HAKEN — Aquarius (review)

Album · 2010 · Progressive Metal

4/5 · 2011-10-20
Diogenes

I don’t know why it took me so long to give this a serious listen. Maybe the nonconformist in me turned a cold shoulder to all the hype it was getting. Maybe I was scared off by it being labeled as both rock and metal. Maybe it was the listening time of 72 minutes. Take your pick; they’re all dumb reasons, which is even more apparent now that I realize how cool Haken’s debut album is.

One thing that is immediately obvious when listening to Aquarius is how fresh and youthful it sounds. From the first few seconds of “The Point of No Return,” you can really tell how polished these musicians are, especially for their age. A flourishing soundscape is created and maintained throughout pretty much the entire album, with keyboards that are used in an extremely tasteful manner. More orchestral and symphonic elements pop their heads in from time to time, giving the sound more of a jazzy and light feel. None of this is exactly revolutionary, but Haken take their numerous musical influences and blend them together in a way that still sounds somewhat original, which is pretty impressive considering this is their first official go of it.

As for the whole rock/metal tag…this isn’t really a metal album. There’s some heavy riffing going on in some parts, and growls are utilized on occasion (much to my chagrin), but there are far, far more progressive rock and jazz elements in the mix than metal ones. Keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; actually, calling Aquarius metal would be selling it short in a way, since there’s so much going on here that looking only for the heavy stuff would be a biiiig mistake. Hell, I’d even argue that the heavier parts are among the album’s worst moments, as if the band is trying to masquerade as something that they’re not, but that’s probably just me.

Aquarius is long. No two ways about it. The 72 minutes are divided into just seven tracks (with only two of them being fewer than nine minutes), each of which are winding and enduring with little structure to speak of. I’m on the fence about this; normally, I don’t mind long albums, but listening to three epics in a row (being played in the style that Haken does, anyway) can be a little demanding. Aquarius is a relatively easy listen for its length, though, since the album rarely treads into darker territories, and the instrumental sections bring multiple things to the table. Throw in the music’s tendency to build up (see “Aquarium”) instead of just ramble on for however long, and the long songs shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

The only thing about Aquarius that I really can’t appreciate is the growling. Ross Jennings has a very powerful and emotional clean vocal delivery, but his growls aren’t really of the same caliber. They’re fairly well-executed, but don’t hold much of a place in this album’s otherwise easygoing atmosphere. Granted, harsh vocals are used pretty sparingly here (not nearly as predictable as Opeth or many melodic death metal bands these days), but Aquarius would be even better if they weren’t included whatsoever.

Honestly, I still don’t hear the masterpiece in Aquarius that a lot of other people seem to be hearing, but it’s still a tremendous effort for such a young band, as far as I’m concerned. While there are a few pieces that can be picked out as unnecessary, such as the growls and the few circus parts scattered about, Aquarius otherwise stands as one of the most unique debut albums I’ve heard, regardless of genre. If you’re a fan of prog rock with a bit of a heavy edge and enthusiastic instrumental work, look into this!