Classical Composer Reacts to Crystallised (Haken) | The Daily Doug (Episode 236) 

The story behind the gong is that the band told its fans that Portnoy would make an appearance and asked them to guess what he did. This likely generated a lot of interest in the EP. Both Portnoy and Jordan Rudess have been very active in helping to spread the word on Haken.

Haken has become my favorite band. Amazing. Visions is another brilliant song by them. Not to forget Celestial Elixir.

Thank You Scientist is definitely the next band you need to hear in your modern prog journey. I'd recommend Son of a Serpent.

This in one of my absolute favorite Haken songs. I can't imagine listening to this for the first time and being able to absorb it all. It takes multiple listens, and even after over 100, I feel like I still find new things. It's a true prog masterpiece.

I was lucky enough to support them with my band 5 years ago. It was the first time I’ve heard this song live and I was lucky there was no mosh pit, because my jaw would get stepped on as it was on the floor for 19 minutes. This song is great on the album but it’s even better live, they absolutely nail it.

I will never grow tired of Haken reactions. Definitely not enough of them on the interwebs

I have a guess that "Crystallised" is actually a "Crystallization" of the old demo "Snow" - meaning that they took the old themselves (unpolished band) and now as a shaped band, they took the old material and forged it to a fine gem (and excellent mix haha). Escaping the past by embracing the future...

Haken deserves all the reactions! Amazing band! Atlas Stone would be a musical trip as well!

You’re spot on with regard to Haken being ‘right in the middle’ of modern prog/metal and the more vintage prog. They blend the two worlds seamlessly. I love your channel, Doug. The breakdown of bands like Yes, Genesis, Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Spock’s Beard, Big big Train and now Haken is greatly appreciated! Cheers!

I loved this :) I try to draw attention to Caligula's Horse, another remarkable melodic progrock of our times. Cheers!

Celestial Elixir is what got me into Haken

From Opeth to Gentle Giant in a minute around 14:00. This is fantastic stuff! (And then Doug mentions it as I'm typing...)

Crystallised is like Haken's Octavarium. Not meaning they copied Dream Theater or anything but to me this is the biggest masterpiece Haken has ever produced. Perfection.

Haken is so amazing. I never heard a band more clean and tight.

Amazing video as always, thanks a lot, Doug! A bass player take on these weird time signatures around 5th minute when solos kick in, there are basically two patterns: The first one is 7/8 > 4/4 > 7/8 > 13/16 The second one is 4/4 > 7/8 > 7/8 > 13/16 In pattern #1 the 4/4 bar is actually more like a 7/16 + 9/16, because the 7-note riff on bass and second guitar repeats 3 times, and on the 4th iteration they add 2 more notes at the end. It can be written as 4/4, but it definetely feels like 7+9. Right after the keyboard solo the pattern changes to #2, it can be heard by listening to the downbeat 4/4 bar goes first, but this time it feels like 9/16+7/16, and then it goes to 7/8 > 7/8 > 13/16 When all the instruments leave and only bass and drums are left, they go back to pattern #1 until the end of the second guitar solo And when the heavy unison-riff kicks in, they switch to pattern #2 again, and the first bar is felt as 9/16+7/16 again

As long as music like this exists, I fail to see how or why anyone would listen to simplistic pop or country. It's mind-blowing and -boggling.

So "Visions" in the next Haken slot, please 🙂 Another epic piece.

I’m so excited! Asked so much for this one over the months! Glad you were able to fit it in to the long list.

I remember the first time hearing this song and hearing that last line, "escaping the past by embracing the future" and needing to pull my car over to weep for a bit because it was so restorative to hear it worded that way. They really nail the composition of change and growth. Excellent reaction/analysis.

They harnessed some Gentle Giant spirit in this tune. One of my favorite tracks of Haken's and can't wait to see you do more. Carousel, 1985, Puzzle Box are three extraordinary tracks of theirs...however, their albums really are worth an entire review.

Ha! I said “Nice!” simultaneously with you on that opening chord. These guys are excellent. What a beautiful and powerful piece! Who says you can’t groove hard in seven!?!

Oh man. I've waited all week for this one. I'm going to listen a few times and then give my interpretation on the lyrics. This song is one of my top 5 favorites of all time. By Haken this song and Celestial Elixir are neck and neck. Also, they nail this live if you can believe it.

That fragmented-sounding solo section... when my friend and I saw them live, during that section, they absolutely nailed it, and we were mouthing to each other "HOLY SHIT" the whole time. We were already fans before but that took us from "casual fan" to "super fan for life" territory. This is an absolute MASTERPIECE of a prog-metal tune, and definitely sits in my top 5 of all time. Thanks for doing this one, and I'm stoked that you enjoyed it as much as you did. I saw that grin at the a capella section, feels like that part was tailor-made for you :P

Never heard this band before. This song was so cool! Thanks for the introduction and reaction doug, love your channel!

I’m an absolute sucker for uplifting lyrics, vocal harmonies and vocal layering all while the band doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Take this as my opinion of the song, and probably not correct. As far as I know the band has not come out with their interpretation of the lyrics. The long song takes me on a journey through life. The person in question here is reminiscing on a time when we are innocent as children. We don’t have to worry about anything and just live. But as children we don’t see or shouldn’t see our parents struggles. “I feel your hand searching mine, Falling through time, I feel your love.” Parents are important to us and they try to hold on to our innocence for as long as possible. They are there to see us through until time passes that we reach adulthood and innocence is lost. His parents love are “Echoes of a childhood memory.” Then he grows up and has to deal with crap always reflecting on difficult or poor decisions made (Snow) and what joy (Sun) he once had. “If I could run away, Back to my innocent days.” Oh to be a child again. Then all of a sudden through time his youth returns. “Child is born again” “Joy and Respite on the faces of the children” The question is HOW did he experience this? “I feel the earth under my feet. SON by my side, I am complete, Pride fills my heart.” He became a father and is reliving his childhood through him. Then if given the choice he would “choose to live for today” or choose his son, instead of going back to right the wrong of the past. "I hold your hand, but you let go" I hold your hand is the parent holding on and the child lets go when he/she is ready. He realizes this is a way of life. “The moon will rise, the night will fall” is the passing of time. “Sun will shine” is good times. “Snow will thaw” is the passing of rough times. “All things must pass into the unknown” or the future. Then the last phrase is just face melting. “Escaping the past by embracing the future.” Escaping all that we did wrong by teaching our children who are our future. As a father, I see the lyrics this way. Doug as someone who recently lost his grandmother (May she rest in peace) with Dementia to Alzheimer's may see the song the way he did because that is fresh on his mind. Fascinating song that makes you think and kicks a little ass along the way.

Favourite reaction video. I've been exploring Haken but didn't get the chance to listen to this piece, so this it also my first listen. I'm grateful that you reacted to it. Astonished by this band.

Just caught the end of the live stream. I’m going to go back and listen from the beginning. This is a top-tier Haken track.

Fantastic reaction video. Great work, really intereting hearing you point out the 1, b3, 4 chords etc. Love it ❤

One of my sweetest teenage memories comes from mid 2007~2011. I remember being in a Facebook community where someone connected to the band was donating, yes, donating copies of a band's Demos cd (Enter the 5th Dimension) All you had to do was send the address via e-mail and receive the cd at home. And guess what, I received the CD at home, here in Brazil. I could hardly believe it. The pack also included autographed photos of the band, as well as promotional stickers for the upcoming "Visions" album. The song "Snow" was always my favorite. Cristalyzed managed to overcome what I felt when listening to Snow. A masterpiece!

This is such an awesome song. Probably the best Haken song? It took me ages to learn the Drums and there are still parts that I can't do cause they're just weird. The time signature of the "middle" bit is 7/8, 4/4(or 8/8), 7/8, 13/16. I think of it being in 7 and alternating being one measure longer and a half measure shorter. Thanks for doing this one Doug! Really enjoyed it!

Doug if you get a chance, listening to Haken and Mike Portnoy cover his 12 step suite would be a fantastic video. It’s live and they did it for his birthday several years ago. I think people would like to see the musicianship covering all of DT’s parts

As a fan of early 70’s prog, never thought I’d get into so-called “prog metal”. But the way Haken mix heavy guitar riffs, beautiful vocals (with no growling/ screaming) and melodic nods to 70’s prog is really impressive. I love their album “The Mountain.” Some of their later stuff is too heavy for me. but I’m glad I was introduced to Haken on Doug’s channel!

Another great reaction from this crazy great band. More Haken pleasee!! Btw, I noticed you've quoted SAVATAGE, so we are waiting for their 1st Doug reaction!! Chance, Hourglass, Edge of thorns, Believe, Mozart and madness, Gutter Ballet.... Are waiting there to be reacted to!! :)

What I appreciate about this song is the last few notes of the guitar in the final full band section. It's a great use of the lower range on their 8 string guitars, it's subtle but very effective.

God, you have heard me. I've been waiting for this moment. Masterpiece!! Thanks for your reaction. I hope many people listen this extraordinary song.

Great vid! Would love to hear some Seventh Wonder, it's Tommy Karevik's (from Kamelot and Ayreon) prog band. (the Great Escape)

Yay! Been hoping you’d check this out, I hope this gives you a different perspective on prog!

YAY! Haken are really bizarre and talented. So glad you're enjoying it, Doug! Regarding this song's lyrics, I think that the best song lyrics can be interpreted in multiple ways. It makes the content more accessible, and people find meaning in the strangest things.

This is awesome. My favorite album of theirs is Affinity, would you ever do a full album reaction/breakdown? Haken's albums tend to have constant exploration of related themes when it comes to the lyrics and the messages they convey, and they tie it together so well at the end. Anyway keep it up!

Unreal piece. Have been hoping you'd touch on this one forever

Love to see Doug enjoying shaken. They are a band that needs a lot more love and attention. Please do more reactions to them Doug.

OMG!!!! I've asked fir this song a couple of months ago!!!! Thank you SO MUCH, Doug!!! Haken lives!

So glad to see haken back on the channel. You’ve really got to try thank you scientist. A great song to listen to first is blood on the radio. I know you’ll love them. Crazy good musicians with really quirky and fun writing.

Absolutely beautiful and amazing song, thanks for the great reaction, you definitely should check out Visions, another longer piece of Haken's and an absolute banger!

I had no idea you'd revisited Haken more than a year ago! Thanks again, I learned a lot.

Ross Jenning introduced this piece as 'our best song" for the encore of the show I attended a few years ago (in one of the smallest rock venues in Paris, France - a kind of underground music heaven that hosts 400/500 peoples tops), and boy was he right. The crowd went nuts, it ended the night beautifully. I used to refer to Haken as "My Baby Dream Theater", but they grew into their own skin over time. It's my favorite Haken song, and your enthusiasm and commitment to understanding what is happening or what is being said is always wonderful to witness. Thank you so much !

Wilderun..Far From Where Dreams Unfurl

Fanrastic you give me at this moment the first impulsion ..i ll discover them now .very good peace of music and very good choice mister !

Doug, just listened to your interview with Sean on his youtube channel, via progressiveears- really nice!

And yes, Doug, they pull this off live! (That's some craftsmanship there...)

I definitely hear a Yes influence here. I'll be shopping for their music tonight.

Nice reaction Doug! You should listen to The Mountain. The whole album is a masterpiece!

Great stuff.. something I noticed was the lead section at 12:30 sounds very similar to the lead in Rush's Marathon, I wondered if that was a little homage. Also interesting is how later in the song (16:55) it starts going on an 8-string - it's played extremely well, not using it to just fill out with heaviness, but actually playing a melody line and that's really refreshing (yes, sounds cool!)

Please Celestial Elixir next, you'll be blown away!

Oh, I've come too late :-) Well, let's listen to it. This is my favorite Haken song! No need to go to bed :-) Another great pieces by Haken: Pareidolia, Puzzle Box, The Architect, Falling Back to Earth

yay! Thanks for doing this one. Awesome

Haken are epic a very underrated band 🇬🇧🤘

Thanks for this, I love so much this song :) In the future consider Hold Me In by Bent Knee Greetings from Mexico!

Fantastic Doug. I would also recommend Thank you scientist!

Thank you so much for this, Doug!!! Haken is amazing and they are all such genuinely kind humans. Next up I recommend Angel Of Salvation by Galneryus. The studio version. Japanese neoclassical prog metal. Super fun.

I'm so happy to see so many people in the live chat digging their first taste into Haken. This band just knows how to have fun.

This song is awesome!! I think you'd have a blast with "Carousel", from their last album!! Keep up with them vids! Cheers from Brazil

These guys are so special! If you’re feeling ambitious, you could do some videos where you go over their entire albums. Their latest release includes a set of songs called “Messiah Complex” and it tells a story, harking back to older songs and themes. I think you’d really like it, but in order to appreciate it fully you may want to listen to their whole discography.

This song always remind me of Christmas and snowfall. As I first listened to this song back in 2014 when it was released. Killer of a tune! You should check out some of their other epics, Celestial Elixir, Visions, The Architect, Bound By Gravity to name a few :)

One of my favorite Haken songs! Thank you so much for this reaction.

This was fantastically fun, please do more Haken! I recommend "Falling Back to Earth" or "Celestial Elixir".

Doug, you are the man. Have you reviewed the band Thank You Scientist? I would be cool to see your reaction to the song "Mr Invisible". I like more their studio version if you get into 😃

Although I know Haken for seven years already due to your reaction videos and Diego Tejeda in Devin Townsend's Empath tour band I start to fully appreciate their music.

I pop in every so often- mostly on older bands because I don’t know much about them and like to learn. But Haken is one of my favs. Been waiting for you to do this masterpiece! Thanks for sharing your insight and passion! Peace. Edit- I don’t listen to this often because it’s length and emotional aspect. But dang…what a song!

So excited for this one! One of my top epics of all time, and I was lucky enough to see it live a couple years ago. If you want some more fun prog like those middle sections, you should react to Moon Safari (amazing vocal harmonies) or Cheeto’s Magazine (lots of fun and weird stuff there)!

Ditto from yesterday and Wednesday!...definitely gonna check out this band out too!

Exactly Doug! There RIGHT in the middle! thats what I like about them. With the first two you think oh this is a very melodic and sometimes techincal band, and then The mountain came and I always thought that they were going to a more techincal path, just like DT did, but then this amazing EP came and the rest is history!

I LOVE Haken. Please do more Doug. So good.

I like the gentle giant references and some of the straight ahead prog although some parts are really over the top, it is a good mix of several musical influences from the 1970's, i guess you can't go wrong by creating music based on the most creative period of prog rock.

Sorry to get a little emotional here, but the way you get into it man..i love it! Love you

A reaction to Messiah Complex 1-5 from their Virus Album would be neat.

This is my ringtone. "Someone's calling, someone's calling me..."

So glad you did this! Crystallized is a Haken masterpiece!

Haken is a great band. I'm glad you enjoy it

Please do Haken - Visions. Hands down, a masterpiece.

From my understanding, the song is about the life, death, and rebirth of Nature through the seasons. It makes a lot of sense if you analyze the song in terms of it being divided into 5 sections - Starting in spring, moving to summer, then autumn which has an awesome section where all the notes have a downward moment to represent leaves falling off trees, and then to winter, and eventually back to spring where we started. It's SUCH a cool song, Haken has been my favorite band for a long, long time

This song always reminds me of the movie Interstellar, especially the "passages of time" part

I love Haken. So many great albums. Cheers, nice whisky. Ever tried Glen Morangie? The start of the song reminds me of Gentle Giant. And not only at the start 😋

Wow. This is fantastic! I am sadly negligent in my Haken knowledge. I'll have to fix that now.

For some Friday (when you do longer songs) I'd like to wish Agalloch - In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion. It's very atmospheric song that has one of the best build-ups I've ever heard. The whole song is so gloomy and it fits perfectly in the Spooky Season we've entered when October started. The musicianship is not in overly technical playing but in the composition, storytelling and setting up the atmosphere that holds up the whole track. Definitely a song worth checking out.

DOUG!! Love the channel! First time long time. DO INTRONAUT!!!!! PLEASE!!

For anyone that is interested. Doug reacted to the entire album The Mountain accessible via his Patreon. It is well worth a few dollars for the hour and a half reaction if you have the means.

This is a great tune, love the GG sound

Enter the 5th Dimension is a demo that will make you say: Wait. *that* was a demo??!!

Great song! Hey Doug, next time you want to enjoy The Macallan , you should listen to the studio version of Rush’s Natural Science. The Macallan was Neil Peart’s drink of choice.

20:01 Maybe the Crystallized memories are shattering? Crystalline patters do tend to be more prone to shattering.

My favorite Haken song EVER! And I Love their entire catalog.

Doug, before your brief hiatus we were looking forward to Riverside. How about "Second Life Syndrome" next Friday, Dude?

watch this song live was one of the best things of my life

yessss! and Visions, the L-1VE version please

Love Haken. Crystallized, Visions, The Architect. Great stuff. I enjoy your comments when interpreting the music and the lyrics. Haken has ventured into a more "djenty" direction lately. I hope they can retain their more "proggy" elements in the future. That really separates them out from the crowd.

This is the one Haken release I need on vinyl. Hope they reissue it someday!

Great video as always :) I don't know if you take requests, but one band I would love to see you do is Rishloo. Very underrated band with extremely creative lyrics and great sound. They are often compared to Tool, and while a obvious inspiration, they very much do their own thing. The song Landmines from the album 'Living as ghosts with buildings as teeth' is a fantastic song that showcases them very well.

This is the song that finally convinced my wife that Haken is as good as I keep telling her they are.

Great Song, great analysis. Would love to hear your reaction to Australian band Karnivool's song Dead Man. Cheers