Pareidolia (Haken,2013)

"Pareidolia" is one of the two long epic tracks included in "The Mountain" album and also one of the most interesting songs by Haken, IMHO. I like the way the band mix different moods into a highly coherent composition: hard rock, eclectic prog, Eastern scales, introspective breaks and devilish solos are all gathered here. The atmospheric passages and the high tempo riffs follow each other and create a dynamic and riveting musical plot, where each idea seems to pop up at the right moment.

"The Mountain" was the third studio album by Haken.

 

The lyrics are about the human effort to find the meaning of life beyond the surrounding chaos and fragility. Pareidolia is the well known phenomenon in which we recognize familiar images where they don't exist, such as the man in the moon or animal shapes among the clouds. Such a challenging subject is very well supported by the band's music, summoning ancient civilizations and suggesting a rather pessimistic mood evolving in a majestic and even dreadful crescendo. A very special song, if you believe me.

Celestial Elixir (Haken, 2010)

In 2013, "The Mountain" CD by Haken surely was a sensation in the small but widespread prog community. But the band already had its own history and fans, as this suite, coming from their first album "Aquarius", can easily prove. This song is one of the best ones in that debut collection, featuring sweet and hard moments, a band's trademark. Unlike many other productions of the years 2010s, "Celestian Elixir" collects many different inspirations and lines up a succession of different moods.

It's a pretty disquieting cover art, isn't it?

 

More than this: Haken show unusual instrumental skills (see the guitar around minute 10), an excellent taste for unusual arrangements and the old, good wall of sound. Their metal elements are never too pervasive: here, for example, you'll find a traditional progressive rock, vaguely influenced by Dream Theater and maybe some scandinavian bands, and a good fusion between acoustic and electric moments... and even some funny vaudeville touches. They developed a more personal style in the following releases, those guys, but this one still remains as one of their more amazing songs.