VECTOR

When I listened to Haken's Vector, I remembered Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny. In 1919- 1920 he developed the massing of mobile formations principle. This made him one of the biggest military thinkers in history. But since then, he only rest on his laurels and lagged behind life. He was a hero of Civil war but his activity in World War II was (to say softly) far from splendid. He showed up suddenly but failed to keep up to date.

Maybe the analogy with Haken seems farfetched but isn't. The dawn of Haken was somewhat similar to the dawn of Marshal Budyonny. The band gloriously started in 2010 with Aquarius, a prophetical, forerunner album that really became a discovery, a breakthrough. Along with Galadriel's Calibrated Collision Course, Lifesigns' Cardington and (partially) Wobbler's From Silence To Somewhere, Aquarius may be considered an embryo of some forthcoming paradigm of prog, a beacon for progsters, a sort of visual aid on How To Say A New Word In Music.

But the start suddenly became the end. Their second album, Visions, was still fine but sounded like it was manufactured from the unspent raw materials previously reserved for Aquarius. And since then, the artists were constantly lagging behind themselves, and producing high rated albums unworthy of Haken. Looks like their initial amazingly high creative energy was enough for one incredible album only.

And from time to time, the musicians' will to re-climb the mountain they left eight years ago is audible in their new album. The Good Doctor and especially Veil are their evident attempts to reach the same flight level as in Aquarius... but no, they flew too high in those days, now it would be a back-breaking toil - while Puzzle Box is an adequate job for their current creative condition! A grumpy fuss in the vein of The Mountain (their high praised album from 2013) is what they can do best of all nowadays. Or an insipid collection of musical platitudes in the spirit of Affinity (their album from 2016) like Host or A Cell Divides. One track (Nil By Mouth) is obviously influenced by System Of A Down - I believe back in 2010 Haken would not need such a source for inspiration. After all this fuss and bother, the nice impression from the Bach- like intro (Clear) is completely dissipated and forgotten. The music of Vector in toto is sweltering, cramped, planar, I'd say 2D. In brief, unpleasant. No I don't want to say that annual miracles are expected from an artist who debuted with a miracle. But I still hope that Aquarius was not the final miracle from Haken. I entertain this hope even despite Vector.

Be guided by the cover art. You are warned by a red alert. You see a Rorschach image that seems like an inhuman robot. That's the music defined. The robots are on speed and whirring out hyper-dense machine rock.

Let's try and help by defining who won't and who may like this album. If your Haken favourite is the soaring operatics of 'Aquarius', or the human intensity of 'The Mountain', then you are in for disappointment. The band has moved away even from the melody that permeated the less-popular 'Affinity' (my own favourite, so don't trust me). The fan I would alert to this album is maybe a disaffected Opeth fan, who gave 'Blackwater Park' five stars and 'Sorceress' two stars. In 'Vector' you will definitely find the blinding, pounding heaviness you have been missing.

Personally I seem to love everything this band does, they are magnificent IMO.

Verdict: Dalek music.

Popular London-based prog-metal act Haken return quite quickly after their stop-gap live disc `L-1VE' a few months back with 2018's `Vector', a work that's likely going to be well-received by their existing fanbase as well as being able to be approached easily by newcomers who don't mind their prog rock on the louder side! A concept album telling the tale of a patient in an asylum being subjected to all kinds of psychological and physical experiments, `Vector' mixes the heavy instrumental show-boating runs with frantic rock and thoughtful ballad passages that the band always deliver, even if they strip back virtually all of the Seventies/Eighties influences from their past few discs this time around, and they throw in a touch of jazz and electronica along with a big variety of rich vocal arrangements.

After instrumental `Clear's scene-setting moody opening dirge of distortion and heavily treated organ, `The Good Doctor' kicks the album off proper, and what a burst of instant momentum and shot in the arm it is! Everything Haken does well is in this one - infectious energy, punchy frantic time changes, Richard Henshall and Charlie Griffiths' heavy twisting guitar runs, Conner Green's pulsing bass, Raymond Hearne's pounding drums and Diego Tejeida's delirious keyboard freak- outs all wrapped in a catchy tune with Ross Jennings' confident lead vocal delivering a memorable melody, and there's a swaggering funkiness rippling throughout the track too - phew! `Puzzle Box' is then full of bludgeoning riffing and shimmering mysterious touches powered by rattling drumming alongside Diego's twitching electronic glitches and eerie ambient interludes.

But it's `Veil' that will have most prog fans salivating like the epic-craving animals they are, even if it does borrow heavily from the tightly technical Dream Theater template, especially the reprising metal guitar riffing, pummelling drum tantrums and heroic synth theme! The thirteen minute piece initially misleads with a swooning group vocal around delicate piano that sounds like the band are about to cover Queen's `Love of my Life', but it's soon crushed by thrashing bombastic bursts of histrionic guitar soloing tantrums, runaway keyboard soloing and some low-key thoughtful breaks in between a range of vocal passages where Ross' voice moves between snarling menace and ethereal drifting mystery, and the fellas together offer sublime harmonies of soothing dreaminess.

Schizophrenic instrumental `Nil By Mouth' attacks at full speed, full of grinding twists 'n turns, heavy stop/start grooves and even a loopy sense of humour, and themes from the whole album are subtly reprised throughout. `Host' is home to dark jazz flavours from flugelhorn wafting through seductive guitar chimes of ringing Post-Rock ambient reaches and a mesmerizingly seductive wrap of dreamy vocals that hold just enough of a reassuring edge. The piece almost takes on the more reflective and melancholic moments of the most recent Opeth albums, and there's just a hint of a gothic moodiness infiltrating the final moments. Besides a short ambient break in the middle, closer `A Cell Divides' reminds of Muse and mostly revolves around a dramatic recurring chorus, but it's perhaps the least interesting track here (certainly the most straightforward) that unfortunately doesn't finish the disc in the big or powerful way that prog concept albums should conclude on.

As strong and mostly consistent as it is, admittedly `Vector' feels a little unfinished, like it needed a bit more to push it to true greatness, and it's perhaps not the bigger step-up in progression from previous albums that all their prior works were, instead sounding quite often like `just another Haken album'. Also, while the fairly short vinyl length of about 45 minutes is appreciated over some bloated jammed-full 80 minute CD behemoth, it doesn't feel long enough to really make the concept a big musical statement here in the manner of all the great prog albums. Still, it's the very definition of a grower of a very fine album from an immensely skilled younger band, full of great playing and terrific singing, and it keeps the great band that is Haken chugging along nicely.

Three and a half stars.

2018 was rich with great and anticipated releases. In particular, we've been gifted with the first album from Haken's Vector-Virus combo. On this release the band has allegedly tried to explore new territories taking their most popular song (Cockroach King, that is) as a starting point. The result is not quite what one could expect as a lot of Haken's music elements, in particular, those that are present on CK, are gone almost completely. No more epic arrangements (like choruses in The Architect and Atlas Stone or strings in Nocturnal Conspiracy), no jazzy interludes (like in CK!), classic prog elements are way less prominent.

Instead, we are in for a lot of (random) riffing edulcorated by catchy choruses and modern electronics. The latter is what I actually like a lot: check out the bridge in Puzzle Box, for example. Alas, the same Puzzle Box is very annoying for the most time. The painful transition between the first two songs serves as an introduction to a mess this album is going to be: the songs form an incoherent pile, no idea why would one call this a concept album with movements and stuff. Despite being different, the tracks generally fit into the foregoing description. Of course there are Haken-isms here and there not letting the listener hang himself, but the music is still far from excellent, let alone masterpiece.

Another complaint will be the mixing. Loud and aggressive, the snare punches my brain with every beat, please no more Periphery guys invitations! Yet another complaint is that the album is quite short. I judge albums by amounts of good music, not it's concentration. Vector is shorter than Visions without the eponymous epic!

That being said, Haken remains Haken here, and the album is by no means bad. I would definitely recommend listening to Veil a few times, and other songs are worth trying if you are into metal. Unfortunately, if you are not then probably you could find more exciting ways to spend your time. All the songs besides Veil didn't age well for me and now feel disposable. I'll hope that after toping it off with unbearable Virus the band will go back to writing incredible music: they have proved able many times already. 3.4 stars.

Haken surprised me here. Thought they would go in more for a post-rock direction. But this is their densest (and that's the ultra-bombastic Haken we're talking about!), djentiest and most electronic album. I realize I'm in the minority, but here's my beef with his record. Whilst not forgetting about melodic hooks, and the challenge of discovering all the details they load every song with, it's not diverse enough for its brevity (just 5 "keepers" taking up 38 minutes). For example, the two epics taking up the bulk of the time are too similar in vibe and structure, where they'll start with riff bombardement followed by an electronic break and then back to the pounding. And I have trouble remembering which riffs go for which song. Compare this to the diversity found on The Mountain and the better melodic clarity on Visions - their best and coincidentially highest-rated works.

For some reason or another I lost touch with what Haken were doing over recently, and while they are now back with their fifth studio album, the last of theirs I heard was the third, 2013's 'The Mountain'. Now, I gave that top marks and said it was my progressive album of the year, so what would I think some six years down the track? They have always been a heavy act, but this sees them take it into a whole new area, as if Meshuggah have decided to add polish, finesse, and keyboards. It may smooth the edges, but there is no doubt that this is a metallic beast of an album 'We've always had a heavy influence', explains guitarist Charlie Griffiths, 'but it was obvious from the riffs that were naturally coming out of us early in the writing process that this would be a more metal album. These are some of the most riff driven songs we've ever written.'

But, there are times when there is gentle piano, delicate harmony vocals, as if those nasty horrible loud guitars have gone away forever, but it is all just a ploy to get the listener to let down their guard. There again, how many metal bands can be riffing like mad but then have a flugelhorn over the top? Musically the album is a mess, all over the place, and is all the better for it. If that isn't enough, there is also an underlying theme to make it even more prog! 'The scene is set with the track The Good Doctor, which was a really fun song. Musically it feels like a logical step from 'Affinity', but lyrically it's a bit more theatrical and about as 'rock opera' as Haken has ever got', explains Griffiths. It's about a Doctor with an intriguing, perhaps sinister interest in a particular patient. From there the story enters the point-of-view of the patient - who appears to be catatonic, but his mind is sparking with what could be memories, or delusions brought on by the treatment he's receiving - we leave this up to the listeners to decide. Although we don't want to give too much away, listeners who are familiar with our back catalogue will have fun discovering further clues we've planted throughout the album'.

Although this ia an awesome album I would prefer if the guitars had been allowed to keep more of their edge and not be polished away quite so much. I am sure that Haken in a live environment will much more of a bruising experience than it is on record. It is going to be interesting to see where they go next on their musical journey, as while they also add in Linkin Park influences, this British act are determined to go their own way and create something metallic and progressive on their own terms.

This is a good example of Haken doing their own version of Train Of Thought (Dream Theater). However, this is quite a brilliant album for sure. I love the djent elements, this album sounds like an over the top version of Fear of a Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree. Clear is a very weird and oddly heavy intro section, lots of keyboards, and just a ton of ambience. The Good Doctor is a kinda Porcupine Tree single, Ross Jennings is a very good vocalist but I'm going to go ahead and say that he sounds like Mariusz Duda of Riverside. The intricate and well written guitar intro is very catchy and intriguing. Everyone plays very well on this album, the patterns intertwine in a very complex and clever way. Puzzle Box is very dynamic, lots of djent, lots of vocal driven moments, plenty of odd times, and quite a few polyrhythmic sections. Veil is the epic on the album, it's also very dynamic, it had a bunch of solos from all musicians and I think that this is just ... one of the softer songs on this album... even though it's still heavy. Nil By Mouth is the heaviest piece on the album, totally djent driven, has a bit of keyboards but this is completely guitar driven. Its instrumental so there is no Ross Jennings, thanks for that but also I really want to know what this would sound like with Ross's voice. Host is a very soft song but it has a dark side, it has a very heavy end and it's good vocal melodies. This song is easily the softest on the album and frankly it's a nice break from the heavy side of Haken. A Cell Divides is the other extremely heavy song on the album, it's like Nil By Mouth but with vocals and some a hard hitting piece to end off this album. This along with The Mountain are the best albums by the band so far. Let's hope that Virus is just as good... maybe better. Haken has two sides to them, a heavy side and a complex and classic side. This is the heavy side and I think that this works just as well as the classical and complex side.

Vector came as a surprise to me as a fan of all of the band's earlier work, which has typically seemed like a modern metal take on classic 70s symphonic prog bands, with occasional humor from light syncopated passages. This album represents a marked shift from their previous albums to one filled mostly with heavy songs with tight arrangements, full of intricate guitar riffs, jagged dissonant chords, and highly technical drumming. These elements are not new for the band. What is new is the dominance of them throughout most of an entire album.

I should note that I am writing this on the heels of the subsequent release Virus, with the awareness that the two albums are connected and that both relate to their classic track Cockroach King.

While jarring to me at first, after a few listens I've started to appreciate this album for what it is ? a powerful, lean progressive metal album that leans more toward the metal side compared to previous albums. Dream Theater's Train of Thought would be an obvious comparison.

This lean album is still adorned with classic Haken elements. A melodic sensibility persists throughout the album despite the heaviness, through the vocals, keyboard parts, and harmonized guitar parts. There are breaks from the madness with dreamy sections with layered vocals and entertaining percussive textures. The album has some of their classic quirky keyboard moments. I think any fan of Haken's previous albums will find a lot to enjoy here.

It is impressive how overall compact the album is, while still providing an unpredictable musical journey within each song. Veil and A Cell Divides have dramatic shifts in tone. Host has a satisfying and emotional build. Even the poppier The Good Doctor takes a turn and launches into a brutal breakdown.

Another success of the album is the loose story the album tells throughout the song. I always appreciate concept albums that have a story for those interested in digging into the lyrics but also allow each song to live on its own. There are a few subtle musical and lyrical callbacks to help make the album cohesive and hint at a larger story. There aren't any theatrical intros or interludes to remind the listener that it is a concept album. Only The Good Doctor gives the overt impression that a narrative is unfolding. It is therefore curious that it also stands out from other tracks with its accessible harmonies and light horn punches. I won't pretend to fully understand the story. It seems to be about a patient in a mental institute undergoing a transformation of some kind. The liner notes include references a handful of famous psychologists including B.F. Skinner, a leader of behaviorism.

There are a couple of classic Haken elements that are downplayed on this album. First, the album does not feature much in the way of extended solo playing. There are a few moments here and there, but the album seems to instead insist on an ensemble approach through complimenting riffs and layers. While I am certainly always on board to hear a great guitar or keyboard solo from the guys, this new approach works on this album because it fits the overall musical theme of cutting the fat and delivering power packed songs. I also don't identify any moments on this album that have a certain quality characteristic of previous albums that I can only describe as majestic - the moments with soaring, uplifting melodies on top of lush guitar and keyboard layers. Songs like Celestial Elixir, Atlas Stone, and Falling Back to Earth come to mind. Again, this absence might fit the heavier tone of this album, but I can't help but pine for more of what made me fall in love with the band.

Overall, this is a fun addition to the Haken catalogue where the guys flex their metal chops while still maintaining many of their classic elements. It will be interesting to see whether they continue in this direction or blend it with the sound of previous albums. I'm excited either way.

After combining metal and 70s prog eccentricity on their first albums, and referencing 80s prog on their previous release Affinity, with their fifth album Vector, Haken move into the territory of contemporary (heavier) prog metal. Dream Theater and 70s prog are still major influences on the band, but Vector also brings in more modern and heavier influences ? from djenty riffs, to Muse-like extravaganza ("The Good Doctor"), to darker atmospheres that remind me of bands like Porcupine Tree and Anathema ("Host", "A Cell Divides"). It's a mix that sounds fresh and exciting and that will please long-time fans of the band as well as secure some new ones among those who, like me, found their previous output a bit too much "out there" for comfort.

On Vector, Haken make in fact an attempt at keeping their songwriting more focused and accessible, especially compared to their earlier albums. There is of course still plenty of complexity and technical wizardry going on here. The songs typically contain multiple parts and extended instrumental passages where the band can showcase all their proficiency with their instruments. And it wouldn't be Haken if there weren't the occasional "out there" moments, where the band weaves in into the music the most ridiculous ideas, making them work somehow (for instance, the weird dance beats that surface in the background of "Nil By Mouth", or the bizarre choice of sounds in many songs by keyboard wizard Diego Tejeida).

But the musical mayhem that Haken usually unleashes on their albums feels more restrained and under control on Vector, almost as if the band made a conscious attempt at writing songs that could appeal to audiences that prefer their prog metal built on atmosphere and texture rather than on full-blown extravaganza. This is most apparent on tracks like "The Good Doctor", "Host" or "A Cell Divides", which are based on a simplified and more effective songwriting compared to the other tracks on the album and much of the band's previous output.

Elsewhere, this exercise in restraint is not as successful, though. "Puzzle Box", the instrumental piece "Nil by Mouth" and especially "Veil" see Haken return to their beloved "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" approach, letting ideas fly free and land wherever they may. These tracks do not work very well for me. "Puzzle Box" is the one I like the most, it's well-constructed and never veers too far off for me to lose interest at any point. However, it does feel a little bit too artificial and "safe", almost as if it's been written by following a tried-and-true template, and without really putting too much heart into it. "Nil by Mouth" and "Veil" are more complex workouts that feel rather unfocused and fail to hold my attention all the way through. One issue I have with these songs is that, although they are composed of multiple parts, the different sections often sound quite similar to one another and tend to merge into a blur for me. The heavy sections all rely on djenty, downtuned riffs supported by a frantic rhythm section and embellished by extravagant keyboard flourishes, and it's quite hard to tell them apart, even after repeated listens. The quieter sections are fairly anonymous too and do not really stand out enough. The result is that the dynamics do not work very well on these tracks, the peaks being too flat and the valleys too shallow. It also does not help that these three more complex songs are placed one after another in the tracklist. I think the album would have had a better flow if Haken had mixed things up a bit, for instance by moving one between "Host" and "A Cell Divide" (which are also fairly similar to one another), further up in the tracklist.

Overall, Vector is a good album, which sees a band trying to find their footing in a new territory, with a heavier sound and a more controlled songwriting. The album is only partially successful in honing the new sound, and Haken will only fully realize their vision on their subsequent stellar album, VIrus. Nevertheless, Vector will most likely not disappoint long-term fan of the band and, at the same time, may also appeal to those who are not yet familiar with Haken but appreciate modern "djenty" prog metal in the vein of bands like Caligula's Horse, Periphery or Leprous.

It's year 2074. The zombie apocalypse ravaged half of the human population, food supplies run low, water is mostly contaminated so it cannot be consumed, society has been completely obliterated, rights no longer exist, and Haken still sounds like Dream Theater.

When are they going to get their own identity? I feel like they're excellent musicians stuck in their comfort zone. Vector continues the trend started in Affinity of albums with use of distorted guitars and heavy riffs in a Djent-esque way. This album in specific is much shorter than the albums before, but at the same time very concise and direct, without dumb overextended tracks. Is it enjoyable? Absolutely. Is it great? Meh.

Vector also works as the first part of a concept album (second part is Virus) about a patient and an evil doctor. The doctor ends up turning him into a cockroach, then tragic things happen and the patient dies pretty much.

It's a decent album, not special in any way, but enjoyable. Two Stars.

- Review #13 -

So, it's safe to say that Haken has gathered a very decent fan base through the years. The band itself has gone through a few fases, in fact. Vector is the second Djent-progressive metal album by Haken, the first one being Affinity, released a couple years ago.

It concentrates much more on the technical side rather than the melodic one, and this is something that many people have criticized: Haken was known for packing wonderful melodies all along their records, it was pretty much their trademark, and it was very present in their first three albums. However with Affinity, technicality took the throne and the band focused more on this aspect rather than melody making.

That's not to say that Affinity has no good melodies, just fewer. This is what happens with Vector (and Virus, since they're both technically one album split in two). While there's songs like Puzzle Box or Veil that combine instrumentals and great melodies in a very respectable way, there's other like The Good Doctor or Nil By Mouth That simply fail in the process, the latter being one of the most uninteresting tracks the band has made.

With that said, it's still a great progressive metal album, and worth checking out. Although it might be worth saying that this album doesn't sound too unique, many progressive metal bands sound like this already. Three Stars.