One of modern progressive metal's shining lights, Haken has returned after a nearly three-year gap with their next stage of musical evolution, entitled Vector. A band that somehow managed to pay their dues to progressive legends past (Dream Theater, Yes, King Crimson, etc.) while creating an atmosphere all their own, Haken has leapfrogged between studio releases with an ever-present eye towards the musical horizon, cunningly incorporating such disparate styles and artist touchpoints as the ever-underrated (and fellow Englishmen) Gentle Giant, 80's synth-based pop, and most explicitly on Vector, an increasing interest in Djent-scented riffs and grooves. With Vector, Haken have not only delivered on the art rock contract to which they are bound with overlong technical passages, numerous solos and song lengths frequently eclipsing the six minute mark, they've opted to do it in the span of just forty-five minutes, otherwise known to the larger listening public as "typical album length". While the considerably shorter runtime has been a point of contention among fans (previous Haken albums regularly ran past the sixty minute mark), Vector demonstrates an ability that seems absent from many bands: a willingness (or ability) to condense your sound, cut back on your keyboard patches and pre-chorus instrumental fingering exercises to deliver quality songs with quality musicianship. With Vector, Haken has achieved both.
Starting things off with a brief, atmospheric introduction in "Clear" before moving right into the high-intensity percussive force of "The Good Doctor", Vector wastes no time getting into the thick of it. "The Good Doctor" is denser and noticeably heavier than previous opening pieces like "Atlas Stone" and "Nocturnal Conspiracy", and reminds me quite a bit of "In Memoriam" with its mixture of stop-start riffing and memorable vocal lines, a tangled knot of tricky time signatures and instrumentation, topped by a great little crown of a chorus. The group then directly sets off into "Puzzle Box", a song that is eminently suffused with the modern Haken™ sound in a beautiful way: excellent keyboard work from Diego Tejeida, loping bass grooves from Connor Greene, and perhaps the band's best outro yet. "Veil", the longest track on the album and something of a centerpiece that the other songs revolve around, begins with some gorgeous harmony vocals before moving afield through several distinct sections and passages, a hugely satisfying chorus plus a bit of atmospheric multi-part vocals towards the end that recalls "The Architect". While it's the lengthiest piece to be found here, it clocks in at a svelte dozen minutes that go by far too quickly. "Veil" is easily my favorite track on Vector and is certainly one of the greatest songs Haken have written. (The whole band is in top form on Vector but drummer Ray Hearne deserves special mention. I'm not sure if it's a result of the band's more collaborative songwriting approach recently or just a quirk of the material here, but either way the drumming is a noticeable cut above their previous albums).
After "Veil", Vector is actually pretty close to wrapping up. "Nil By Mouth" is crunchy instrumental workout that showcases Diego's keyboard work quite well, in addition to being surprisingly groovy. The boys pump the brakes a bit with "Host", a moody ballad decorated with flugelhorn and organ before concluding with "A Cell Divides", a distinctly Leprous-tinged track with another great chorus as well some cryptic lyrics and atmospheric samples that give it a bit of a sinister air. I haven't touched on the lyrics because Vector is a concept album but I have almost no idea of what is happening in terms of story, although I did find the lyrics to be mostly on the same quality level as Affinity, which is welcome, with less of that traditional prog rock cheesiness that so often seeps into this type of music. If this review seems a bit terse, it's because truthfully I find it difficult to say much about Vector that won't make itself evident upon listening to it: it's a fantastic piece of work that asks quite little of the listener by only running for three of quarters of an hour from start to finish. Haken have managed to successfully distill and refine their sound on Vector and only seem to be getting more confident and clever with each new album, and I'm very curious to see where they go from here.
