"Vector is another solid release by Haken. While more of the same from this level of talent is not always a bad thing, it maintains the same level of high quality that made them successful. It does follow a formula that is prevalent on other albums, but it still has enough originality to keep it interesting. The musicianship is stellar of course, and there seems to be more of a Djent feel. I can hear some Meshuggah influences, and Vector sounds heavier at times. This may be the best album for Ray, as the drums sound phenomenal. Nil By Mouth is a good instrumental, and the standout tracks are Veil and A Cell Divides for me. However, there are no bad tracks, and Vector continues to grow on me with every listen. It is a good listen for all progressive metal fans, and a must for any Haken fan. There is a lot of good music on Vector, and only time will tell how it stacks up against their amazing catalog. Haken has such a solid collection of albums, that this is always a challenge for them to try to top the previous release. " jvj-PA.

"Be guided by the cover art. You are warned by a red alert. You see a Rorschach image that seems like an inhuman robot. That's the music defined. The robots are on speed and whirring out hyper-dense machine rock. The fan I would alert to this album is maybe a disaffected Opeth fan, who gave 'Blackwater Park' five stars and 'Sorceress' two stars. In 'Vector' you will definitely find the blinding, pounding heaviness you have been missing. Personally I seem to love everything this band does, they are magnificent IMO" E-PA



Essential Track: "'Veil' at nearly thirteen minutes, is one of the most intriguing Prog songs I have heard in recent times. Immensely heavy and complex, I have never quite heard instrumental sounds as cranium-shattering as this. Expect a musical lobotomy. The band may or may not agree with the following comment, but I mean it as a high compliment: Dream Theater fans will be infected by this vector, which builds on DT’s most aggressive legacy. And there is nothing wrong with that. The song is filled with musical variation, from guitar riffs that will make you feel like you’ve just had brain surgery, to morphine-like passages of sinister false security, to grand vocal climaxes and lead solos (strangely absent on the rest of the album) that will cut you like a scalpel. “Save me, take away the pain inside and teach me…” pleads Jennings, while the guitars perform surgery on him. This song is unlike anything you have heard before, because Haken are in an angry mode of experimentation, and you are the patient. Imagine a million parasites attacking your innards, only with military precision, as if conducted by a mad epileptic alien genius with a laser scalpel for a baton. Terrifying." NM-TPR



Read the reviews on ProgArchives.

Listen to samples and buy the CD from InsideOut Music or wherever fine prog music is sold.

---

Click on the following link for a complete list of bands that have played for the NewEARS Art Rock Series

---

2018-11-16
Alan Parsons Live Project at Chevalier Theatre - Medford, MA at 08:00 PM
$30 - $69

2018-11-17
Kansas - 40th Anniversary of Point of Know Return at Hanover Theater - Worcester, MA at 07:30 PM
$45 - $125 (VIP)

2018-11-17
TOTO: 40 Trips Around the Sun Tour at Lynn Auditorium - Lynn, MA at 08:00 PM
$35 - $55

2018-11-23
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost of Christmas Eve at SNHU Arena - Manchester, NH at 03:00 PM
$47.50 - $79.50

2018-11-23
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost of Christmas Eve at SNHU Arena - Manchester, NH at 08:00 PM
$47.50 - $79.50

2018-11-24
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost of Christmas Eve at DCU Center - Worcester, MA at 03:00 PM
$43 - $77

2018-11-24
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost of Christmas Eve at DCU Center - Worcester, MA at 08:00 PM
$43 - $77

2018-11-25
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost of Christmas Eve at Mohegan Sun Arena - Uncasville, CT at 03:00 PM
$43.50 - $72.50

2018-11-25
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost of Christmas Eve at Mohegan Sun Arena - Uncasville, CT at 08:00 PM
$43.50 - $72.50

2018-11-28
Steven Wilson - To The Bone Tour at House of Blues - Boston, MA at 08:00 PM
$29.50 - $49.50

2018-12-04
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at Merrill Auditorium - Portland, MA at 07:30 PM
$51 - $91

2018-12-05
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at Capital Center for the Arts - Concord, NH at 07:30 PM
$49 - $88

2018-12-07
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at Providence Performing Arts Center - Providence, RI at 07:30 PM
$37 - $77

2018-12-08
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at Emerson Colonial Theatre - Boston, MA at 03:30 PM
$55 - $134

2018-12-08
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at Emerson Colonial Theatre - Boston, MA at 08:00 PM
$55 - $134

2018-12-09
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at Palace Theater - Waterbury, CT at 04:00 PM
$55 - $105

All Events ...>>

America’s preeminent progressive rock band, KANSAS celebrates the 40th Anniversary of their massive hit album “Point of Know Return” with a new national tour. The concert includes more than two hours of classic KANSAS music, with the entire “Point of Know Return” album, hit songs, deep cuts and fan favorites.

Containing the smash hit and million-selling single “Dust in the Wind,” along with fan favorites such as “Portrait (He Knew),” “Closet Chronicles” and “Paradox,” “Point of Know Return” peaked at number four on Billboard’s Album charts, reached sextuple-platinum status with more than six million copies sold and had three Billboard Hot 100 singles.

KANSAS has firmly established itself as one of America’s iconic classic rock bands. Composing a catalogue that includes 15 studio albums and five live albums, KANSAS has produced eight gold albums, three sextuple-Platinum albums, one platinum live album and two one-million-selling gold singles. The band appeared on the Billboard charts for over 200 weeks throughout the ‘70's and ‘80's and continues to perform in front of large and enthusiastic audiences around the world. KANSAS has reached a whole new audience through their unmistakable presence on the popular video games “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero,” and through their songs’ inclusion in various television shows such as “Supernatural” and “South Park,” and with films “Old School” and “Anchorman.”

KANSAS is currently comprised of original drummer Phil Ehart, bassist/vocalist Billy Greer, keyboardist David Manion, vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale, guitarist Zak Rizvi and original guitarist Richard Williams.

---

2018-11-13: Cruise to the Edge 2019 Artist: District 97
District 97 are no strangers to Cruise to the Edge. The American Prog band appeared on 2017’s trip and thrilled with their performances, and tributes to their friend John Wetton. Originally started as an instrumental group,

2018-11-13: Mogwai team up with Signature Brew to release first “concept beer”
Mogwai have collaborated with East London brewery Signature Brew to create a new craft beer. The 5.2% ABV New England IPA has been made with chillies and is called Mogwai Beer Satan – named after the Scottish outfit’s sprawli

2018-11-13: Boston: a guide to their best albums
The story of Boston is the story of one man and his pursuit of perfection. For Tom Scholz, the leader of the group since its inception in the mid-70s, music is not just a vocation, it’s an obsession. It was his genius – as a

2018-11-12: Craig Blundell announced as new Steve Hackett band drummer for 2019 tour
"I'm excited to announce that Craig Blundell will be drumming for us throughout the 2019 Tour! Craig has won countless magazine polls around the world and is in very high demand. He played on 39 different projects in 2018 and

2018-11-12: Five Reasons Roxy Music Should Be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
As the patchouli-oiled '60s faded, rock fragmented into a number of subgenres – sparking prog, glam, hard rock and punk, amongst others. Then you had Roxy Music, who arrived with a look and feel like no one else.

2018-11-12: Pallas return to action with free download album
Scottish prog rockers Pallas reappeared in a blaze of activity this weekend with the release of a free download album, Courage - And Other Songs Of War And Peace, which features a new title track from Graeme Murray, Ascension

2018-11-12: Fantasy artist Ian Miller's The Strange World Of Suzie Pellet comes to musical life
Heavy prog rockers Transmaniacon have joined forces with Cold In Berlin singer Maya Berlin and legendary art rocker and poet Lydia Lunch to create a new concept album based around fantasy illustrator and writer Ian Millers Th

2018-11-11: King Crimson’s David Cross & No-Man’s Andrew Booker’s Unreleased 2006 Album “Ends Meeting” – Now Available!
David Cross was a member of King Crimson during the 1970s and Andrew Booker was a member of No-Man, Sanguine Hum and Peter Banks’s Harmony in Diversity. This PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED STUDIO ALBUM was recorded in 2006 but had not

2018-11-11: Eddie Jobson 'Band Years' compilation to be released
A new compilation album featuring Eddie Jobson's band-related material is to be released. 1971-1979 The Band Years will be released on November 16 through Globe Music Media and features his work as a member of Curved Air, Rox

2018-11-10: A Life In YES: The Chris Squire Tribute Featuring Members of YES, Renaissance, Marillion, Blackmore’s Night, Curved Air, Toto and others!
Purple Pyramid Records is releasing A Life In YES: The Chris Squire Tribute; A heartfelt and masterful musical salute to the longtime bassist of prog rock legends YES, Chris Squire! Produced by Squire’s friend and frequent co

2018-11-10: Yesterday And Today Audio Teaser
Hi NE! Squids here. Today we officially released our tribute to PE's favorite band to talk about... YES!!! Oh yes... we know. But, seriously, if you enjoy Yes music from different eras going back to their first album and thro

2018-11-10: Five Reasons Todd Rundgren Should Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Todd Rundgren once said his career was marked by "consistency of inconsistency," and there's perhaps no more apt description. In a weird way, however, his greatness is often obscured by those varied successes: Rundgren seems

2018-11-09: Rush’s Alex Lifeson Working With Drummer Marco Minnemann
Rush may be "basically done," according to Alex Lifeson, but he isn't. The guitarist is now working on a project with drummer Marco Minnemann, who has frequently recorded with Joe Satriani and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.

2018-11-09: Haken: 'Vector' chart positions revealed; 'L+1VE' vinyl LP announced
HAKEN, one of progressive music’s most exciting bands, released their fifth studio album titled ‘Vector’ recently. The album was produced by the band themselves, and recorded & mixed by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood (Periphery, Devin

2018-11-09: Devin Townsend: announces 'An Evening With' acoustic solo tour
Devin Townsend is pleased to announce a very special European ‘An Evening With’ solo acoustic tour, beginning at the end of March 2019 and running through April. The intimate evenings will feature Devin performing tracks from

2018-11-09: Focus announce a new studio album, Focus 11
Dutch prog legends Focus have announced a new album, 11, which will be released in January. However the new album will be available on the band's November UK tour dates.

Click here for all of Season 4 & 5 of the NewEARS Prog Show podcasts on WEMF...>>

Click here for all of Season 1 - 3 of the NewEARS Prog Show podcasts on WEMF...>>

---