Haken
Fauna

We know by now that when Haken announces a new album, expectations are always very high; and rightly so, they are one of the bands that have given new life to prog in the last 15 years, distinguished by an eclectic and imaginative approach. If they are considered one of the most important bands of the last decade, there must be a reason; and prog is not like commercial music where the easier it is to grasp, the more you sell. In prog, meritocracy is quite prevalent; creative bands usually get noticed and widely appreciated, although this doesn't rule out underrated or less talked-about bands (and there are some). It's hard to determine to what extent this seventh work meets expectations; one could weave a nice speech around it.

Haken was coming from a decidedly metal period, "Vector" and "Virus" were albums fully attributable to prog-metal, a genre that usually belongs to the band only in part (in at least half of the situations it's better to label them as prog-rock), with the difference that while "Vector" was still a very eclectic and more or less crazy album, "Virus" was decidedly more square—it was an example of hard and technical prog-metal, the "Train of Thought" of Haken, stripping them of that dose of compositional madness that made fans fall in love with them. It was nice to see them in this guise, but better not to make it a habit.

Let's start by saying that in "Fauna" Haken stops being too much of a metal band, which they're not (having more or less metal elements doesn't make you a metal band). Metal returns to being a component and certainly not the main one (although when it appears, it does so with force). Using the definitions of the Progarchives Bible, they return to being a heavy prog band and not a properly progressive metal band; that alternation that characterized previous phases is restored. Some songs or moments can be framed in prog-metal, others are better labeled as prog-rock. Dividing the songs by type can be useful to understand how the metal component manifests itself. The explicitly metal track par excellence, which is without a doubt, is clearly the opener "Taurus," which almost has djent attributes; "Beneath the White Rainbow" and "Lovebite" are so in parts, "Nightingale" and "Elephants Never Forget" don't start as such but become it, meanwhile "The Alphabet of Me," "Sempiternal Beings," "Island in the Clouds," and "Eyes of Ebony" have only a few inserts and are fundamentally prog-rock tracks. Honestly, I have to admit that the best things are those with less metal, further confirming that Haken is primarily a prog-rock band, but I will delve deeper later.

The band thus returns to prioritizing its more prog side by providing a complex instrumental performance with multiple facets. However, there seem to be flaws that force it to be placed below their best works. Chief among these is the less impactful keyboards; Diego Tejeida left the band and was replaced by Peter Jones (who was part of the original nucleus of Haken and left shortly after the recording of the first demo), and I have to say, his absence is quite felt. Tejeida was precisely the element that gave the band its touch of imagination, enjoying playing with the keyboards and providing the perfect mix of virtuosity and variety of sounds, I have always considered him one of the best around—I even called him a Jordan Rudess who believed in it more. Peter Jones, on the other hand, at times limits himself to imitating him without succeeding perfectly, he is almost a discount version; however, there are interesting inserts with electronic sounds, similar to small electric shocks, industrial noises, concrete sounds, and these things are, in my opinion, the most interesting on the album. Certainly, if these sounds were further developed in future works, something truly incredible could emerge, perhaps really opening a new experimental phase.

But let's delve better into the tracks to better understand what to expect. As I have already hinted, the initial "Taurus" is quite dispensable; it doesn't even excel in being a powerful opening, it simply isn’t. They wanted to make the powerful and non-committal track to give the initial shock but did not succeed; it's a weak and bland metal, perhaps the lowest point in the group's entire repertoire. Undoubtedly, the most ingenious is "The Alphabet of Me," the well-hit stroke of genius of the album, hallucinogenic electronic hits, chaotic percussions, plucks of guitars, some hard insert, and in the second part even a reggae rhythm with an untamed trumpet on top. Among the best is also "Eyes of Ebony," the most delicate and intimate, dedicated to the late father of Richard Henshall, where very light guitar caresses carry the track doubled by never intrusive synth sounds. In addition, it’s the one where sound effects are deepened and used best. "Island in the Clouds" also plays very well with the strange sound effects and guitar touches, in a slightly more energetic context, however. "Sempiternal Beings" manages to be a calm track by simultaneously using an engaging and robust rhythm section, as well as scratchy but not hard guitars. Minimalist and barely audible electronic sounds also appear, terrifically apt, but when the more metal parts come, they're bombs where placing a blast beat is no problem at all. "Nightingale" and "Elephants Never Forget” are the tracks where we find the most classic keyboard parts, which most recall those of Tejeida, but seem less convincing and more forced; as already said, both are double-faced tracks, light at first before unleashing a more metal side, the latter in particular, after the first minutes between funk, jazz, vaguely Latin rhythms, and catchy choruses, brings out the guitars and becomes the most proudly prog-metal track in the lot. "Beneath the White Rainbow" is the most rhythmically dynamic track, where more rhythmic variations and instrumental passages are played with but it is also one of the least interesting pieces, not surprising much. A gem that deserves to be spotlighted is instead "Lovebite": it is practically the pop track of the album, more or less as "Earthrise" was, it’s the track that aims to be catchy, to stick in the head but maintaining sophistication; and it does so without giving up showing a metal side, it is an ingeniously pop-metal track, it is incredible how the chorus manages to be fresh and even a bit sugary despite those hard background guitars, even those who hate metal and/or consider it noisy might find this track pleasant; the verses instead offer an excellent melodic guitar work and even Ross Jennings’ controversial voice turns out to be winning, the reggae inserts bring Haken to territories close to the Police but overall the track seems to recall the Sieges Even of the last years of activity.

In general, however, the feeling is that of a band that hasn't done a lot to make a really rich album full of exciting ideas, rather it has focused on making a perfectly played album with masterful structural and instrumental constructions, in that respect, there’s really nothing to object to, reconfirming themselves as professionals; but they are Haken, certainly not TesseracT, from Haken one always expects something stunning, something unexpected, something that makes you jump out of your seat, here the only really stunning track is "The Alphabet of Me," and the rest?

So, should we declare ourselves disappointed by "Fauna?" Surely not by the cover, the best in their discography, which fully follows the animalistic concept that unites the album (each track represents an animal), a brilliant setting halfway between domestic walls and the forest, a room wallpapered with forest-themed wallpaper and various animals scattered here and there, some prominently displayed and others to be discovered, plus a series of details that don’t immediately reveal themselves but invite the listener to sharpen their vision. And from the music? Well, if we put Haken in a very generic prog context where compositional and structural precision is everything, then we are anything but disappointed, but if we remember that Haken rose high in many prog preferences thanks to creativity and the desire to amaze... well at that point, yes, we are a bit disappointed.

Or maybe we have overrated them too much in the past? Or perhaps, right at this moment, we're getting too caught up in our own heads? Well maybe yes, at this point I'd say to set aside every chimera and listen without too many thoughts to another grand work of the British combo.