I am very surprised not one of the "progheads" here have mentioned the debut release "Aquarius" from London based Haken. Of course their music uses the typical "prog" recipe that many others have copied - but so what - if it works, it works! They sound alot like To-Mera and Riverside...yeay!!!

Check out their link for some sample music!

http://www.myspace.com/hakenmusic

Yeah, great debut. It also reminded me of To-Mera at times (two To-Mera members play on this record), but more of Dream Theater, and sometimes Unexpect (if I remember this band well enough). Dologan mentioned them first in the Metalstorm 2010 suggestions thread; that's how I found out about them.

I haven't got fully into the album, but it's sure a great record worth checking out. Great music, skilled musicians. The part in the middle of "The Point of no Return" with guitar/synth/bass solos will blow your mind!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for the them at the Suggestions page

Written by K✞ulu on 30.08.2010 at 10:57

Yeah, great debut. It also reminded me of To-Mera at times (two To-Mera members play on this record), but more of Dream Theater, and sometimes Unexpect (if I remember this band well enough). Dologan mentioned them first in the Metalstorm 2010 suggestions thread; that's how I found out about them.

I haven't got fully into the album, but it's sure a great record worth checking out. Great music, skilled musicians. The part in the middle of "The Point of no Return" with guitar/synth/bass solos will blow your mind!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for the them at the Suggestions page

Hey, long time no see Ktulu! I know I can count on you to back me up on my musical tastes! Aquarius is really good stuff. I'll need 4-5 more thorough listens to soak it all in! BTW, love your avatar!! (check out my profile and only metal list if you haven't already!)

I have listened to this but I was unimpressed; maybe i should give it one more chance in the future.

Another potentially good band ruined by another terrible vocalist...

Definitely a decent band...kinda neo here and there....impressive musicianship...I don't like the vocals all that much...still a decent band with a lot of potential...

I took me less than I thought it would to absolutely fall in love with Aquarius.

Bad vocals? I don't get it... Do you mean like James LaBrie bad?

I love the vocalist. I also wonder whether he is the one who does growls as well because they are really impressive.

James Labrie is a bad vocalist? You cannot compare this dude to Labrie...

Written by Guest on 06.09.2010 at 02:17

James Labrie is a bad vocalist? You cannot compare this dude to Labrie...

LaBrie often gets annoying; this guy doesn't, although he is a bit similar to LaBrie.

I rediscovered this band in the last few weeks and am surprised about how I like them a lot more now than I recently did...

The musicianship is off the charts, the production of the record is flawless, here's to hoping to see them in Atlanta in '11

Oh fuck man, if they EVER were in Atlanta...I would for sure make it a point to get down there from Canada to see them! I seriously cannot stop listening to their debut album!

Written by Guest on 01.10.2010 at 03:38

Oh fuck man, if they EVER were in Atlanta...I would for sure make it a point to get down there from Canada to see them! I seriously cannot stop listening to their debut album!

They are coming to Atlanta - the ProgPower tour, news was posted a few days ago...check it out!

Looks like I'm gonna be in Atlanta in 2011 to see Haken...not a difficult feat for me...already gonna be in Savannah in November this year...

Grew on me significantly today (third spin overall), but still a lot to digest. Kinda expected it anyway because of the To-Mera influences. Definitely one of the standout prog albums this year (while Enslaved is grabbing all the headlines)

Written by Ag Fox on 07.10.2010 at 19:40

Grew on me significantly today (third spin overall), but still a lot to digest. Kinda expected it anyway because of the To-Mera influences. Definitely one of the standout prog albums this year (while Enslaved is grabbing all the headlines)

I agree with you on the "digesting" part. The musicianship is almost "overthetop", but the songs flow really well so it more than enough makes up for it!

Dug this up on gaytube...check it out...sounds just like the album! Impressive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tagv2IX1lNc&feature=related

Written by tea[m]ster on 16.10.2010 at 00:14

Dug this up on gaytube...check it out...sounds just like the album! Impressive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tagv2IX1lNc&feature=related

Well, the sound could be better, and the singer needs to work on his clean singing, which is glorious on the album but no so good live. Otherwise they sound pretty solid.

The crowd were just standing and not rocking on anything, with "Drowning in the Flood" being so heavy.

They are such a tight band live! The vocalist is a crazy man, eh? His vocals are great in places and lacking in other places but he puts on a great performance! This frontman really delivers!

Check this out, Haken lovers: http://www.powerplaymagazine.co.uk/haken-interview.html

Spoiler: we might be looking at another album next year!

I was just listening to this album today, its simply brilliant, i love the lead work and the dynamic arrangements, truly brilliant stuff!

I'm gonna have to listen to them at some point. I'm curious.

Another album next year after this ambious outting in 2010? That's so awesome...I can't wait for another lengthy album from Haken...

I just picked up the album today Outside of the vocals being hit or miss for me, real nice music.

New album details announced! http://www.hakenmusic.com/nouveautes_en.htm.

A seventy-one-minute long album. The longest song on Aquarius was almost 17 minutes. Here we have a 22-minute long one. Let's hope it's good.

Premonition - 4:10
Nocturnal Conspiracy - 13:08
Insomnia - 6:06
The Mind's Eye - 4:05
Portals - 5:27
Shapeshifter - 8:08
Deathless - 8:04
Visions - 22:25

By the way, what does everyone think of the cover art? I don't like to tell you the truth: that eye looks a bit gross to me...

Yeah that cover isn't very.. uh.. pleasing to the eye
Hope that's no indication of the quality of the music.

Yeah...new Haken album is gonna kick ass...

I liked Aquarius, so I'll be eager to see where the band goes next.