One of the strongest acts in the prog rock scene in the last 5 years, Haken encompass everything that makes this genre exciting: conceptual albums, top notch playing, complex arrangements, heavy yet melodic sound etc. Moreover, while their influences are quite easy to trace, their sound is fresh and non-derivative.
And yet, for some reason Haken had never truly grasped my interest the way other prog rock bands have. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed moments in each album, but I never had the desire to revisit them right away. That’s not the case with their new release Affinity; this is a record that has been in constant rotation for the past weeks and by far my favourite Haken album.
While the album doesn’t tell a linear story, it explores the relationship between humans and machine, as well as intellect and artificial intelligence. To me, that’s a concept album but that’s a topic for another time.
“Affinity” By Haken – Image Source: Wikipedia
After a rather ambient intro in the track Affinity.Exe, the song Initiate gives a quick taste of what’s to come with an aggressive breakdown section that truly energizes the listening experience followed by a very mellow outro. It’s short and sweet.
The song that follows, titled 1985, is the first highlight of the album. Its clear sounding riff feels rather cheerful. Beyond its title, this song feels like it was written in the 80s. The instrumental section is prog at its best gradually moving from a 80s sound to a heavy and technical unison. While I wish this section lasted longer, it is precisely that feeling of wanting to hear more of it that makes me revisit it time and time again.
The Architect is another highlight, and for many the epic piece from this album as it stands at over 15 minutes long. For me, duration has never been the main factor in labelling a track a “Prog Epic”. Instead, it’s the ability to make those 10, 20, or 30+ minutes feel like seconds. That’s precisely what The Architect feels like. In a way, this track summarizes what’s good about this album with its different and yet cohesive movements. It’s one of those tracks that has to be experienced multiple times to truly appreciate.
After a rather aggressive riff found in the semi last track The Endless Knot, Haken closes the album with a beautiful and melodic track titled Bound By Gravity. At over 9 minutes long, it is a bold choice to end the album with a softer song; but its ethereal piano sound and rather melancholic melodies are truly moving and a perfect way to close Affinity. This song is a perfect example that progressive metal is more than heavy riffs and technical playing.
Haken really knocked it out of the park with this record. Affinity will always be the album that truly got me into this band.
For years, members of Dream Theater had mentioned they would love to have the opportunity score a movie or a video game. So what did they do? They created their own story to score. The Astonishing is not your traditional concept album. Instead, it is progressive rock opera (Prog-Opera?) more in lines with Pink Floyd’s The Wall or Jesus Christ Superstar. The end result is not music telling a story but rather a story told through music.
Divided in two acts that span across 34 songs, The Astonishing is the most cinematic album Dream Theater has ever written. The band turned to legendary arranger David Campbell to orchestrate the record and give it a rather ethereal feel. The sounds of choirs, violins, trumpets, bagpipes, cello, and more really help elevating this album to epic proportions.
Because of its story-driven nature, there are no dull moments in The Astonishing. Every song serves a purpose either advancing the plot or exploring the psyche of its different characters.
The Music
While the elements that make Dream Theater the band we know and love are still there, this is not their “traditional” album in which you’ll find extended instrumental passages, 20 minute-long songs, or complex unisons. It’s a very different album where the melodies are meant to illustrate the story first and foremost.
There are many recurring themes found throughout The Astonishing, which are cleverly used to connect different parts of the plot. For instance, the melodies of the song “Brother Can You Hear Me” are used at a moment where the relationship between the characters Gabriel and Arhys is explored. Later, in the song “The X Aspect” this melody is played on a bagpipe to evoke a rather somber moment in the plot caused by an internal conflict involving these characters. It’s very cinematic to say the least.
While songs in The Astonishing are good on their own, it is when you listen to them in the context of the story that they really shine. When I first heard their first single “The Gift of Music” back in December I liked it; but I truly appreciated it when I listened to it after its preceding song “Dystopian Overture”.
From a performance point of view, the vocals make this album truly enjoyable. This is the best James Labrie record in his 20+ years career with Dream Theater. He had the massive challenge of bringing 7 different characters to life with his voice, including two females. I’m a big fan of songs where the the antagonist character Daryus is present, as Labrie does a phenomenal job at expressing the frustrations and cruel actions from this character.
With over 2 hours of music, The Astonishing is packed with all types of sounds evoking a wide range of emotions. There is happiness, melancholy, hopefulness, inner conflicts, trust, anger, jealousy and more; all expressed beautifully with nothing but sounds. This is in great part due to the work of keyboard player Jordan Ruddess.
Even guitar player John Petrucci played this album a bit differently. There aren’t many moments of pure shredding but that’s not a bad thing. Instead, Petrucci has written some of his most melodic pieces to date. The intro of the song “A saviour In The Square” will likely be remembered as one of his greatest moments. The same can be said about his solo in “A New Beginning”.
There’s a lot of music packed in this record and all meticulously crafted. I find myself remembering melodies of songs like “Our New World”, “A Life Left Behind”, the ending vocals of “My Last Farewell”, the ending melodies of “Hymn of a Thousand Voices” and many more. There high moments in this album are truly breathtaking and among the best in the band’s 13 album catalogue.
The Story
So I’ve been saying that this album is first and foremost music written to bring a story to life. So what about it? In a quick overview, The Astonishing is the story of a retro-futuristic society in which an emperor rules what’s known as The Great Northern Empire Of The Americas. Set in the year 2285, there’s no music anymore other than the sound made by machines called NOMACs. A man known as Gabriel The Astonishing is born in a distant village with the gift of music, which plays a central role in changing the fate of their world.
John Petrucci spent more than a year crafting the story as well as its 8 characters; all which can be read on their official website. I highly recommend reading it as you listen to the album to truly appreciate the plot of this “Prog-Opera”. The passion found in the crafting of the story is absolutely palpable in the music; this why The Astonishing truly shines in a way the reminds me of The Dear Hunter’s Acts.
Final Thoughts
I read in preliminary reviews that The Astonishing was bound to be a very divisive album and I couldn’t agree more. Fans of the technical virtuoso-driven playing may not be appealed by this record because its complexity lies instrumentation of a story, not the playing. The same can be said about those expecting the so-called “Balls to Walls” heavy metal sounds.
This behemoth of an album will take a long time to truly appreciate. I don’t like ranking albums so I won’t do that. But I will say The Astonishing is very likely to enter what, up until now, I considered my Dream Theater “holy trinity” of albums: Images and Words, Awake, and Scenes From A Memory. I guess I’ll have to call it a “perfect square” from now on to include this one.
To see such an ambitious project from a band that has been around for 30 years is really impressive; especially when you consider they are coming from a streak of 3 top 10 debut albums on Billboards and 2 Grammy nominations. This Prog-Opera known as The Astonishingis not a traditional progressive rock album, nor should it be judged as such. It was a risky move by the band to go this direction; but it is a risk that, in my humble opinion, really paid off. Dream Theater has given fans their most exciting album in over 15 years.
Every year I find a band (new or old) that I just fall in love completely. This was the case of Muse in 2011, Bend Sinister in 2012, The Dear Hunter in 2013, Closure in Moscow last year just to name a few. This year the honour goes to In The Presence of Wolves. I listened to their 2014 release Thalassas early in January and 12 months after it is still playing frequently.
Their progressive rock sound is incredibly organic, which is rather rare in a genre where sometimes technical proficiency tends take the center stage in favour of musicality. However, these guys get it. Their songs are catchy, quirky, complex, but overall they are just fun to listen.
Album(s) of The Year
“Hand. Cannot. Erase” by Steven Wilson – Image from Wikipedia
I tend to avoid writing about albums that I don’t like. The last thing the Internet needs is another channel expressing negative sentiments. So simply put, if I reviewed an album, it is likely to be in my list of favourites for that year.
With that said, this year I just cannot pick one album as my favourite. It is a tie between Steven Wilson’s Hand. Cannot. Erase and The Dear Hunter’s Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise. These records were just an incredible experience to listen. These albums have something in common: their high level production goes beyond music. Both albums tell a story and have you wanting to find out more about the characters and their motivations.
For Hand. Cannot. Erase, Steven Wilson created a blog written by the main character prior to the album release. The story explores the theme of living in isolation telling the story of a woman living in the city and yet so apart from everything that surrounds her. Musically, this is Steven Wilson’s best work to date full of classic “Wilsonisms” like electronic music, classic rock influences, metal, jazz and so on.
Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise by The Dear Hunter – Image from Wikipedia
Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise by The Dear Hunter was highly anticipated. After taking a break from writing the next act in their six-part saga, the band returned to answer the questions posed at the end of Act III: Life & Death. The storytelling is as strong as it’s ever been. If you listen to the story from Acts I to IV you can really see character evolution worthy of an AMC show. Musically, The band embellished their songs to another level in the record balancing the ambitiousness of Act II and the cohesiveness of Act III. I just can’t wait for Act V.
Honourable Mention: Neal Morse’s The Grand Experiment
The Grand Experiment By Neal Morse – Source: Wikipedia.com
I didn’t get a chance to review this album early this year but it is definitely my third favourite for 2015. When Neal Morse announces a new album you know what to expect. And yet, he never disappoints. His song-writing is patented with catchy choruses, complex instrumental passages, and full circle endings to his epics. Everything you want in a ProgRock album. He does it so well, and his music is so imaginative that it never becomes dull or repetitive.
The Grand Experimentsaw Neal do something different from what he usually does. This time he didn’t write the album prior to getting the band together. Instead, he wrote it with the band. The result was amazing. Usually the epic piece of the album takes the undisputed favourite spot. This time, however, the opening track “The Call” is just as strong: the keyboard line at the beginning of the instrumental brake is just mesmerizing and keeps me coming back. Special recognition should be given to Eric Gillete. His guitar work is outstanding and very reminiscent of Steve Morse and John Petrucci.
It is incredible how things can change in a single year in the world of football. Just 365 days ago, Real Madrid was on top of the world having conquered their precious 10th UEFA Champions League, the European SuperCup, the FIFA World Cup of Clubs, and in the middle of a 20+ winning streak. For the first time in almost 15 years Real Madrid was once again the undisputable European reference. Carlo Ancelotti managed to create a harmonious team that united fans, management and players. Madrid was once again “Royal”.
At the same time, Barcelona was going through the roughest period of the season. Their game wasn’t convincing, Suarez wasn’t scoring despite all his efforts, and Luis Enrique’s relationship with the squad was more than questionable. Their defeat in San Sebastian against Real Sociedad was considered to be beginning of the end for the team with fans asking for the president to resign, as well as Andoni Zubizarreta.
F.C Barcelona in 2015 – Photo by fcbarcelona.com
Fast forward 12 months and both clubs seem to have traded spots. Barça just closed the year with 5 of the 6 possible titles with a treble included (first team to achieve this for a second time, and only team in Spain to ever win the treble). Meanwhile Real Madrid is in the middle of yet another institutional crisis, which includes a 0-4 defeat against Barça at home, as well as a shameful “suicide” & negligent elimination in the Copa del Rey.
These teams were born to oppose one another. I’m not talking about a team winning and another losing, which is expected since they compete in the same leagues. Their opposite nature goes a step further. In recent years:
When Madrid had The Galacticos, Barca when through one of its darkest times in terms including 5 years without winning a title
When Barcelona dominated with Ronaldinho, Madrid went through 3 coaches in a year, ending with Florentino Perez resigning and thus concluding the Galacticos era
When Barça won their 6/6 titles, Madrid changed presidents once, and coaches 3 times
When Madrid won the 10th Champions League Barcelona changed president, coach, and was on the verge of changing coach again.
Now that Barça has won their second treble, Madrid has changed coach, and may be doing so once again. Not to mention Florentino Perez’ decreasing popularity
Difference In Models
The only recent time I think both teams were at top level was when Mourinho coached Real. But even then, once the titles are counted, Barcelona had the edge. It is undeniable that, overall, the last 15 years has been dominated by Barça. From an institutional point of view they have had a much stable period.
Florentino Perez Popularity Decreases – Photo by Marca.com
It seems F.C Barcelona discovered what they wanted to be and they shaped their operating model against this idea long ago, which gives them a north whenever they have been lost. If you look at the list of coaches in the past 20 years there’s a similarity in styles; if you look at the types of players that have led Barça through different prosperous times, there is a common element as well.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, has yet to determine what kind of football they want to play. Their “flavour of the year” model of buying the best player (usually not in the market) has proven to yield short-term results. Some of them great, others not so much but overall the club seems to be in perpetual instability for the past 15 years. From Del Bosque to Capello, Pelegrinni, Mourinho, Ancelotti, and Benitez there are many different ideas and conflicting philosophies on what to do.
It’s been over six years since The Dear Hunter released Act III: Life and Death. While The Color Spectrum EPs and Migrant are incredible albums, as a fan I wanted to hear nothing but Act IV. Strong writing from both a musical and lyrical perspective have made each of these previous acts feel, at times, like a new season of an AMC show. At the end of Act III: Life and Death, there were more questions posed about the main character than those that were answered, thus explaining the high anticipation for this new album.
Right from the first song, Rebirth, the album takes you back to this world created in the previous acts with both new and yet familiar sounds. Casey Crescenzo has an incredible gift for reimagining previous melodies and bringing them back to life without repeating himself. Those melodies truly shine in this album elevating the overall sound and involving you with the story. For those who have followed the previous 3 parts, the melodies in Rebirth will start bringing back subtle memories from Act I before segueing into the “greater-than-life sound” of the next song “The Old Haunt”
Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise by The Dear Hunter – Image from Wikipedia
The soft moments of this album work better than ever before, evoking the emotions the main character is experiencing at the rather melancholic and sad beginning of the story. “At The End Of The Earth” is a perfect example of this connection between the sound and the lyrics and one of my favourite moments in Act IV. Orchestral arrangements have also been of common occurrence in the acts arch. However, never have they been so strong and inspired as they are in this album.
Another favorite moment for me was The Bitter Suite tracks, which are not only strong and fun songs on their own, but also serve as a main point advancing the plot in the grand picture of the story. The closing song “Ouroboros” is the only one that took me a while to warm up to, but once I understood what’s happening in the storyline it made more sense.
The way these albums, or acts, are written with such a strong storyline makes it impossible to discuss without getting into the main plot. I would have to write an essay to describe the entire four acts, but this user in the link below has done such a good job, you are better off reading it there:
One fascinating fact about Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise is that it deals with a character returning to a familiar place after years away. After taking his dead half-bother’s identity (rebirth), he returns to the place he ran away from (reprise). In a way, the “Rebirth in Reprise” title applies not only to the album but also to the band. In the six years since they wrote Act III, The Dear Hunter have evolved as musicians, exploring new sounds, and now they return to continue their exploration of this story. It’s very interesting parallel.
Overall, this album combines the ambitiousness of the 2nd act, with the stronger tone of the 3rd act. Regardless of whether you have followed the storyline or not, Act IV is an album you deserve to listen this year. This “Indie Prog-Rock Opera” is ambitious, bold, cohesive, and simply fun to experience. Of the albums I’ve heard in 2015, Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise is a serious contender to dethrone Steven Wilson’s Hand. Cannot. Erase as my album of the year.
Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik finally made it to my “Currently Reading” list. Generally regarded as a quintessential of SEM, my colleague Hristo Vasillev described it as the “Must-read to really get into digital performance book” in his top marketing books to read blog post. As I made my way through the first chapter, I decided to do short blog posts about the main takeaways and highlights I get from every chapter.
Chapter 1
When I started in the industry, I heard one of my favourite SEM quotes at a panel. When asked about the abundance of data, the panellist said: “having too much data isn’t the problem. We have too many metrics and we get lost in them wasting resources in measuring the wrong things”. Chapter 1 addresses this sentiment. SEM has provided marketers with all the data dreamed just a few years back. And yet, more data has not resulted in richer insights.
Avinash introduces the clever acronym HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) to describe why many online strategies fail, as decision makers are sometimes removed from actual online spectrum, thus resulting in opition-based decisions. Rather than relying in opinions, marketers should take advantage of the low cost opportunities of SEM and continuously test out new things. These learning, combined with data such as traffic, outcome, and competitive data will allow you to make richer and actionable insights.
My main takeaway: clicks and outcomes data are important but they don’t paint the entire picture needed to make the best business decisions. Test & learn, listen to your customers, and keep an eye on the competition. Only then you will be truly capable of having truly significant insights.
Four years after the release of “Iconoclast” Symphony X returns with yet another inspired record. Similar to their previous effort, “Underworld” is a themed album. This time inspired by Dante’s Inferno, and Orpheus In The Underworld.
Underworld By Symphony X – Image taken from Wikipedia
There’s no way around it, this is Symphony X’s darkest and heaviest album to date. Right off the bat the Overture serves as a prelude of what’s to come: heavy riffs and subtle symphonic elements that accentuate the songs rather than distract from them. Underworld is also one of the most cohesive albums from the band’s catalogue. It flows so well that you want to listen to it from beginning to end.
While the entire band shines with a solid performance, Underworld is the Michael Romeo show. The guitar work on this album is incredibly good with possibly the nastiest riffs he’s ever written. The one at the 0:45 second mark on the title song Underworld, the one at 3:20 on the song Run With The Devil, or the entire work on Kiss of Fire are good example of just filthy riffs. I love it!
In terms of highlights, the song Run With The Devil is one of my favourites. The 3 headed solo from Romeo with a little call back to the one found in Nevermore is nothing but amazing. Also, the contrast of heavy riffs and softer range vocals work very well and it is a bit of a throwback to the sound of the Divine Wings of Tragedy era. Having said that, this is perhaps the album where the heavier tone Allen Russell has been using since Paradise Lost works the best.
Legend is another highlight of the album and yet another amazing closer. Not as heavy as other tracks, it has a more progressive, and melodic feel to it. This is one where the keyboard gets to shine a bit more. If there’s one thing I’m missing from this album is a stronger presence of keyboards. Nevertheless, it is a great way to end a great album.
I can go on and on about highlights but then I’d be writing about every song. Overall, Underworld is the band’s darkest and heaviest album to date. And yet, it is the one where they found the balance between their pre and post Paradise Lost sound. While I really like Iconoclast, this one feels like a better album and definitely one of my favourites of 2015.
Next to None is a teenage progressive metal band thathas been described as a mix of Slipknot & Dream Theater. While this is true, they managed to balance those influences with their own style. Their progressive side is a musical exercise of imagination and where I think they really shine; while their rather aggressive style signified in their nasty riffs and scream vocals drives the energy on the album and help them humanize their technical instrumental skills.
The Album
A Light In The Dark by Next To None – Taken from nexttonone.net
A Light in The Dark is an irreverent album even by progressive rock standards. These kids are not playing by anybody’s rules. This is the case of a band that understood they have nothing to lose so they went all-in; and it worked. The opening track “The Edge of Sanity” is the perfect example of that. Time signature changes, screams, video games references, rag-time keyboards, all happening in less than 10 minutes. This is a giant middle finger to anybody that expects songs to follow any rule; and I couldn’t be happier about that.
Another highlight of the album is the song “Control”. This is the song that takes it to a different level. The middle section is prog-metal at its best with passages very reminiscent of Dream Theater; and when you think the song returns to a rather “normal” state, it goes back to prog world with a very groovy bass line. The creativity and skills it takes to write such song is impressive on its own; and then you realize these guys are not even in their 20s yet.
And if this wasn’t prog enough, there’s an underlying musical and lyrical concept throughout different songs on the album. It’s a dark story that explores the psyche of a murderer. From recurring lyrics, to the ambient driven arrangements on the song “Legacy”, the band was able to create a cohesive story that makes you want to find out more about it.
Next to None has the all elements to become a flag of the progressive metal scene in the coming future. For most bands this would have been a good debut album, but to write music with such maturity and ambition as teenagers takes this album to a different level. The screaming vocals are likely to be a turn off for some listeners; but I think they work for the most part especially in the context of the story they are telling.
A light In The Dark has been in constant rotation since I first listened to it and with every listen I find new things I like about it. This is what a progressive album should make you feel. I’m really curious to see what this band can write in the coming years as they continue to mature. You can sense they are onto something special. Prog on
To win a treble in European football is to achieve perfection. Winning the league title, the domestic cup, and the Champions League in one season is something only 6 teams in history have done. To do this twice in less than 10 years is to carve your own legend in the history books and elevate your team to a level no other team can match. It’s easy to overlook the impact of what F.C Barcelona has achieved by pulling the perfect season for the second time. There’s a reason no other team had done it, ever.
The Two Faces of Perfection
First Team To Win 2 Trebles – Photo by Neogol.com
When Pep Guardiola led the team to first the treble, it was different from the way Luis Enrique did it this year. Guardiola’s team was like a symphony where every movement was well paced and meticulously planned; where goals were more of a cathartic release after a crescendo of passing and possession. Dominating the entire game in favour of the spectacle offered to the public was just as important as the final score.
Luis Enrique’s team is more like a jazz composition that combines beautiful melodies with room for improvisation. With Neymar & Suarez accompanying Lionel Messi, F.C Barcelona has been able to maintain their passing game while adding one of the fastest and more effective counter attacks in the world to their offering.
Both approaches worked and while purists of the Guardiola style may frown at the risks that this team takes, the core principles remain the same. Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Rijkaard, Rexach, Van Gaal, all these Barcelona coaches continued the style established by Johan Cruyff in 1990. Each with their own flare, but with a similar style. No, it is no coincidence that Barcelona has won 5 champions leagues in 23 years.
Messi: the common element
5 Champions Leagues in the last 23 years of which 4 came in the last decade. Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, and Frank Rijkaard to a lesser extend shared one common element: Lionel Messi. I’ve said it before: he is the differentiator. The club has built a team tailored to the Argentinian so he can lead the way to victory. Unfair to other players like Xavi, Iniesta, Valdes, Pique, Eto’o, Villa, Suarez, Bravo, Ter Stegen, and many others? Absolutely, they were all crucial to the success of the team at specific times. But Lionel is on a different league of his own. Whatever role he assumes in the team he becomes the best. It’s not about the goals scored (which have been crucial) but the fact that he makes his teammates even better.
My parents always said with pride that they watched Maradona in his prime and for the longest time I felt jealousy. Not anymore, I can say that I watched Lionel Messi; the player that changed the balance of Spanish football in a way that will be talked about for ages to come. Oh, and he’s only 27 years old. The future is now.
Messi’s dynasty in the Spanish league continues as he led the team to its 5th league title in the last 7 years. It seems rather unfair to single the Argentinian out as the main responsible for the team’s success; especially when considering other important players like Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Neymar, Suarez, Alba, Bravo and more.
But this is Messi’s team. When the genius who wears the number 10 on his back is in top form he takes things to a different level no other player in the world can. Whether it is by dribbling his way to the net, or by imagining the pass mortals will take two extra seconds to even think about, Messi leads the way. He’s the differentiator and the main responsible for the club’s success in recent years.
La Liga: a tribute to consistency
La Liga 14-15 Champions. Photo by David Ramos
I love league tournaments, and to me they are the most important title of the year. League competitions reward consistency while minimizing chance as much as possible. Yes, luck is still an important element of the game but throughout 38 rounds it goes both ways. One day you hit the post, the other your rival does. La Liga is less likely to be decided by a last minute goal in added time.
F.C Barcelona won La Liga by doing two things right. First, they made sure to face the last 10 matches with enough points to be in the contention for title. I’ve said before that La Liga is truly disputed in the last 10 matches of the season but teams must be consistent during those prior 28 games as well. Second, they defeated every direct competitor; at the moments that it matters the most, this team counted games by victories. Real Madrid, Atletico, Valencia & Sevilla can look at the new champions and say there were bested.
The Barcelona Era
When you look at the 23 league trophies Barcelona has in their museum, it is easy to overlook this interesting fact: 13 of those came after 1990. That means that 52% of the league titles disputed over the last 25 years have gone to the Catalan team. Yes, we are lucky to live in the Messi dynasty. But this more than Messi, this is F.C Barcelona time.
This is no coincidence. These are the results of a club that established and committed to one idea brought to them by Johan Cruyff back 1990. Every coach that has trained the team for the past 25 years had his own flair but the core idea stayed the same. This has provided the club not only competitive success shown by the 13 league titles and 3 champions league, and 5 Copas del Rey won; but also institutional direction at the moments of trouble when not everything is clear.
In short, the most consistent player named Messi, has lead a consistent club named F.C Barcelona to yet another league title that rewards precisely that: consistency. Chapeau!
Sweet Elation 