London-based progressive metal band Haken celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2017, hot on the heels of the release of their critically acclaimed fourth album 'Affinity'. Coinciding with this, the band will go out on a headline tour of Europe in March & April, with tickets on sale this Wednesday at 10am UK time. InsideOutMusic will also be reissuing the band's first two albums, 'Aquarius' & 'Visions', on the 3rd February 2017 in new remastered 2CD editions, as well as vinyl for the very first time.
The band had the following to say:
"We are delighted to announce our 'Haken X' European tour in celebration of our 10th anniversary. We'll be returning to some of our favourite cities and also paying a visit to several new countries including Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. In honour of the ten years Haken has existed, we'll be revisiting material from our entire back catalogue with a special focus on our first two albums 'Aquarius' and 'Visions', which are to be re-released in advance of the tour. We sincerely hope you join us for this special run of shows and we'd be overjoyed to see each of y'all there!"
On the reissues they comment:
"We can't wait for people to hear these albums in their brilliant new and remastered form. Both 'Aquarius' and 'Visions' hold a special place in our hearts as well as the fans' and we wanted to make sure we brought them back in a fresh and exciting way. Listeners will be able to enjoy the nuances in our instrumental arrangements and also embrace the complete audio experience of vinyl. We're looking forward to revisiting much of this music on stage for our fans around Europe in our upcoming 10th anniversary tour."
The full list of European tour dates can be found below, tickets on sale Wednesday 23rd November:
'Haken X' Tour 2017
22nd March ' Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK
23rd March ' O2 ABC2, Glasgow, UK
24th March ' Academy 3, Manchester, UK
25th March ' O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, UK
26th March ' Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
28th March ' Le Splendid, Lille, France
29th March ' La Maroquinerie, Paris, France
30th March ' La Laiterie, Strasbourg, France
31st March ' KIFF, Aarau, Switzerland
1st April ' Keller Klub, Stuttgart, Germany
3rd April ' Zona Roveri, Bologna, Italy
4th April ' Szene, Vienna, Austria
5th April ' Dürer-Kert, Budapest, Hungary
6th April ' Futurum, Prague, Czech Republic
7th April ' Beatpol, Dresden, Germany
9th April ' Chez Heinz, Hannover, Germany
10th April ' Kesselhaus, Wiesbaden, Germany
11th April ' Turock, Essen, Germany
12th April ' Rockhal, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
13th April ' Melkweg OZ, Amsterdam, Holland
15th April ' Bascula Club, Tel Aviv, Israel
The band's first and second albums 'Aquarius' & 'Visions' have been newly remastered by the renowned Jens Bogren (Devin Townsend Project, Between the Buried & Me) who worked with the band on their last two albums, bringing these records up to the sonic quality of their most recent output. They will both be available as 2CD Digipaks including the entire albums as instrumentals, and it will also mark the first time that either album has been available on vinyl, arriving as Gatefold heavyweight 2LP editions with the full album on CD included.
The band will also be heading out on Cruise To The Edge from the 7th February 2017, and will be performing 'Visions' in its entirety at Prog Power USA on the 6th September 2017.
Latest album 'Affinity' was released in April this year, and received great reactions from press; find a selection of them below:
"dextrous prog metal with retro pizzazz and roller-coaster riffs" ' PROG Magazine
"Affinity proves what a unique and spellbinding band Haken are" ' Metal Hammer 8/10
"inescapable melodic hooks and absorbing textures" ' Total Guitar 4/5
"Affinity will be hailed as one of the landmarks of 2016 and beyond." - Powerplay 9/10
Pick up your copy of the album below:
https://smarturl.it/affinityITUNES
https://smarturl.it/affinityAMAZONmp3
https://smarturl.it/affinityAMAZON
https://smarturl.it/affinityIOMshop
https://smarturl.it/INO_US-HAKEN
The band has also previously launched videos for the tracks 'Earthrise', 'The Endless Knot' and 'Initiate'.
Earthrise: https://youtu.be/hQ8KqJJJJhk
The Endless Knot: https://youtu.be/IVZHNPyMhMo
Initiate: https://youtu.be/-7pEXGCtnnk
Recorded during the winter months of 2015, 'Affinity' marks a new approach to the song-writing process for Haken, as vocalist Ross Jennings explains; "It is the most collaborative we have ever been on an album. We wanted to develop and expand our sound by having every member contribute initial ideas from the very beginning of the process. It naturally takes longer to filter through the mass of material and fit it all together coherently, but this approach has helped to create something completely fresh whilst maintaining the core elements of Haken's sound."
The band once again called upon Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Between The Buried And Me) for mixing and mastering duties.
"He is a wizard in this department! We are always confident his mix will bring out the best from our performance and this is no exception," remarks keyboardist Diego Tejeida.
Like much of Haken's previous music, 'Affinity' is full of surprises and 'The Architect', the album's centrepiece, is no exception. Blasting through a dizzying array of instrumental insanity coupled with down-tempo atmospheric tenuity, Haken welcomes friend and Leprous frontman Einar Solberg mid-song for a spot of guest vocals! Just one of many twists and turns throughout this 60-minute musical lobotomy, Haken's 'Affinity' will open up a new dimension in this UK sextet's trajectory.
HAKEN online:
www.hakenmusic.com
www.twitter.com/Haken_Official
https://www.facebook.com/HakenOfficial
