THE CRUSADE OF EPICS: Results -> A Change Of Seasons wins!

Both of these tracks are firmly in “effective birth control” territory, for sure.

The Haken track was enjoyable. I liked the retro synths and drums, and there was a nice progression through the song. The layered vocal harmony section toward the middle and the harmonized synth interlude later on were particular highlights for me. And it rocks, which is always a plus.

I determined quite some time ago that Yes just isn’t my jam. The high-pitched vocals and the weird melodic and harmonic choices never really jibed with me, and they can sometimes go down a very sedate rabbit hole for a while, which can get boring. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I literally fell asleep during an earlier section of this song, which was a first for me. There were some nice dynamics and textures in parts of this song, but it didn’t really do much for me, and the abrupt change in direction around the 14 minute mark felt really clumsy.

Sorry, @Midnight, but “I snooze, you lose”. Moshwick21.5’s nominee takes this one. Winner: Haken
 
I listened to the Yes song first, and my impressions were that it sounded like a Dream Theater instrumental section but without the bite. It was a little too directionless for me. On the other hand, it took me 30 seconds of Haken to know who I was voting for. I'm a production whore, but that isn't the whole story - this song kept me engaged from start to finish. I don't know most of Haken's discography - my favorite song of theirs is like 20 minutes long and called Crystalized, and I hope it's part of this game. I also remember liking a song about cockroaches.

Haken is interesting. They're a bit too "modern prog" for me at times (too proggy, not enough metal), but this song was cool. Yes is... solid. But this song was too noodly for me.
 
1985 is great. A fun, retro prog tune that's not overly cheesy and doesn't wear out its welcome. The synths at 5:46 sounds like it came straight from a Sonic the Hedgehog game. I love it.
 
1984 could very well be my favorite Haken song. Close to the Edge could be my favorite Yes song. Went for the young blood (and my nomination).
 
Detective Beauregard said:
@Mosh (and other Haken fans) - Which Haken album should I dive into first? Which is the most likely to make me a believer? I need something new.
Click to expand...
Hey @Detective Beauregard Recently I've discovered Haken and I started from the beginning…their first album called 'Aquarius' (2010) I really enjoyed listening that album. 'The Mountain' is another awesome album and the last two 'Vector' and 'Virus' have a common theme about mental health. They are amazing albums. I hope you enjoy.
 
The first two albums are super proggy, a little rough, and pretty zany. They’re fun albums but the band definitely hasn’t developed as writers. If you like long songs with epic choruses and over the top instrumental sections, check them out. If not maybe save it for later.

The Mountain is my personal favorite. They took deliberate steps to refine their songwriting and make the music more direct. There are still a lot of extended instrumental parts, but they feel a lot more coherent and earned. The production is also a lot better and the sound in general is very cohesive.

Affinity is my least favorite but it still has a lot of merit. With that album, it seemed like they were trying for being even more song oriented, more experimental with the sounds being used, and taking influences that are less typical in prog. There’s stuff on there that reminds me of EDM as well as artists like Coldplay and Radiohead. 1985 has a lot of prog shredding obviously and there are a couple songs like that, but a lot of the songs are surprisingly restrained.

Vector and Virus are of the same ilk, they were written together and share a lot of thematic and musical traits. They’re easily the heaviest albums the band has made, especially Virus. I haven’t spent as much time with them but I have really enjoyed them when I put them on. Vector might be their best album from a technical standpoint. It’s heavy, the songs are really well crafted, the production is great. Some really good melodic stuff. It’s also a lot shorter than their other albums and is pretty accessible. It’s probably a good start, but it also clearly represents a new direction for the band and isn’t entirely characteristic of their previous work. Haven’t spent enough time with Virus to say anything other than if you like Vector definitely get Virus next.
 
Haken are well produced and enjoyable to listen to, but also completely forgettable. This song is best one I've heard from them though. Always felt that they sounded dry af, for lack of a better word. Vocals in particular are totally bland.

Still, they are not Yes, so they get my vote. I am sick to death of Yes in every friggin' game. Just NO.
 
Yep, they use so many changes and repetitive patterns that only them are available to remember the songs (they have a lot of over 15 min. songs) but well, that's prog at the end of the day, isn't it?

And they are technically perfect like The Ocean guys
 
They have only four songs that are over 15 (5 if you count the Messiah Complex on the recent album as one track, even though they broke it up).

They definitely have long songs but one of the notable things about the band is that they’ve also paid a lot of attention to the shorter material and at least try to not be a total prog cliche.
 
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Results of Round 26:
Yes - Close To The Edge
Haken - 1985

Dream Theater - Misunderstood (Nominated by @Saapanael)
vs.
Dream Theater - Scarred (Nominated by @The Flash, @Mosh)
 
Misunderstood is a really great song, but no contest here. Scarred is one of my top DT songs.
 
Wow - two songs I don't even have to listen to before I make my selection! I know them both like the back of me hand!

Misunderstood is solid, but it's the second-weakest song on the first disk of Six Degrees. I'm giving it an edge over Disappear because it's at least a consistent (if not dreary and drawn-out) listen compared to a song where the only worthwhile section appears after 4 and a half minutes of boring Radiohead worship. In Disappear's defense, that section is one of the most moving things I've ever heard.

Scarred is tied with about seven other songs for my favorite from Awake. It's proggy, mysterious, heavy... it really covers a lot of bases. It also features some absolutely killer bass from Mr. Myung.

Possibly unpopular but unrelated opinion: I find the second disk of Six Degrees (the title track) to be a massive drop in quality from the first. The Glass Prison and Blind Faith are two of my favorite songs by the band, and The Great Debate mixes Tool influences with lyrics that to me, as a scientist, are a lot deeper than most bands would ever pen. There's parts of the title track that I like, but they're too sparse and mixed in with too many happy-fun-time '70s prog influences and LaBrie imitating a pregnant woman. Yeah... no thanks.
 
“Misunderstood” has consistently strong melodic lines and works well as both a song and a journey. The extended instrumental outro is a slight nod to The Beatles’ “I Want You”, and it has a similar woozy effect, but it stands on its own two feet. A solid, coherent, and enjoyable song.

“Scarred” is a patchwork of moderately interesting and kind of boring vocal sections with some excellent instrumental passages weaved in. The extended interlude with the guitar solo is the best stretch of music between either of these songs, but most of the rest of the track feels a bit disjointed and struggles to hold my interest.

Not too thrilled with either of these tracks, but in the end I think one works better as a complete song. Sorry, The Flamosh, but I’m going with @Saapanael ‘s nominee here. Winner: Dream Theater - “Misunderstood”
 
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