Visions (Haken album)

Visions is the second studio album of progressive metal band Haken. The album was released mostly for the attention of people at ProgPower USA on 17 September 2011,[1] with an official release date set for 24 October 2011.[2][3]

Visions
Studio album by
Haken
Released17 September 2011 (2011-09-17) (ProgPower USA)
24 October 2011 (2011-10-24) (official)
Recorded2010–2011
Genre
Length71:37
LabelSensory
Haken chronology
Aquarius
(2010)		 Visions
(2011)		 The Mountain
(2013)

Unlike Aquarius, which was written mainly on the piano by Richard Henshall, Visions was mostly written on the guitar. As with the debut album, the members recorded their parts at home and then shared the files between them. The album features a string quartet and a French horn player mixed with synthetic string and brass sections.[1] Both string and French horn arrangements were arranged by keyboardist Diego Tejeida and drummer Ray Hearne.[4]

It is a concept album like its predecessor, telling the story of "a young boy who sees his own death in his dreams and believes it's going to happen and spends the rest of his life trying to avoid it." The long closing track "Visions" is the end of the story but it makes it come full circle to the beginning. The track was written by vocalist Ross Jennings based on a premonition of his own death and it was the first song to be written, with the album growing around it.[1] Like Aquarius, the album artwork was also created by Dennis Sibeijn.

The album is dedicated to the mother of guitarist Charlie Griffiths, who had died in 2011.[4]

The song "Visions" contains a voice at the beginning reciting Segismundo's reflection from Pedro Calderón de la Barca's play Life is a Dream.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Ross Jennings; all music is composed by Richard Henshall, except where noted.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Premonition" (Instrumental)
4:05
2."Nocturnal Conspiracy" 13:09
3."Insomnia"
  • Henshall
  • Tejeida
  • MacLean
  • Ross Jennings
  • Raymond Hearne
  • Charlie Griffiths
6:03
4."The Mind's Eye" 4:04
5."Portals" (Instrumental) 5:27
6."Shapeshifter" 8:08
7."Deathless" 8:04
8."Visions" 22:27
Total length:71:37

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Sea of Tranquility[5]
AllMusic[6]

Visions received high praise from Sea of Tranquility webzine. It was described as "a staggeringly brilliant example of progressive metal" by Pete Pardo and "probably the final progressive masterpiece of 2011" by Murat Batmaz.[5] Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album a positive review saying, "Visions isn't exactly a proud new flagship in Her Royal Majesty's Progressive Rock (H.R.M.P.R.) navy, but it's pretty darn seaworthy nonetheless."[6]

Personnel

Notes
  1. Serafine, Frank (23 September 2011). "Haken Explains Story Behind "Visions," Favorite Bands, And Musical Training". metalunderground.com. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. Carter, Vatjarr. "News: New Album Review, Haken "Visions" (Tracklist)". Distortion Emolver. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  3. HAKEN Sophomore Album Details & Trailer Posted Band Prepares For ProgPower USA Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 August 2011
  4. "Haken (2) - Visions". Discogs (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. SeaOfTranquility.org, Greg Stewart, Webmaster/Developer. "Review: "Haken: Visions" - Sea of Tranquility - The Web Destination for Progressive Music!". www.seaoftranquility.org. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  6. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia". AllMusic. AllMusic. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
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