Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Haken - Restoration (2014)
Some titles of releases that I end up reviewing really fit with my situation at the time, do they? A year ago, I finally started listening to Haken after several failed attempts in the prior 5 years. Then after 6 months, I gave up on this band during my death metal departure. But another 6 months later, here I am! So Haken is not a death metal band in any way other than a couple songs with growls, so why did I end up straining from this band? It's most likely because of their melodic progressive rock/metal sound similar to Dream Theater that I've distanced from when I decided to go extreme. Other good but very remote possibilities might include this EP's nude cover artwork, though that's not really the reason at all. Anyway, I'm glad that there's still hope for me to restore my interest in this band!
See, the problem with melodic progressive rock/metal is, despite planting their forward-thinking roots, they heavily rely on imitating Dream Theater. While Haken shines with their tremendous creativity, there are times when they've fallen into that trap. I've made my initial departure from listening to Haken to, as lead vocalist Ross Jennings sang, "escape the past by embracing the future". That line just so happened to be kind of this EP's concept; 3 demo tracks re-recorded with much more focus on progression than imitation. It's as if this trio of songs went to the gym to change from skinny to muscular, all in a 34-minute seamless workout.
"Darkest Light", based on "Blind", takes some hammer-strikes to the anvil to smith heavy prog riff dissonance and unique keyboard atmosphere, creating one of the band's heaviest metal tunes to foreshadow their recent heaviness. The slower atmospheric "Earthlings", based on "Black Seed", uses a mournful clean rock structure with trance-ish vocal patterns. This almost fits well as the penultimate ballad similar to the band's first two albums. Definitely great as the final epic similar to the band's first two albums is the 19-minute progressive beast "Crystallized", based on "Snow", with every perspective the band has tackled, jamming through soft intermissions, keyboard solos, and guitar duels, all in upbeat positivity that shines in the triumphant chorus and bridges. While the lyrics and atmosphere are their own, the track rivals against the title epic of Visions to surpass the grandeur of Dream Theater's Change of Seasons. Speaking of Dream Theater, their former drummer Mike Portnoy hit the gong at the end. Magnificent!
So that was a wonderful ride through the fantastic progressive gold of Haken. Restoration took the normally unnecessary step of re-recording older songs, but made it more interesting by refreshing them with their unlimited inventive abilities for a spectacular performance. Those 3 songs work as an introduction for newcomers and a throwback to the band's introduction for longtime veteran fans. This was almost a reintroduction for me, and I'm glad I still appreciate high-quality progressive rock/metal!
Favorites: "Darkest Light", "Crystallized"