Haken
Amager Bio, Copenhagen - 2019
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Having been doing this for more than 10 years now, it’s always interesting to add a new band to the site - especially one that neither of us have actually heard before.
Haken fit both of these criteria, as they took the stage to support Devin Townsend in late November. Now the only question was, would we like what we heard and saw?
“Hello Copenhagen! We are Haken from the U.K., and we’re here to give you a condensed Haken show squeezed into 45 minutes.”
- Ross Jennings (vocals)
Haken was well received as they took the stage, so apparently we were among the few who didn’t know the band beforehand. Well, that was probably a good thing, and I’d be lying if I claimed that didn’t increase my expectations for what was about to commence.
For those of you who might not know it, Haken are a progressive rock/metal outfit, with to date five full length releases on their conscience.
Jennings was clearly the focus of the performance, what with him giving the liveliest delivery. And yet, he was also quick to leave the stage as soon as he didn’t have anything to sing, leaving the job to his fellow musicians, which I found a bit odd.
The music was well played and interesting, as the genre bids, and Haken had a good sound to boot. There was a lot of falsetto and high pitch singing, but I must confess, I preferred when Jennings stayed in a lower key, where he blended better with the music and more of his individual qualities came through.
Of the songs, Cockroach King was what really stood out to me, and it didn’t surprise that Jennings announced it as a greatest hit. It started out with some nice folk inspired harmonised vocals, and then moved forward to more avant-garde rock, reminding me of The Chaos Path by Arcturus - a very positive comparison when coming from here.
Before the final song, Jennings said we’d be going back to 1985, and for a split second I wondered if any of the band members were even born at that point in time, but it turned out it was just the title of the song. In it, keyboardist Diego Tejeida grabbed a flower decked keytar, and took centre stage, as Jennings took over the other keyboard in the back for a while.
As the musicians, the crowd took a calm approach to the whole deal, weighing a presence in the music higher and flailing their bodies around. Still, between songs loud cheers rose promptly, and when asked to, the Danes gladly raised their arms for the band.
So, Haken was well received here in Denmark (once again I should say, as they had done a headlining show earlier in the year). I wasn’t blown away - the show was good, but nothing exceptional, and as with a lot within this genre, the music asked for repeated listens before fully opening up to the listener. It was ok, a well-played effort at getting the audience in the mood.
Setlist:
Affinity.exe
Puzzle Box
A Cell Divides
Earthrise
Nil By Mouth
Cockroach King
1985
Haken fit both of these criteria, as they took the stage to support Devin Townsend in late November. Now the only question was, would we like what we heard and saw?
“Hello Copenhagen! We are Haken from the U.K., and we’re here to give you a condensed Haken show squeezed into 45 minutes.”
- Ross Jennings (vocals)
Haken was well received as they took the stage, so apparently we were among the few who didn’t know the band beforehand. Well, that was probably a good thing, and I’d be lying if I claimed that didn’t increase my expectations for what was about to commence.
For those of you who might not know it, Haken are a progressive rock/metal outfit, with to date five full length releases on their conscience.
Jennings was clearly the focus of the performance, what with him giving the liveliest delivery. And yet, he was also quick to leave the stage as soon as he didn’t have anything to sing, leaving the job to his fellow musicians, which I found a bit odd.
The music was well played and interesting, as the genre bids, and Haken had a good sound to boot. There was a lot of falsetto and high pitch singing, but I must confess, I preferred when Jennings stayed in a lower key, where he blended better with the music and more of his individual qualities came through.
Of the songs, Cockroach King was what really stood out to me, and it didn’t surprise that Jennings announced it as a greatest hit. It started out with some nice folk inspired harmonised vocals, and then moved forward to more avant-garde rock, reminding me of The Chaos Path by Arcturus - a very positive comparison when coming from here.
Before the final song, Jennings said we’d be going back to 1985, and for a split second I wondered if any of the band members were even born at that point in time, but it turned out it was just the title of the song. In it, keyboardist Diego Tejeida grabbed a flower decked keytar, and took centre stage, as Jennings took over the other keyboard in the back for a while.
As the musicians, the crowd took a calm approach to the whole deal, weighing a presence in the music higher and flailing their bodies around. Still, between songs loud cheers rose promptly, and when asked to, the Danes gladly raised their arms for the band.
So, Haken was well received here in Denmark (once again I should say, as they had done a headlining show earlier in the year). I wasn’t blown away - the show was good, but nothing exceptional, and as with a lot within this genre, the music asked for repeated listens before fully opening up to the listener. It was ok, a well-played effort at getting the audience in the mood.
Setlist:
Affinity.exe
Puzzle Box
A Cell Divides
Earthrise
Nil By Mouth
Cockroach King
1985
