AQUARIUS

When I saw that this album tops the best of 2010 charts I decided to give it a try. The first thing thought that came to my mind was to check if this is not Beardfish. The sound is quite similar and the vocalist sings just like the guy from Beardfish, but as I listen to the album I started to realize that there are certain differences between the two groups. First of all - Haken are heavier, even metal at times. Second - they have a tendency to show off and play short, fast and impressive solos. Third - there are growling vocals on this album. Let's stop here for a moment. Now I don't consider myself as a death metal fan but I do listen to Opeth, Gojira, Death and a couple other bands, so I'm fine with gorwling but it just doesn't fit in the style of music that Haken plays! Seriously I can't find any other reason for them to use these kind of vocals that "because we can". They appear when you least expect them and ruin the atmosphere which is generally light and optimistic. The music that Haken presents is full of melodies and influences ranging from Riverside and Opeth to Beardfish and Spock's Beard or Dream Theater even. The music is very rich and it has that unique "circus" feeling that Beardfish used to have. The musicianship is solid, no complains here and the song structures are quite complex. I guess the biggest flaw of this album is that it's nice when you're listening to the album but the moment it ends you forget about it because nothing really captures your attention strongly enough to make it memorable.

This is a fine debut of a band that is still searching for their style. They have the potential to be great so I'll be looking out for their next album.

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