Ambitious, sprawling and full of promise. Aquarius is Haken’s 2010 debut: an epic, imaginative prog-metal statement that announced one of the genre’s most exciting new bands.

The short version

The 2010 debut album by London progressive-metal band Haken, and one of the most acclaimed UK prog debuts of its era. A sprawling, seventy-three-minute record, it tells an ambitious fantasy story — a fairy-tale-like allegory of a mermaid and the fate of humanity — through long, intricate compositions. Blending prog, metal, jazz and symphonic touches, and clearly inspired by bands like Dream Theater and Tool, it already shows the eclectic, adventurous sound that would make Haken’s name. Occasionally overlong, but bursting with ideas and ambition.

An ambitious debut

Formed in London in 2007, Haken spent their early years honing their craft through demos and EP releases before unveiling their debut proper. Aquarius arrived fully formed in its ambition, if not always its polish. The six-piece — singer Ross Jennings, guitarists Richard Henshall and Charlie Griffiths, keyboardist Diego Tejeida, bassist Tom MacLean and drummer Raymond Hearne — built the album around a single sweeping story, most of it composed on piano by Henshall. The result was one of the most talked-about prog debuts in years, and the launchpad for everything that followed.

The sound

Aquarius is ambitious, eclectic prog metal, packed with ideas across its lengthy running time. Intricate guitar work, complex time signatures, lush keyboards and Jennings’ expressive vocals move through passages of metal heaviness, jazzy interludes and symphonic grandeur, often within a single track. The influence of bands like Dream Theater and Tool is clear, yet Haken already fold in enough of their own personality to stand apart. It is a debut that occasionally overreaches, but its sheer inventiveness and musicianship make it a thrilling listen.

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The songs

The eleven-minute opener ‘The Point of No Return’ sets the tone, sweeping and dramatic. ‘Eternal Rain’ is one of the album’s most immediate highlights, singled out early on by Classic Rock magazine. And the near-seventeen-minute epic ‘Celestial Elixir’ is the album’s towering centrepiece, drawing its many threads together into a grand, climactic finale.

Reception and legacy

Aquarius drew strong reviews and quickly established Haken as an exciting new force in progressive metal, climbing high in year-end fan polls and winning them their first major tours. Opinions on the debut remain a little divided — some find it overlong or uneven — but its ambition and promise are undeniable, and it has since been named among the finest prog-metal debut albums of all. It remains the fascinating starting point for one of modern prog’s most inventive bands.

The verdict

Aquarius is a bold, sprawling debut: ambitious, eclectic prog metal brimming with ideas, imagination and musicianship. Come for the dramatic ‘The Point of No Return’ and the epic ‘Celestial Elixir.’ Rough around the edges but hugely promising, it is essential listening for anyone who wants to hear where one of modern prog metal’s great bands began.

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