As the title says, this thread is for community discussion on the critically-acclaimed and #1 Prog Album of the Year in multiple standards, Visions. Haken's second album, the main challenge for this album was simple; to top 'Aquarius', the mind-blowing (said in Jack Black's voice) debut progressive metal album.

I want to congratulate Every member of the band, personally. Ross, Ray, Tom, Diego, Charles, Richard, you guys have taken the whole scene by surprise and blown even the progressive giants, Dream Theater, out of the water with this album (Yes, I'm a local "#1 Dream Theater Fanboy", but there's no denying this album is superior to ADToE) I've been supporting you guys since before the release of Aquarius, and I look forward to the incredibly bright future you guys have ahead.

NOW, ON A RELATED NOTE, I'm almost disappointed in the lack of death growls in Visions. I rather enjoyed them, they added a cool twist to some of the songs. Gave you a segment to look at your friends and go, "HOLY SHIT". (Considering prog fans actually have friends)

My favorite song on the album is, by far, The Mind's Eye, and the two songs it leads into (Portals, Shapeshifter) are truly great as well. The Mind's Eye gives me the vibe consisting of Opeth, Dream Theater and Haken's original edge, and it's just an overall incredible song.

The self-titled track, Visions... There are no words to properly explain this song that would be worthy of what it depicts. The entire song, start to end, is a pleasant masterpiece, and a wonderful conclusion to the album.

Have heard RAVE reviews for Haken's second album Visions.If people are saying its better than Dream Theaters ADTOE then i can not wait for it to pop through my door any day now.Aquarius stunned me by its sheer quality in both song writing and individual performances,and doubted it would be supassed...and im looking forward to being proved wrong.

It's a great album.

It's the first album since Dream Theaters "Scenes from a Memory" and Spock's Beards "Snow" that's had me listen straight through without wanting to miss a single note.

While the whole album is fantastic, special mention goes to "Nocturnal Conspiracy" "Deathless" and "Visions"

Deathless is just pure ear sex.

It's absolutely amazing. 'Aquarius' was my most-played record of 2010, even though I got it relatively late (I listened to it multiple times a day on some occasions) and for a long time, was my most-played album of 2011 as well. With 'Visions' this band has really outdone themselves. For begin to end, this album is a great, brilliant, musical ride and if I had the right to do so, I'd call it a masterpiece.

AOTY 2011 for me (Yes, better than A Dramatic Turn of Events, both Devin Townsend albums, Heritage, Iconoclast etc.). This band continues to grow and one day, they will be unstoppable in the prog scene. In the meantime I can only recommend them to as many people as possible.

Visions is another masterpiece by Haken, but I personally prefer Aquarius, if only by a very narrow margin.

I did love Aquarius, but Visions is just a composition masterpiece. The fact they were able to even make an album as good as Aquarius, yet alone better in some people's eyes... True musicians, they're gonna go far.

Just recieved my copy of Visions.....unbelievable.What a fantastic album..and yes..it does supass Aquarius.Love the title track Visions,but my favourite has to be the awesome instrumental Portals...a cross between Dream Theater,Frost* and It Bites....eat your heart out Dream Theater..this is the instrumental you should have written.These guys are heading for high places in the prog world...and i shall be following them all the way.

Thanks so much guys. The feedback we've been getting for Visions has greatly exceeded our expectations. The 2nd album nerves have definitely been kicking in over the past few days, so it's a massive relief that something we put so much into can be so enjoyed by others.

You're very welcome. The high praise is much deserved.

Thanks for making such a great album!

Thanks so much for your kind words guys.

You're very welcome! Glad we could stimulate some of those nerves that have built up; Post-traumatic release ( ) aside, it truly is a fantastic album. Good job with everything; The production, instruments, Ross sounds really good, and you added that obligatory self-titled epic at the end! Good stuff.

Just signed up to say to the band:

I've found both of your albums to be really inspiring stuff. I've been struggling to get my own ideas down, and watching you guys pull these ridiculously together albums out as a young band together is so great to see.

It's not as simple as just the technical accomplishment of the style (which is impressive in it's own right), it's the way it's put together so musically with a bigger picture. I'm a bit of a latecomer so hopefully I'll see you guys at a gig sometime soon!

Kyle - Thanks a lot. You're right, Christian has certainly done a stellar job with the mixing! He's managed to create the depth and warmth we were striving for.

Cain - Thanks for your post. It's very heartwarming to know our music is inspiring others, it makes this whole journey worthwhile. Good luck with your own project, I'm sure if you persevere it'll all come together soon.

Hope to meet you both at a gig soon!

Just back from a real treat. The live debut of the 22 minute sonic beauty that is VISIONS. It was amazing - HAKEN delivered - it was jaw dropping. A beautifully played 30 minute set of - Premonition, Insomnia and Visions.

They kept the energy and pace of the music strong and emotional from the start without lots of pointless chit chat between songs that you get from a lot of bands.

It was all about the music and they stormed through a very confident, muscular, up front performance. We did get the immortal words of Ross, to introduce VISIONS, 'We've got twenty minutes left so time for one more.'

The band were introduced on stage by Jerry Ewing, editor of CRPP, so hopefully there will be a review in issue 22.

I've just had to burn a few new CD's for the car (iPod interface is broken ) and I've just listened to Aquarius and Visions back-to-back (I drive a lot of kilometers for work).

Visions is a better album, nicely constructed, beautifully arranged - but no part or either album for me gives me the shivers quite like the third chorus of Celestial Elixir. For me, that's still the best 30 seconds of both albums.