Fauna | CD | Haken

The progressive formation Haken presents the upcoming album 'Fauna' in jewel case format.

When talking about modern progressive rock and not mentioning Haken, you're doing something wrong. Since the South English sextet began jamming together in 2004, they have been one of the most loyal and adventurous forces in their genre. And how do you honor such an eclectic, unpredictable career? They release Fauna: Haken's most genre-defying and conceptually fascinating album to date. 'When we started writing the album, the premise was that each song should be associated with an animal,' explains singer and co-founder Ross Jennings. 'The songs all have something to do with the animal kingdom, but they also have a connection to the human world. Each track has multiple layers, some of which are more obvious than others.'

Musically, Fauna represents Haken in its greatest diversity. Taurus opens the album with its scraping Heavy Metal chords, which are both polyrhythmic and jagged. However, Ross' melodic vocals and the triumphant refrain are authentically Haken. Eyes Of Ebony is pure math rock, delicate in its start-stop clean guitar picking and shimmering cymbals, while Island In The Clouds showcases a bouncing bassline. After eighteen years, they continue to evolve and keep their fans on their toes. Is there a better definition of what it means to make progressive rock than this?