Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[Implode]

Really looking forward to seeing them this Thursday! I feel a bit backwards because it's actually Symphony X I'm completely unfamiliar with. Should be a fun night!

[TheSoylentMan]

And then of course was what has to be a personal highlight for me. During 1985 I put my neon glasses on prior to Ross entering during 1985, only to shockingly see he was not sporting his own. As soon as he got to the front of the stage he motioned to me, I got up and handed him mine, and then he wore them to the Yes section and tossed them back at me.

That's fantastic Nick. I love stories like this.

[gmillerdrake]

Really looking forward to seeing them this Thursday! I feel a bit backwards because it's actually Symphony X I'm completely unfamiliar with. Should be a fun night!

My two oldest sons and I will be seeing them Friday night in St. Louis...can't wait. We were all set back in 2020 to see them in St. Louis where they were playing Affinity in full and their tour got cancelled 6 days before we were set to see them. 

So....despite this being a pretty short set list my sons are pumped to see them as they've not seen them live so looking forward to it. And, I've never seen Symphony X live and dig their stuff so should be a fun night.

[Implode]

Anyone else at the Chicago concert now? I've never been to this venue. It's really nice.

[Implode]

I was blown away by Haken's set. It actually was way better live than I was expecting. Didn't seem like there were too many Haken fans in the crowd, but luckily I seemed to be standing in the Haken fan section and could really rock out with them. Ross seemed to give our half of the stage a bit more attention. I do wish they had talked more, and maybe introduced Pete too. I was also so happy with the inclusion of Owner of a Lonely Heart. This may be sacrilege, but 90125 is my favorite Yes album. The crowd seemed to really get a kick out of it too. I can't wait to see them headline again.

[cramx3]

The entire cover set is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbIZ020eTAY

Also, the happy birthday from Russell Allen to Pete Jones was pretty cool (saw it on instagram recently, not related to the cover set)

[RodrigoAltaf]

So I'll interview Charlie on Friday, to promote his solo album.  Let me know if you have questions for him.

[gzarruk]

So I'll interview Charlie on Friday, to promote his solo album.  Let me know if you have questions for him.

Not related to his album, but would love to know about Haken's inmediate plans after they finish this tour run with SX. Will they do a proper headlining tour and record that live album they wanted to make? What about their new studio album, will it get moved to a next year release?

[RodrigoAltaf]

So I'll interview Charlie on Friday, to promote his solo album.  Let me know if you have questions for him.

Not related to his album, but would love to know about Haken's inmediate plans after they finish this tour run with SX. Will they do a proper headlining tour and record that live album they wanted to make? What about their new studio album, will it get moved to a next year release?

Yes, those would be great questions for the second half of the interview. Thanks man!

[Fritzinger]

So I'll interview Charlie on Friday, to promote his solo album.  Let me know if you have questions for him.

Not related to his album, but would love to know about Haken's inmediate plans after they finish this tour run with SX. Will they do a proper headlining tour and record that live album they wanted to make? What about their new studio album, will it get moved to a next year release?

This is exactly what I want, no, need to know 

[ariich]

If I had to guess, I'd say maybe towards the end of this year, possibly autumn if we're lucky. The album is all written, but not all recorded yet and they're currently on tour.

They definitely want to do the headline tour they'd planned. My impression is that COVID is still making European tours a lot more complicated and risky - each country has different policies and some are still requiring tests to enter.

[axeman90210]

That's fine, just come back to the US instead.

[cramx3]

That's fine, just come back to the US instead.

Yup!

[ariich]

That's fine, just come back to the US instead.

Yup!

Not until I've seen Pete playing in Haken for the first time in 14 years first!

[cramx3]

fair enough, but it would be great if they came back sooner than later to do a full headline set.  I just want more virus live.

[RodrigoAltaf]

fair enough, but it would be great if they came back sooner than later to do a full headline set.  I just want more virus live.

Yeah, and it would be great if they could do a tour combining Virus and Vector material, with a few highlights from the back catalog , since the two "V" albums have an overarching concept.

[gzarruk]

fair enough, but it would be great if they came back sooner than later to do a full headline set.  I just want more virus live.

Yeah, and it would be great if they could do a tour combining Virus and Vector material, with a few highlights from the back catalog , since the two "V" albums have an overarching concept.

Looking at their current set, their full headlining set could be Vector/Virus in full + Cockroach King and 1985 and it would be about 2hrs long.

[axeman90210]

I think Peter mentioned that he learned all of Vector and Virus for their European tour that they had to cancel. Or maybe it was just Virus, I can't remember for sure.

[crazy climber dude]

I guess I am the only one here who thinks Nightingale is AMAZING. I cannot stop listening to it.

Disjointed, yes....as Ross said at the Denver show, not exactly a song you can bang your head to!

But the harmonies and melodies are off the chain. And the rhythm section....wow....tons of nuance in the bass playing and drums by Ray. Love the keyboard atmosphere behind the music....and the jazzier elements as well.

And Ross is outstanding here...fantastic tone. Not cheesy to me at all.

I would be happy if the new album sounded a lot like this....even though I love the darker, heavier Virus and Vector stuff too. You can hear the Yes influence big time, but also perhaps a little Toto (too ) during those fusiony parts. Then you still had the ridiculous instrumental section in the middle....super syncopation.

[Implode]

I wasn't a fan of Nightengale until I heard it live. In the past couple days, it really clicked for me, and now I can't get it out of my head.

Also I get a lot of Visions vibes from it for some reason. I wonder if that'll continue throughout the rest of the album

[Ben_Jamin]

I guess I am the only one here who thinks Nightingale is AMAZING. I cannot stop listening to it.

Disjointed, yes....as Ross said at the Denver show, not exactly a song you can bang your head to!

But the harmonies and melodies are off the chain. And the rhythm section....wow....tons of nuance in the bass playing and drums by Ray. Love the keyboard atmosphere behind the music....and the jazzier elements as well.

And Ross is outstanding here...fantastic tone. Not cheesy to me at all.

I would be happy if the new album sounded a lot like this....even though I love the darker, heavier Virus and Vector stuff too. You can hear the Yes influence big time, but also perhaps a little Toto (too ) during those fusiony parts. Then you still had the ridiculous instrumental section in the middle....super syncopation.

It was better live. I was also at that Denver show and laughed when Ross said that.

[crazy climber dude]

It was better live. I was also at that Denver show and laughed when Ross said that.

I wasn't a fan of Nightengale until I heard it live. In the past couple days, it really clicked for me, and now I can't get it out of my head.

That's what I said to a friend of mine, as well as my son.....that it sounded great live. They did not agree!

Tough to beat Cockroach King live because it is so fun....but after that it might have been the best song they did that night. With VERY honorable mention to Carousel and Nil by Mouth....which is just ridiculous with the precision.

I love that they opened with Prosthetic...great high energy opener. However, they didn't have the mix dialed in yet. Overall, though....except that it was TOO SHORT, I loved the setlist!

[Ben_Jamin]

It was better live. I was also at that Denver show and laughed when Ross said that.

I wasn't a fan of Nightengale until I heard it live. In the past couple days, it really clicked for me, and now I can't get it out of my head.

That's what I said to a friend of mine, as well as my son.....that it sounded great live. They did not agree!

Tough to beat Cockroach King live because it is so fun....but after that it might have been the best song they did that night. With VERY honorable mention to Carousel and Nil by Mouth....which is just ridiculous with the precision.

I love that they opened with Prosthetic...great high energy opener. However, they didn't have the mix dialed in yet. Overall, though....except that it was TOO SHORT, I loved the setlist!

Nightingale reminds me of their older sound from Visions and The Mountain.

I also enjoyed the set, it being my first Haken show as well. I wouldn't have minded one more song from Affinity though.

[Implode]

Disjointed, yes....as Ross said at the Denver show, not exactly a song you can bang your head to!

It was better live. I was also at that Denver show and laughed when Ross said that.

That's not going to stop me from trying to headbanging to it. It might take some prep to headbang to these songs, but it's worth the effort. lol

[Ben_Jamin]

Disjointed, yes....as Ross said at the Denver show, not exactly a song you can bang your head to!

It was better live. I was also at that Denver show and laughed when Ross said that.

That's not going to stop me from trying to headbanging to it. It might take some prep to headbang to these songs, but it's worth the effort. lol

I was still headbanging the song. It probably looked funny to them seeing how differently timed people were headbanging...

[Implode]

I too enjoyed how differently people interpreted the proper head banging rhythms. But honestly, I think it makes the more clear and obvious riffs and sections stand out more. When a huge riff hits after a complex development section like in Nil By Mouth, it's so powerful when everyone is suddenly united and rocking out in time with each other.

[me7]

After living with Nightingale for a few weeks, I feel that it suffers a bit from to it's fake vintage sound. It's a bit too fuzzy/noisy for it's own good, you need to concentrate to notice a lot of details. I hope a better balance is found when the actual album is mixed and mastered.

[countoftuscany42]

LA tonight 
was only a few days from seeing their tour with Devy in LA before covid shut everything down, so I'm excited to see Haken again 
also haven't seen Symphony X live since Wacken 2016, so tonight should be pretty killer 

[RodrigoAltaf]

So I finally spoke with Charlie today about his new album. He's such a soft spoken guy - not full of expletives or bombastic statements. He's the type of interviewee you need to give some breathing space for him to formulate his answers. It came out great.

And for those who were wondering about a) a tour with Vector and Virus in full and b) a potential new album, he said they will finish the tour with Symphony X now and go straight into the studio - the new album is almost 100% written. And they plan to do Vector and Virus in full at some point, because that's how it was intended initially, but not now.

[gzarruk]

And for those who were wondering about a) a tour with Vector and Virus in full and b) a potential new album, he said they will finish the tour with Symphony X now and go straight into the studio - the new album is almost 100% written. And they plan to do Vector and Virus in full at some point, because that's how it was intended initially, but not now.

Thank you!

[countoftuscany42]

Chatted with them after the LA show and it sounded like they're planning to come back to the US early next year 

Also since Matt Lynch was at the show I got him and Pete to sign my Nova Collective album, I already had Richard and Dan Briggs and was happy to finish it 

[goo-goo]

Chatted with them after the LA show and it sounded like they're planning to come back to the US early next year 

Also since Matt Lynch was at the show I got him and Pete to sign my Nova Collective album, I already had Richard and Dan Briggs and was happy to finish it 

Shit. That's awesome about Nova Collective. If you ever decide to part ways with it, let me know.

Saw Haken last night with Symphony X. Hate to say it but SyX stole the show. Prosthetic was nothing short of amazing. Sounds even better live. Richard and Ross were having all sorts of fun. Nil and 1985 were also highlights for me. The rest of the setlist didn't really click for me.

[Cocopjojo]

I'm planning on going to the Orlando show tonight. Does anyone know if there's another band before Haken and SX?

[CrimsonSunrise]

I'm planning on going to the Orlando show tonight. Does anyone know if there's another band before Haken and SX?

There was half a band...as I'm sure you saw..   Not a big fan of that.  Basically a guitar and female vocalist (who was way to low in the mix)  Then backing tracks for the drums and bass.  Very odd to me...

Fantastic show last night in Orlando!!  Both Haken and Symphony X kicked ass!!!  Great lil venue also.  I normally avoid GA shows due to my age and having to hit the bathroom every hour or so.  But last night was very civilized and I had no issue getting back to my spot around row 4.

[cramx3]

Nice!

I wonder if Haken and/or SX will do anything unique for the final show of the tour on Sunday.  Sometimes the end of tour shows have some shenanigans going on.