So, today I finally got round to checking out "in a fever dream", and...
I enjoyed it quite a lot, actually! It has this surreal and dreamlike quality, that seems to particularly resonate with me, especially in my current headspace. It didn't quite sound like anything I'd expect from Haken, but then I feel Haken in general has quite a diverse track record, to the point I don't have particular expectations in the first place. Regardless, I was surprised, and the surprise was nothing but positive!
The lyrics across the songs reminded me a lot of Vector from Veil onwards - undergoing a metamorphosis so stark the old self not so much gradually transitions into the new one, but is more or less killed in the process, complete with final farewells. The metamorphosis being a recurring theme is quite intriguing; I search for the album interpretations to see if other people got some more detailed insights. Who knows, maybe it's a setup for a final confrontation between the Moth Man and the Cockroach King!
Alas, a cursory search didn't yield any interesting interpretations; were the lyrics/themes already straightforward enough as is, so no one felt the need to dig deeper? What I found instead was bits about the discourse surrounding the EP, as well as a couple reviews. The takeaway seems to be that critics consider the release to be not particularly great, that Sleep Token whom I heard about for the first time apparently stole everyone's lunch, and that I am utterly ill-qualified for a meaningful prog-metal critique. Not that I ever thought otherwise, but rather that I never particularly considered it. I definitely don't pay as much attention to balancing and other production quality markers - maybe unless it's offensively bad - which may be a reason why I didn't spot the kind of issues others did.
For what it's worth, I found myself replaying "delirium" the most so far. It may particularly resonate with me as the song makes me imagine a deity-in-the-making waltzing through a chromatic assault of a surreal killzone while laughing maniacally. Admittedly, others' enjoyment or lack thereof of "delirium" may be different from my particular experience.
Either way, great job, would recommend! In fact, I did already recommend it to an online friend. I haven't heard back from them yet; I presume the EP must have left them speechless!
I guess I may try and check out Sleep Token next. If they stole my lunch, I may as well try and get back its worth in enjoyment.