Haken – ProgSnobs

Haken broke on to the progressive metal scene in 2009 with an exceptional debut release and critical hit, Aquarius. Haken returns after only two years to present their second album, Visions. This sophomore effort retains and progresses the fresh and motivated style that will surely give them momentum for the future.

The appropriately named “Premonition” begins like any epic album would, an instrumental overture that builds off the momentum that Haken’s debut Aquarius had build up. Furthermore, it gives us insights to some of the band’s more experimental riffs heard later in the album, like an overture, and especially like a premonition. “Nocturnal Conspiracy” introduces us to the album’s story and does so with a killer, fat melody and composition that changes gears often and with prestige. The song also introduces the listener to the album’s concept; a man has tracked down and killed someone based on visions or dreams they had before.

There are few albums that acquire your attention so quickly, and somehow, I missed Haken’s debut release Aquarius in March 2010. As the year draws to a close, this album has had several rotations on my playlist and there is no reason for it to leave any time soon. For a debut album, Aquarius has the polished glazed that often only appears on a band’s third or forth album.

Aquarius is a concept album about two parents who beget a mermaid child and release it into the river, knowing full well they could not properly raise it themselves. The mermaid child struggles to live in a changing environment as becomes surrounded by nature’s retaliation toward those responsible for global climate change.