AQUARIUS

Excellent debut release that seemingly came out of nowhere, Haken's "Aquarius" is one of the top albums of 2010. Combining rich textures, wonderful arrangements, healthy and liberal doses of progressive rock, metal, and other assorted influences, Haken have crafted one of those 'beginning-to-end' albums that must be heard to be believed.

The most important ingredient here is the strength of the songs and the melodies. All too often we are presented with bands who try to take the strengths of classic prog bands, but somehow miss the mark and end up as pale imitations. Not so with Haken - these guys know what they're doing, and they do it with enough originality to impress even the most jaded of modern prog fans.

The epic closer "Celestial Elixir" is stunning, and is one of the top prog songs of 2010 without a shadow of a doubt. Well done, Haken. Highly recommended!