VISIONS

Haken should have released an EP of the epic song Visions instead of a full length album. Oh yeah, Visions "the song" is dangerous and unneutered. But the rest of the album? To quote Hank Williams, "Move over skinny dog, cause the fat dogs moving in". There's only one pony in that pile... Speaking of moving on over, I'll move on to the album straightway.

I read the wonderful reviews. I listened to the album eight times. I thought I was listening to a band named "Dream Theater Lite". This album reminded me of my mothers paint by numbers, "The Last Supper." Likewise Haken released a paint by numbers "Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory." Dream Theater without the punch and stratospheric "awe factor." And another thing. When I listen to prog rock, I don't count it as a good thing to know where the song is going to go before it gets there, "Shampoo, rinse, repeat." "Conditioner, rinse repeat." That's what pop music is for.

That being said, I am looking forward to future releases from Haken. These guys can play, and the singer has a gifted voice. Perhaps Haken will jell and leave Dream Theater behind. I hope they take some risks with their next album. If the rest of the album would have been as good as the last song Visions, this reviewer would be lauding Haken for giving the world a new prog rock masterpiece. As it is I give the song Visions an 8/10 rating and the Visions album 3/10. For Collectors and fans only. So if your a fan, by all means dig right in.