“You’re never gonna retire your power games.“
While Haken have maintained a consistent discography throughout their almost two-decade-spanning career, none of their albums managed to tip over their music beyond simply solid prog. That is, until Fauna. Unlike their previous releases, Fauna does not follow a storyline, but feels more like a summarization of the best bits of Haken’s discography. No fluff, pure, untamed music screaming into your ears, begging to be let in. Every intricate detail has its own place and a reason to exist. Self-producing the album ensured the high level of detail that elevates the album to being one of the best prog albums in recent years, and the added dynamics that returning member Peter Jones brings to the table add on significantly to the variety of soundscapes they’ve managed to pull off here.
“Taurus” is a behemoth of a song, and one that they just have to open their set with it on their upcoming US tour. Starting off strong with a djent-focused song reminiscent of their more recent works, combined with softer elements right before a breakdown in its bridge. Further adding to its strengths, the subtle hints of synthwork interwoven here and on the “Nightingale” add a sense of mystique to their sound, with the latter track embodying Haken‘s sound as a whole. It describes their musical journey and compresses it into a single song which is a task of its own. To imagine such a feat is one thing, to pull it off with flying colors is another.
“The Alphabet Of Me” is easily one of the freshest and vivid songs in prog in a minute. Combining eccentric reggaeton with groovy synths, before exploding into a more rock-focused chorus is something you have to witness yourself to fathom its full glory. Following track “Sempiternal Beings” starts off slow with a groovy drumbeat, in line with the outro of “The Alphabet Of Me”. The ebb and flow of the heavier and the lighter melodic beats, the seamless transitions between the moods and tones throughout, the haunting chants accompanying vocalist Ross Jennings’ melodic voice is just an explosion of synapses firing on all neurons.
“Beneath The White Rainbow” is easily as prog as it can get. For a brief moment, the lines blur out into resembling many of Haken‘s contemporaries. Over time, the overall sound of prog seems to have stagnated into this weird limbo of attempting to mimic bands like Dream Theater or Opeth, with next to no flavor of its own. Thankfully, this feeling is short-lived, relatively speaking, as “Island in the Clouds” pulls you back into awe-inspiring territory, with its mesmerizing and fuzzy textures throughout. Further, the bass-line here is something to write home about, too. Despite late-album cut “Lovebite” being the shortest offering on Fauna, it packs quite a punch. Far more joyous and upbeat than any of the other tracks here, it almost feel a moment of respite from the blissful sensory overload of the previous assortment of songs.
Nearing the final two songs on the record, around 20 minutes still remain. While Fauna‘s length is certainly something to contend with, part of me somehow yearns for even more beyond it. Further, while some may argue that penultimate track “Elephants Never Forget” overstays its welcome, clocking in at a little over 11 minutes, it really encapsulates all that is Haken, and reiterates it in glorious fashion. “Eyes of Ebony” ends the album on a rather mellow and somber note, addressing death and thus, aptly the end of the album, almost like a royal sendoff.
Fauna is an album with an unmistakable attention to detail – blink and you’re going to miss something truly amazing. The ambition and scope on display here is limitless and unparalleled, easily forming Haken’s finest work to date. To top it would be a momentous task, but with the direction they’ve taken here, I’m convinced they can somehow pull it off on future releases. There is a lot of unpacking to do here, but take on the task and you will find one of the most rewarding prog albums this decade has to offer.
9/10
Fauna is out on March 3rd via InsideOut Records, and you can pre-order it, as well as catch them on tour here.