...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


..::OPIS::..

No mistake about it, Haken are simply one of the best damn bands prog has to offer these days. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than their consistently excellent discography (wherein each successive release only seems to cause my jaw to drop ever further) is their impeccable live performances. Like any dedicated fan, I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to catch them on the North American leg of this 2024 ‘Evening With’ tour, promising a full 3 hours of music. That night remains, and likely forever will remain, one of my top 5 favorite shows. As my buddy and I walked out of the venue, I mentioned to him that they had better be recording one of these performances for a live album/blu-ray.

Well, wish granted. And it’s easily one of the best I’ve ever seen/heard by any band. Liveforms is beautifully shot, with a crisp, bulldozing sound quality that matches and sometimes even exceeds the band’s own studio efforts. Every member of the band is in top form as they play to a sold-out hometown crowd of frenzied prog fans. Several among the front few rows are even dressed up in myriad varieties of animal costumes, presumably playing to the theme of the band’s then-newest album, Fauna (or at least, that’s what I’m guessing; it’s either that, or Haken happen to have a pretty sizable furry fanbase over in London).

Speaking of which, the evening begins with a full front-to-back performance of said album. I can still vividly recall my first time listening to it, and being awestruck at the mind-bending complexity of the music contained within, even compared to their past work. With just about every song being chock full of odd meters, polyrhythmic interplay, unconventional yet potent melodic phrasing, and so on, I could only sit there, doing my best to take it all in, and wonder: “How in the hell are these guys going to pull this stuff off live?” I’d already seen Haken a couple of times before; I could attest to them being an incredibly tight unit on stage. Despite that, this is the sort of music I’d imagine even many jazz players would find challenging, if not for the dexterity required, then simply to keep from falling out of time with the other members. But I should have known better than to have my doubts.

They storm through the album with hardly a break to catch their breath, nailing each and every passage with enviable precision and finesse. And that’s when they’re not throwing in extra flourishes to spice things up even further; from Ray Hearne slotting in a few flashier drum fills here and there, to some added/altered guitar and key effects on certain leads, the extended trumpet outro on “The Alphabet of Me”, or the gut-wrenching death growl Ross rips out in the middle of “Taurus”, it all lands perfectly. But perhaps the biggest difference is just how much more organic these songs sound from the studio versions, despite being executed with nearly identical accuracy. It’s the kind of thing that can only come from six guys playing off each other in real time, as opposed to having their parts meticulously assembled after the fact. Coupled with the stellar sound quality, I feel quite confident in proclaiming this to be the definitive version of Fauna. They have well and truly outdone themselves with this one.

And if you thought, as I did, that they’d go straight to intermission after all that, they instead jump right into the epic “Crystallised”, my all-time favorite Haken song. And my god, it’s never sounded this intense. If you’re looking for a performance to illustrate this band’s gradual evolution from a more prog rock leaning outfit to a full-on metal one, it’s right here. Time will tell if I end up preferring this version of the song to the ProgPower 2016 one (the difference between Diego and Peter’s keyboard tones is probably the only thing keeping me from making that call, the condensed intro and outro notwithstanding), but it’s certainly on the same general level.

Act II proceeds to take a relatively comprehensive journey through the band’s prior 6 albums, with a set full of live staples and rarities alike. The Mountain ultimately gets the short end of the stick with only the obligatory “Cockroach King” to its name, though this is somewhat understandable given the amount of material they played from that album on the previous year’s tour (and on the previous live releases, for that matter). “Puzzle Box” and “Nil by Mouth” both make it clear why Vector is Haken at their heaviest and most unbridled, while the Affinity cuts “Earthrise” and “1985” follow each of them with a perfect upbeat counterbalance. Virus gets the two-for-one duo of “The Strain” and “Canary Yellow”, along with an extended keyboard/drum solo in the middle. And then the Aquarius deep cut “Drowning in the Flood” truly comes to life on stage; I imagine this is exactly how they were aiming to get their debut to sound 15 years earlier. And indeed, I can honestly say that just about every one of these songs, whether new or old, stands at least toe-to-toe if not head and shoulders above their studio counterparts.

As they walk off stage, I’m sure everybody who didn’t already know the setlist ahead of time had the same thought: there’s an album they still haven’t played anything from yet. Namely, their second one, Visions, which ends with the famous 20+ minute title-track. Gee, what could they possibly have in store for the encore? Though surely not a surprise for anyone, they play the song to perfection just the same, and end the show with everyone singing along. If there’s even a single minor quibble I could raise, it’s that with so many great songs to potentially feature from said album, it’s a real shame that the title-track is still the only one to appear on any Haken live release to date. I personally might have gone with the three song suite of “The Mind’s Eye”, “Portals”, and “Shapeshifter” instead, if only for variety’s sake. I’m sure none of this matters to anyone else, of course. And as someone whose first Haken show was seeing them play the entire Visions album in full, I’ve clearly got nothing to complain about either way. For what material is featured here, Liveforms is nothing short of perfection, and I can only hope this isn’t the last of these live releases we’ll see from this band in the coming years.

Oh, and the cherry on top? In the behind-the-scenes interview section, there’s a quick video snippet from the show I attended, where I can see myself and my buddy in the crowd. This is officially the best thing I’ve ever bought.

UnholyCrusada



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. The Last Lullaby 2:12
2. Taurus 4:43
3. Nightingale 7:27
4. The Alphabet of Me 5:42
5. Sempiternal Beings 8:27
6. Beneath the White Rainbow 6:51
7. Island in the Clouds 5:52
8. Lovebite 4:00
9. Elephants Never Forget 11:07
10. Eyes of Ebony 8:37
11. Crystallised 18:26
12. Puzzle Box 8:32
13. Earthrise 4:50
14. Cockroach King 8:27
15. Nil By Mouth 6:49
16. 1985 9:21
17. The Strain 5:29
18. Strainwreck 4:03
19. Canary Yellow 4:24
20. Drowning in the Flood 10:00
21. Visions 18:28

22. Reflections: An Interview with Haken 28:05



..::OBSADA::..

Ross Jennings - Lead Vocalist
Richard Henshall - Guitars, Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Charlie Griffiths - Guitar & Backing Vocals
Pete Jones - Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Conner Green - Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals
Ray Hearne - Drums & Backing Vocals

Guest musicians:
Miguel Gorodi - trumpet on 'The Alphabet Of Me'




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB2_GkfoJ6s



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!