Haken - The Mountain

Haken, Hailing from London in the UK, has often been compared to Dream Theater. This, for me, is a problem. Why? Because despite the undeniable relevance of Dream Theater to progressive music, I am not alone in finding Dream Theater’s music to be generally void of creativity. It lacks feel, and to me is by-in-large an exercise in creativity. So, if someone were to say to me “Hey! Check out this band, they sound like Dream Theater,” it’s an instant cue to tune out. That said, when Haken’s album The Mountain was released last year, I couldn’t in good conscience say no to a thorough listen through. Even though I went in with little interest, the fierce loyalty that my friend’s hold to Haken’s music warranted exploration.

What makes Haken’s music so loyalty-inducing is that they don’t sound like any one other band in particular. Their progressive style seems to reference music from all over the map. The Mountain opens with a clean, open soundscape on “Atlas Stone”, draws influence from Mr. Bungle on “The Cockroach King”, and even ventures into Leprous-like territory on “In Memoriam”. Frankly EVERY track on The Mountain is interesting and generally cool, and brings Haken up to a level with the very best in progressive music.

The best part of The Mountain is Haken’s ability to mix beautiful melodies and pop-style song structures into a form that is both unpredictable and intellectually stimulating. They move fluidly from funky weirdness to metal and back on “Falling Back to Earth,” drop right back into a freeform jazz arrangement in “Atlas Stone.” Influence drawn from Marillion/Fugazi and Porcupine Tree appear on “Somebody.” Through all of these wildly different influences, nothing feels forced or derivative of another band. Frankly, it has a lot to do with Ross Jennings’ vocals, which I find to be a grounding factor, providing familiarity as the instrumentation floats across genres at will.

It goes without saying, though, that the vocals are not the only factor that make this record brilliant; the band is clearly highly talented. Both guitarists balance their work, and know when to take a step back from shredding and perform from a minimalist perspective. I love that Tom MacLean’s bass has been mixed in such a way that it actually stands out, it’s the source of some of my favorite moments on The Mountain. In terms of production in general, it’s more than good enough. The keyboard and guitar work never run into one another, a common problem from a mixing perspective. My biggest complaint sonically is that the drums are a little bit dry, and as a result are occasionally buried. My hunch is that it is due to how loud this record is. The Mountain is by no means squashed to the extent that a top 40 pop track might be, but enough that the drum tone falls victim to heavy mastering compression.

Overall, The Mountain is an example of Haken’s rarest talent; the ability to write a record that is entertaining for it’s entire 70 minute duration. The record feels fluid, moving seamlessly from genre to genre but never sounding like anything but Haken.

Check out “The Cockroach King” below. It’s just one collection of sonic flavors available on The Mountain, but it won’t disappoint!