About Haken
Haken are an English progressive metal band formed in 2007 by multi-instrumentalist Richard Henshall, guitarist Matthew Marshall, and vocalist Ross Jennings. While Henshall, Marshall, and Jennings first had the idea of forming Haken in 2004, they opted to pursue their instruments and songwriting first. Upon recruiting other members three years later, they eventually released the demo Enter the 5th Dimension in 2008, signing with Sensory Records and releasing their first album Aquarius in 2010. As of 2023, they have released seven studio albums, two EPs, and two live albums.
Richard Henshall, Matthew Marshall, and Ross Jennings had grown up as friends in their teenage years and first had the idea to form Haken in 2004, when they would regularly play together in "casual bedroom jams". Henshall mentioned on some occasions that "Haken" was the name of a fictional character he and some friends came up with in their school days, under the influence of alcohol or weed. At the time the three considered the jams as a hobby, but they eventually chose to focus on studying their instruments and rejoined three years later to form the band. Early on, Jennings ended up parting ways with Henshall and Marshall as their guitar skills far eclipsed his own. He would later be asked to re-join as solely a vocalist. They completed their lineup with a keyboardist they met on an online forum, Pete Jones, as well as Jones' close friend Raymond Hearne. To-Mera guitarist Thomas MacLean became the band's bassist.
Haken recorded a demo in 2007, followed by a full-length demo titled Enter the 5th Dimension in 2008. Later that year, Marshall and Jones left the band to pursue other careers.
Charlie Griffiths, the guitarist for the band Linear Sphere and Anchorhead, became a full-time member of the band. Griffiths parted ways with Linear Sphere because he wanted to go in a different direction musically. Keyboardist Diego Tejeida auditioned and eventually joined the band in late 2008 as well.
Ken Golden of Sensory Records offered them a record deal after a referral. They began recording for their debut album, Aquarius, soon after and released it in March 2010. Haken released their second album, Visions, in October 2011.
Haken announced their third album, The Mountain, on 20 June 2013. The album, released on 2 September by Inside Out Music, was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren. On 25 September, Haken announced that MacLean would be leaving the band after completing the Prog Stage Festival in Israel in October 2013. After a series of auditions, his position was filled by Conner Green.
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