HAKEN Fauna | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by InsideOut Music on March 3rd, 2023

Quick Background

Haken are an English progressive metal band formed in 2007 by multi-instrumentalist Richard Henshall and vocalist Ross Jennings releasing their first album Aquarius in 2010. Their 3rd album, 2013's The Mountain made the band gain a more substantial fanbase. At Prog Sphere, it won first place in albums of 2013 and fourth place in The Prog Report. Haken did not drop the ball and the albums that followed Affinity (2016), Vector (2018) and Virus (2020) are all strong prog metal statements. So let's see how Fauna stack up to them. 

Fauna 

Fauna is just over 1hr long and features 9 new tracks. Song lengths are all over the place with the single "Lovebite" being only 3:50 and the epic "Elephants Never Forget" over 11 min. Funny enough Haken has been touring Europe with BTBAM and the intro of "Elephants Never Forget" reminds me a lot of BTBAM. Coincidence? It doesn't matter, but don't expect it will be a heavy track as their touring partners' music. In fact, the song seems to be an homage to Gentle Giant, the iconic 70's Prog band. I like the song but it goes on for too long.  About "Lovebite" I fully agree with singer Ross and I quote "This is the Phil Collins inspired upbeat love song in 11/8 with Cannibal Corpse inspired lyrics that you never knew you needed!” It's a great short and powerful single. 

Overall the greatest achievement of Haken is keeping their music complex without overdoing while being catchy and melodic. From Jazz to 70's prog rock to Metal, their influences are eclectic and the results are visible. Fauna is a collection of diverse songs each one with its own characteristics but they all share the comment theme of metaphor using animal fables. The two singles "Taurus" and "The Alphabet of Me" are fantastic songs. The album opener "Taurus" is heavy and catchy, the harmonic intro and somber chords lead us into the moody verse. Then the chorus is so beautiful and emotional, it's difficult not to sing along. There's a Tool vibe here that I really enjoy. "The Alphabet of Me" on the other hand has much more pop music vibe that's mainly due to the electronic drums and gang vocals. But I'm telling you that chorus is marvelous, it gives a heavy punch and lift things up. The contrast with the verses is just very well done. "Nightingale" brings back that 70's Prog Rock influence so present in the now classic album The Mountain.   

Another highlight for me is "Sempiternal Beings", it's a longer prog metal track in which, in case you hadn't notice by now, we hear an incredible vocal performance and fantastic drum work.  Talking about heavy, that intro of "Beneath the White Rainbow" is so Opeth meets Dream Theater, great song as well. But I must say I did not like the choice of using overdrive and distorting heavily the vocals for that bridge. "Eyes Of Ebony" closes the album on a very personal and emotional note, here I noticed more hints of Dream Theater. 

Haken is known for their exceptional musicianship, and Fauna is no exception. The band's technical abilities are on full display throughout the album, with complex time signatures, intricate guitar and keyboard work, and impressive vocal performances. The rhythm section of bassist Thomas MacLean and drummer Raymond Hearne provide a solid foundation for the music, with complex and innovative grooves. It took me a few years and some other albums to get used to the voice of Ross Jennings, and I am happy I insisted because he delivers a standout performance on the album, with powerful and emotive vocals. His range and versatility are particularly impressive, he is able to incorporate different styles and techniques without going out of his range and without using harsh vocals or screams. 

The Picky Guy

I can't really complain about this album, yes maybe a bit too long and "Island in the Clouds" doesn't really work for me, maybe too soft but it's by no means a bad song.

Wrap Up Opinion 

Overall, Fauna is one of Haken's best albums since The Mountain and a must-listen for fans of progressive rock and metal. It is a testament to the exceptional musicianship of Haken, with each member of the band contributing to a sound that is both technically impressive and emotionally engaging. The result is a unique blend of progressive rock and metal, with elements of jazz and pop music. The album theme using animal kingdom as metaphor for personal messages is quite interesting and the lyrics sound amazing under the soaring vocal melodies. An early contender for album of the year, 85/100 with high risk I will bump it up later in the year as I continue to listen to it.Have fun prog metal fans and be metal always! 

SCORE: 85/100

Genre: Progressive Metal

Released by InsideOut Music on March 3rd, 2023

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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INSOMNIUM Anno 1696 | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Century Media Records on February 24th, 2023

Quick Background

Insomnium is a melodic death metal band from Finland. The sound and lyrical themes of their music portray darkness, sorrow, loss, pain, and nature. They are primarily a melodic death metal band with occasional elements of doom metal and progressive metal. The band line-up has been quiet stable with the changes happening only for the guitar players. Niilo Sevänen on bass and harsh vocals founded the band with Ville Friman − guitars and Markus Hirvonen − drums in 1997. They release their first LP In the Halls of Awaiting in 2002. They have a very strong discography and I particularly like their 2016 concept album Winter's Gate. The album that followed it,  Heart Like a Grave in 2019 was also very good. So I am looking forward to this new one.

Anno 1696

Their 9th studio album is centered around a short story by bassist and vocalist Niilo Sevänen. With 50 minutes in 8 tracks, it is a shorter and tighter album than its predecessor, but there's no lack of memorable melodies and a massive choruses. Despite the slow build up from acoustic guitars and spoken words, the opening track, once it reaches  the 2 min mark, sounds more aggressive and fast paced than I come to expect from those guys. It's a good song to start the album and a sample of the picks and valleys of this album. We constantly go from anger and aggressiveness to sadness and melancholy. 

A notable moment on the album "White Christ" featuring Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ is a groovier song, with a distinctive drum beat. Given the song lyrics and dynamic, Sakis was the perfect guest singer to add texture to the album. It's almost like a tribute to the Greek band. Vocal wise, the band rarely uses clean singing this time around, sometimes some spoken words, but given the theme of the album and how dark and heavy it is, there's little room for more polished melodic clean singing. So I do appreciate the use of guest singers to add variation to the album without loosing its overall direction.  Johanna Kurkela is the other guest singer, and she brings this melancholic folky flavor to "Godforsaken" which is the longest song on the album. But as with the title track, it's a diverse song that goes into very heavy territories.    

Guitar work is strongly based on guitar licks during verses and choruses which creates an overall epic feel or sometimes using more tremolo picking to give a black metal flavor. With that said, the use of acoustic guitars is also very prominent often given a more atmospheric and folk sound to the album. The culmination of that is the fully acoustic dark ballad "The Unrest". The single "Lilian" starts with this beautiful acoustic guitar intro and then goes into a sort of folk metal territory. It is probably the most traditional Insomnium hit song on the album. "Starless Paths" is a very dynamic progier song (going from super heavy sections into acoustic guitars). In addition, I appreciate the guitarwork and vocal delivery giving me an epic vibe that reminds me of early Amon Amarth. I enjoyed the production quality with excellent mixing and mastering that highlights these dynamic sound choices by the band and overall delivering rawer sound than in previous releases.

The Picky Guy

There's no specific moment that I dislike on this album. So I guess my only criticism is that it's not very innovative and fully consistent with the latest albums.  

Wrap Up Opinion 

Overall, Anno 1696 is a solid addition to Insomnium's discography, with the band continuing to deliver their unique brand of melodic death metal. While the album may not necessarily break new ground, it certainly delivers on the expectations of Insomnium's fans. It's a more cohesive and easily digestible statement and yet very dynamic between sadness and anger and diverse. A very good melo death album deserving 83/100 proving further why Insomnium are at the top of their class. 

SCORE: 83/100

Genre: Death Metal

Released by Century Media Records on February 24th, 2023

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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