27] │
│ 06 - Shapeshifter [08:08] │
│ 07 - Deathless [08:04] │
│ 08 - Visions [22:25] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [71:33 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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