Haken (band)

Haken

Haken performing live in 2009. (From left to right) Richard Henshall, Ross Jennings, Raymond Hearne, Thomas MacLean, Diego Tejeida (not shown), Charles Griffiths (not shown)
Background information
Origin London, England, UK
Genres Progressive metal
Progressive rock
Years active 2007-Present
Labels Sensory Records, Laser's Edge, Inside Out Music
Associated acts To-Mera, Linear Sphere
Website HAKEN - The Official Website
Members Ross Jennings
Richard Henshall
Raymond Hearne
Charles Griffiths
Diego Tejeida
Conner Green
Past members Thomas MacLean
Matthew Marshall
Peter Jones

Haken /heɪˈkən/[1] is a London-based progressive metal band formed in 2007. As of 2014, Haken has released a total of three full-length studio albums and one EP.

Biography

Haken was formed in 2007 by To-Mera guitarist and keyboardist Richard Henshall and his two school friends Ross Jennings (vocals) and Matthew Marshall (guitar).[2][3] The band completed their lineup with a keyboardist they met on an online forum, Peter Jones, Jones' close friend and drummer Raymond Hearne, and To-Mera guitarist Thomas MacLean became the band's bassist.[2] Henshall mentioned on some occasions that "Haken" was the name of a fictional character he and some friends came up with in their school days, under the influence of alcohol[1] or weed.[4]

They recorded a demo in 2007 that contained two tracks, "Snow" and "Souls". With the demo they began to play small live venues in London, with some good response. In 2008 they then recorded four more songs, "Manifolds", "Blind", "Sleeping Thoughts Wake" and "Black Seed", and released a full-length demo including all six existing tracks.

Later in 2008, Marshall and Jones left the band to pursue other careers. Charlie Griffiths, the guitarist for the band Linear Sphere and Anchorhead became a full time member of the band. Griffiths parted ways with Linear Sphere because he wanted to go in a different direction musically. The keyboardist Diego Tejeida joined the band in late 2008 as well. As they began to tour more, even opening a few UK shows for King's X,[3] Sensory Records recognized them and offered them a record deal. They began recording for their debut album, Aquarius, soon after, and it was released in March 2010.[5]

The Haken band logo from 2010-2012

Haken released their second album, Visions, in October 2011. On 20 June 2013 Haken announced their new album, The Mountain, which was released on 2 September by InsideOut Music.[6] The album was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren.[7]

On 25 September 2013, Haken announced that Tom MacLean would be leaving the band after completing the Prog Stage Festival in Israel in October 2013.[8] After a series of auditions, he was replaced by Indiana-born musician Conner Green.[9]

On 8 September 2014, Haken announced via their Facebook page their first EP, Restoration, set for a 27 October 2014 release.[10] The EP will contain three reworked tracks from their 2008 demo, Enter the 5th Dimension.[10] Darkest Light, a reworked version of Blind, was released with a music video featuring footage from the recording process of Restoration on September 24.[11] Shortly before, the band had already announced (also via Facebook) that they had started to write for their fourth album.[12]

Publicity and reception

Haken has been featured on the Classic Rock Magazine subsidiary "Classic Rock Presents Prog" a few times. At first, the magazine presented a song from the first Haken demo on their free CD.[13] They have opened for a few notable progressive outfits, such as King's X and Bigelf.[13] The band's debut album has received positive reviews from Allmusic,[5] ProgArchives[14] and Classic Rock Magazine.

Personnel

Current members
  • Ross Jennings - vocals (2007—present)
  • Richard Henshall - guitars and keyboards (2007—present)
  • Raymond Hearne - drums, tuba, backing vocals (2007—present)
  • Charles Griffiths - guitars (2008—present)
  • Diego Tejeida - keyboards, backing vocals (2008—present)
  • Conner Green - bass guitar, backing vocals (2014—present)
Former members
  • Thomas MacLean - bass guitar (2007—2013)
  • Matthew Marshall - guitar (2007—2008)
  • Peter Jones - keyboards (2007—2008)

Discography

Demo
EP
Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Schetter, Michael (11 August 2011). "Haken/To-Mera interview with Richard Henshall and Tom MacLean". ProgSphere. Sankt Goarshausen. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Allmusic biography. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Myspace biography. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  4. ↑ Francis, Basil. "Haken (Richard Henshall)". Dutch Progressive Rock Page. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Allmusic: Aquarius (overview)". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Time to share: The Mountain! Out 2.9.13". Twitter. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Haken Get Ready To Tackle The Mountain". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.progrockmag.com/news/haken-part-ways-with-bassist/
  9. ↑ "Haken announcing new bassist". Facebook. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Martin, Kielty (8 September 2014). "Haken detail Restoration EP". Prog. Team Rock Limited. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  11. ↑ http://hakenmusic.com/blog/post/restoration-ep-darkest-light-video-released
  12. ↑ "Facebook post". Haken's official Facebook page. Facebook. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Track Of The Day: Haken". Classic Rock Magazine. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  14. ↑ "HAKEN music, discography, MP3, videos and reviews". Prog Archives. Retrieved 18 August 2010. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  15. ↑ HAKEN | The Official Website - Enter the 5th Dimension (Demo)

External links