Visions

Haken is a strong contender in the latest wave of prog bands often refered by it's fans as the Dream Theater of the future. While not being the heaviest or fastest, Haken on the other hand showcases, very complex, intricate and probably some of the most elegant and cultural music that I know. They are like a quality check service that simply wants to see every element perfectly fitted into place, and they definitely have that done here, on this release.


Visions is the second album, just a year from Aquarius, and my personal favourite in the band's discography. It is a concept album with mind-bending story and mind-bending music that will send you on a journey through time musically and lyrically, encorporating space age electronic and progressive elements alongside classic jazz and blues tunes. More riff oriented than the first album, "Visions" has some heavier sprinkles than it's predecessor especially on songs like Portal or Shapeshifter. Solos and leads are technical, elaborate yet very fluid and cohesive. In the same way, the entire album is amazingly complicated but it goes from one idea to the next without you even noticing. The album is full of leads on both guitars, keyboards and even bass, varying from technical sections, to softer and slower leads, and showing powerful jazz and blues influences. Keys are also quite bipolar, playing both bluesy piano harmonies as well as a wide range of effects and digital sounds, giving the album a more fuzzy and electronic vibe. Bass is very prominent and punchy, switching from a great background instrument that builds a strong foundation for the solos, to it's own melodic entity, throwing some jaw dropping runs and arpeggios, leaving everything wobbly and insecure. The bass on this album shows what is probably the most mathematical and precise attitude towards an instrument that I have ever seen (see the verses of Insomnia). Now drumming hardly gets any attention under the shower of intricate melodies but if you will focus on it, you will hear that it's just as complex as everything else and works like an industrial super glue that holds together all the huge and heavy bits of a structure.

So instrumentally, you get just enough musical genius to fry your brain, and while it may seem at first like Visions was designed to do just that, you'll soon learn... that it wasn't. It was designed to absolutely cream it, because on top of all that super-evolved progressive wisdom, there's a super evolved progressive concept. As the title might suggest, the album speaks of a boy who has... well a vision, of the day when he will be killed and spends a lifetime trying to avoid the moment, when it will happen. Now if that wasn't enough, the creative brain waves of lead singer Ross Jennings, who is responsible for the lyrics allow him to play with this idea even more throwing philosophies and debates on the subject of deja-vu, dreams and even the existence of life (see the beginning of the title track). And even beyond this, the ending of the story brings what by now I'm sure will not surprise you at all... a surprising twist. Now while I don't want to tell you what the unnexpected twist is so I'd let you discover it yourself, you might hate me for it, because the lyrics are so ambiguous that it will be an eternity till you get it (or you can Google it). And the voice of Ross, sending these ideas to the listener is one of the softest and melodic ones that I have heard in metal. He shows lots of falsettos, only clean singing and lots of effects digitalizing the voice in some moments where it's appropriate.

However, before I send literally everyone running away screaming from all my rant of complicated brain squeezing intricacies, I do hope you're still here to read what all those elements achieve in terms of customer satisfaction. While Haken are quite simply musical scientists, their music isn't just a science lesson, and creates some truly disturbing and emotion stirring atmospheres. The point is that this album is still strongly emotional, even if it's expressed elegantly and with lots of "easing into it" to get to a point. Relating to the concept, the vibe of the music is quite numbing and unsettling at times, making you feel like you're stuck in a time loop. The song Deathless expresses this best, and it's one of my favourites on the record. Up to the point where one is trying to commit suicide, just to get out of a repetitive endless nothingness but not being able to do it, as the lyrics describe, the weight of this song is so heavy that you really feel it that way. Nocturnal Conspiracy has some similar stuff towards the end as well. On the other side, there are lots of energetic melodies, with even a good portion of uplifting vibes on the likes of The Mind's Eye or the title track, that actually encorporates a bit of everything on the album.

This record has a bit of everything. It has endless musical variety and stand-out tracks and an amazing concept. It is cohesive at it's very core and I find the use of endless reprises in it to be a really clever way to express the idea of a vision in the future. With that being said, you can see why the first track, titled Premonition, brings an instrumental collection of melodies from across the album, a lot like an overture. The sound mixing of this masterpiece ia amazing too, balancing out all melodies, to a perfect harmony. Only the cymbals sound a bit off in some places but overall, the sound department is a success and a very big thumbs up for Haken, to achieve such clear sound while still being such a young band. This album is the definition of balancing things out, because keeping everything going on under control is quite a task and every musician here has a part in that. But I would like to give a special shout out to Ray Hearne for being the rollcage that keeps the entire structure from falling apart.

I believe we have it cleared now, that Visions is a complete album on all sides, and it quite simply is worth your time. Past this point, there is only talk of taste, because it's not that hard to see how this would not be someone's cup of tea. But if you like progressive music and especially if you like Dream Theater, Haken will delight your taste for complex music in a way that no other band does. If you're just interested in new and original music, it is again, a perfect match for you, and really for any curious mind out there. The new Dream Theater I believe has proven to be a worthy succesor to the legend left by it's predecessor and I trust this band to take the world of prog into the future at blistering speeds. And at the very end, I also trust you to give yourself some time to check Haken's music. And I do hope you like it, because I bloody well do!

Enjoy!

When I first heard "Aquarius," I was not impressed. After the millionth listen, I was in love. You could call me a fanboy, or one of those annoying dudes mindlessly infiltrating message boards all over the internet, telling you, your friends, and even your dog to listen to Haken; that is a crime in which I am guilty. Lock me up and throw away the key. I waited and waited and waited for a follow-up to "Aquarius," and it didn't disappoint. Hell, "Visions" might even surpass the record with its magical essence, but that's not a worthwhile deliberation. However, "Visions" progresses the transcendental songwriting and instrumental mastery of Haken's debut into a new frontier of brilliance, and it only goes to show that Haken is no one-trick pony. Instead, they've maintained the consistency of their debut and added a handful of new tints to their agenda which shine beyond what the human eye can see.

"Visions" generally sounds like a continuation of "Aquarius," but it again goes beyond the spectrum of sight, if you will. For one, the focus on keyboard melodies and situations seems to have been reduced, instead utilizing a guitar-driven approach that focuses more so on sturdy riffs and guitar work. Even the basic craziness of "Aquarius" seems to have been cut a bit, perhaps traded for a song-driven album that isn't loaded with unpredictable themes or such a deep touch of insanity. “Visions” overall has less to do with the wacky instruments and keyboard postulates featured throughout “Aquarius” anthems like “Celestial Elixir,” but it is undeniably the same group of musicians subpoenaing superb music.

And why does it work so well? Well, the dudes of Haken are incredibly cohesive and flexible as songwriters. They manage to add fantastic guitar work and hooking choruses into perplexing anthems like the versatile "Shapeshifter" with so much power that I'm sure Mike Portnoy would piss himself. Haken can basically compose these deep, multi-layered tunes that weave through so many levels and ideas that there's really nothing the listener can do but gawk at the sheer dominance they display on the musical end. Granted, the monolithic title track is certainly the most "progressive" song on the album, and there are masterful sections popping up on such a dazzling scale that it may be the finest thing these Brits have ever created. Overall, the bass work rules, the keys are magical, the guitar work jaw-dropping, and Ross Jennings sounds just as excellent as he did on "Aquarius," thankfully.

As I said, the toned-down songwriting pays off, with huge hits like the record’s three-hit combo of "The Mind's Eye," the instrumental "Portals," and the breathtaking “Shapeshifter," just a sample of what makes "Visions" a total smash of an album. And again, there so many exemplary factors that shape Haken’s soul that no review or reviewer could plausibly describe the band in a few paragraphs. And as you see, I have no quarrel with “Visions” on any level, and much like its older brother, I’ve come to truly treasure the sheer ability and prose that flows like blood within the veins of Haken. “Visions” is something more than an album, like a journey through tales of dark premonitions and the understanding of fate, instrumentally provoked and matched into an hour of unbelievable power. There is nothing about Haken that isn’t absolutely fascinating, and you are totally missing out on progressive metal’s next legend if you aren’t meeting eye-to-eye with the magical “Visions.”

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

Although I tend to listen to alot of new albums and bands, there are admittedly few that really stick with me. There are legions of bands out there that I have some measure of respect for, but only a few that still resonate with me long after I discover them. It is rare that I find more than a few bands each year that I really get excited about, and last year, Haken was the newcomer that really took my attention by storm. With nothing more than a debut to steal my heart, I was eagerly anticipating to see where this band would go, and now consider the debut 'Aquarius' to be a modern classic of progressive metal. Now, a band coming out with a sophomore the year right after taking their first big steps is pretty unheard of in the music industry nowadays, but when I heard that Haken were coming out with a 2011 follow-up, I got pretty eager to hear what they were cooking up, expecting nothing less than a second serving of gold. Haken's second album 'Visions' is a very appropriate sophomore after 'Aquarius'. Their sound is a little more distinct, a tad more mature, and just as impressive as the debut. With 'Visions', Haken has proven that they are far from a one-album wonder, and indeed have a very promising future ahead of them.

Musically, little has changed from 'Aquarius'. The band still plays a style of technically accomplished, stirring blend of Dream Theater-inspired prog metal, with each member achieving technical perfection. What has always set this band apart however is their wonderful draw for melodies and emotion in the music, something that much progressive metal seems to lose in favour of complexity. Like 'Aquarius', 'Visions' is a complex concept album, a meticulous album that gives the listener every sign that the band is attempting to make a masterpiece. And indeed, one thing that Haken has had down from square one is the craft of album-making. On 'Visions', we hear a theatrical spectacle of progressive metal that goes from bombastic technical metal to inspiring passages of heartfelt prog rock. A new emphasis in Haken's sound are recurring motifs, or ideas throughout the album; dramatic themes to get the feelings in the story across.

The concept of 'Aquarius' was revolved around mermaids and wanting to become one with the fish-people, or something. To be honest, I was never attracted much to the concept that tied together Haken's debut, and that is no different for 'Visions'. The narrative of Haken's music has always been its weakest aspect, and although 'Visions' does seem to take a more mature step in its storytelling, this is still no 'Operation: Mindcrime' or 'The Human Equation', conceptually. From what I can tell, this album tells the story of a character who is psychic, and I'm almost certain that people die in it, and I think the dramatic tension here revolves around the character trying to change the future. It's not a bad story, and it works well for prog rock, but its certainly not a tale of such originality to inspire much in a listener besides glancing through the album booklet a few times.

While the lyrics are certainly not the greatest, the singer who delivers them is excellent. Ross Jennings has a very distinctive timbre to his voice, and I think he is a very definitive part of Haken's sound. Especially when it comes to the more mellow parts of the album (being the latter half of 'Nocturnal Conspiracy', or the beautiful track 'Deathless') he sings these gorgeous melodic lines that have me going back again and again to it. Instrumentally, Haken is top-notch, always interesting, playing loops around people twice their age. A gripe I would still have with 'Visions' is one I had moreso with 'Aquarius'; although Haken plays their music to absolute perfection, the style feels too derived from the music of Dream Theater, and there are even moments in the technical instrumental sections where I felt as if I could almost pinpoint the Dream Theater song that inspired them to write a riff. With this being their second album though, I do notice aspects of their sound that are uniquely theirs; the vocals being first and foremost, but also a very epic depth to their keyboards. Reaching their peak with the grand title track of this album, Haken proves that even if they haven't yet established themselves aside from the unfortunate 'Dream Theater clone' label, they are still making music that is both astounding in its sense of beauty and intelligence, and for what small flaws that are here, I would not hesitate in saying that Haken have made another killer record with 'Visions'.