AQUARIUS

Haken's "Aquarius" seems at first a fairly straightforward heavy prog/prog metal album, but as one moves through it, it becomes a rather strange beast. The first thing one notices is that this band is clearly made up of individuals who know their way around their instruments and know exactly how to play together. Again, this is not really out of the ordinary, especially not for prog. One thing that may put listeners off a bit early on is the singer, who enunciates in a way that is NOT typical of progressive rock and employs the "death growl" periodically. He is clearly a perfectly acceptable rock/metal vocalist however, and his style fits the band perfectly. Another thing that becomes apparent (at least if one pays attention to the lyrics) is the conceptual nature of the album, a beautiful and tragic story of a mermaid-like creature. As many reviewers before me have no doubt stated, the Dream Theater influence is also extremely apparent, yet somehow (don't ask me how) the band is able to take many of the elements found in Dream Theater's music and make something unique and devoid of almost any clichéd elements. Another thing that makes this band great is their ability to somehow SHRED with EMOTION. Said emotion is quite potent and is maintained throughout the entire album, although exactly what kind of emotion varies from song to song and indeed, in the longer pieces (of which there are quite a few), from section to section. "Aquarius" can be touching, uplifting, intense, or downright awe-inspiring, and there is hardly a weak passage to be found.

10/10 - For fans of heavy prog, prog metal (especially Dream Theater and like bands), and technical stuff that actually sounds like song.