Fauna

Fauna is the seventh studio album by British progressive metal band Haken, scheduled to be released in March 2023. The album is the first to feature Peter Jones as a core band member since 2008's Enter the 5th Dimension.

Basis

Fauna, unlike its predecessors, has no story. Instead, the album is a collection of unconnected songs that all follow the theme of animal behaviour and its parallels to human behaviour.

Production

Production of the album began shortly after Diego Tejeida left the band in November 2021, as well as the release of Ross Jennings' A Shadow of My Future Self solo album, released that same month. On 31 December 2021, Ross Jennings announced on Instagram that a seventh Haken album was in the works, and on 24 February 2022 the band announced that they had finished writing the album.

On 10 March 2022, the band announced they had finished recording the album's first single, named "Nightingale," and set up a competition where fans could submit art to be used for the new single. On 26 April 2022, the song was released. The band would refer to the album as "H7KEN" until 25 November 2022, when they would release the name of the album and its artwork through a slide-puzzle found on the domain "h7ken.com".

Tracklist

Pos. Song Title Length
  Total Length: 62:07
1. "Taurus" 4:48
2. "Nightingale" 7:24
3. "The Alphabet of Me" 5:33
4. "Sempiternal Beings" 8:23
5. "Beneath the White Rainbow" 6:45
6. "Island in the Clouds" 5:45
7. "Lovebite" 3:49
8. "Elephants Never Forget" 11:07
9. "Eyes of Ebony" 8:32
Japanese Release
    65:21
10. "The Last Lullaby" 3:04

Personnel

Haken
  • Ross Jennings - vocals
  • Richard Henshall - guitars
  • Charlie Griffiths - guitars
  • Peter Jones - keyboards
  • Conner Green - bass
  • Raymond Hearne - drums
Production and Design
  • Jens Bogren - mixing
  • Dan Goldsworthy - artwork

Quotes from the Band

" in the short time since his return, [Pete Jones] has breathed new life into the band, inspiring us to explore fresh and exciting musical territory. This is a new era for Haken and we cannot wait to share it with all of you!"

-Haken

Trivia

  • The album is the first release by Haken to use fan-made artwork for an official release, and the first to use album art not made by Blacklake since Visions.
  • The font used on the album cover is called Copasetic NF.
  • The release date of "Fauna" is also World Wildlife Day.

Gallery

>> See full Fauna gallery
Vinyl gatefold back
Vinyl gatefold back
Vinyl gatefold
Vinyl gatefold inside
Vinyl A-Side (Black)
A-Side of the Vinyl LP (Black)
Lyricbook Back
Lyric Sheet back cover

Links
Fauna
Studio album by Haken
Released 3 March 2023
Recorded 2022 - 2023
Genre Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock
Length 62:06
Label InsideOut Music
Haken Chronology
Virus
(2020)		 << Fauna
(2023)

"A mechanical animal, a dangerous game, that clockwork song it sings will send you to your grave."

Nightingale, from Fauna