Haken's fifth studio album, Vector, is due out on October 26th. The album was produced by the band themselves, and recorded and mixed by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood (Periphery, Devin Townsend Project), with the artwork once again being handled by Blacklake.

The band have now launched the first of a 3-part interview with band members Ross Jennings, Charlie Griffiths & Rich Henshall discussing how the new album came together. Watch below:

The album will be available as limited edition 2CD Digipak (including instrumental versions), gatefold vinyl 2LP + CD, & as digital download.

Tracklisting:

"Clear"
"The Good Doctor"
"Puzzle Box"
"Veil"
"Nil By Mouth"
"Host"
"A Cell Divides"

"The Good Doctor" video:

Since their inception in 2007, Haken have shown over four previous studio albums, one EP and a live release that they never stand still, merely satisfied to rely on past triumphs. Rather, Haken always look for ways to challenge themselves as musicians and artists, and also to keep the listeners on their collective toes. “We don't like to make simple music,” laughs vocalist Ross Jennings. “We always aim to defy expectations, and I believe we've surpassed what we aimed to achieve with our new album.”
 
Their fifth studio record sees the band going in a heavier direction with the music. “We’ve always had a heavy influence”, explains guitarist Charlie Griffiths, “but it was obvious from the riffs that were naturally coming out of us early in the writing process that this would be a more metal album. These are some of the most riff driven songs we’ve ever written.” As is usual, Haken produced the album themselves, but for the first time they have enlisted Adam 'Nolly' Getgood during the recording and mixing stages. Formerly bassist with Periphery, in the last couple of years he has built a reputation as a fine producer. “We produced the album ourselves, as we always do,” insists Jennings. “But we're fans of what Adam has done with Periphery, Sikth and Devin Townsend. He has a great reputation for the heavier end of our genre”.
 
But if this album is musically heavy, then there's an underlying theme running through the seven songs which is certainly esoteric and fascinating. “The scene is set with the track The Good Doctor, which was a really fun song. Musically it feels like a logical step from 'Affinity', but lyrically it’s a bit more theatrical and about as ‘rock opera’ as Haken has ever got”, explains Griffiths. “It’s about a Doctor with an intriguing, perhaps sinister interest in a particular patient. From there the story enters the point-of-view of the patient - who appears to be catatonic, but his mind is sparking with what could be memories, or delusions brought on by the treatment he’s receiving - we leave this up to the listeners to decide. Although we don’t want to give too much away, people who are familiar with our back catalogue will have fun discovering further clues we’ve planted throughout the album. And that's the challenge for the fans - to find out for themselves their own meaning for 'Vector' as an album”.
 
Haken recently announced North American co-headline dates alongside Norway’s Leprous, and labelmates Bent Knee, in what is an all InsideOutMusic bill. These will be the first live shows in support of Vector, and you can find the full list of dates below:

Dates:

October
30 - The Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI
31 - Opera House - Toronto, ON

November
2 - Underground Arts - Philadelphia, PA
3 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
4 - The Sinclair - Boston, MA
6 - Soundstage - Baltimore, MD
7 - Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC
8 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL
9 - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale, FL
10 - The Plaza Live - Orlando, FL
11 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
13 - Gas Monkey - Dallas, TX
14 - Barracuda - Austin, TX
16 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ
17 - Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
18 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA
19 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
20 - The Crocodile - Seattle, WA
21 - Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC
23 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
24 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
25 - Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS
26 - Delmar Hall - St Louis, MO
27 - Exit/In - Nashville, TN
29 - Rex Theater - Pittsburgh, PA
30 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH

December
1 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL

Tickets available here.

Haken have also announced European and Latin American live dates in support of the new album.

The band comments: “We’re thrilled to be bringing our Vector Studies tour to Europe. We had immense fun celebrating our 10 year anniversary across Europe in 2017 with incredible turnouts and warm receptions. This time around we will be focusing on performing tracks from our new album Vector along with some live favourites of ours. For your health and wellbeing, the good doctor prescribes you some live Haken.”

The band add on the Latin America shows: "A visit to South America has been long overdue. Many of our dedicated South American fans have made epic trips around the world to experience our shows in Europe and North America and now we're ecstatic to reveal we will finally be returning the favour! See you in January! As for Mexico City and Cruise To The Edge, well... we cannot wait to return!"

Latin America 2019

January
26 - Teatro Teleton - Santiago, Chile
27 - Groove - Buenos Aires, Argentina
29 - Caricoa Club - Sao Paolo, Brazil
30 - Auditorio Centro De La Amistad Peruano China - Lima, Peru

February
1 - Lunar - Mexico City, Mexico

Europe 2019

February
15 - Academy 3 - Manchester, UK
16 - St Luke’s - Glasgow, UK
17 - The Fleece - Bristol, UK
19 - Essigfabrik - Cologne, Germany
20 - Batschkapp - Frankfurt, Germany
21 - Übel & Gefährlich - Hamburg, Germany
22 - Lille Vega - Copenhagen, Denmark
23 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway
24 - Debaser Strand - Stockholm, Sweden
26 - Columbia Theater - Berlin, Germany
27 - Kwadrat - Krakow, Poland
28 - A38 - Budapest, Hungary

March
2 - Szene - Vienna, Austria
3 - Futurum - Prague, Czech Republic
4 - Conne Island - Leipzig, Germany
6 - Im Wizemann - Stuttgart, Germany
7 - Backstage Halle - Munich, Germany
8 - Kiff - Aarau, Switzerland
9 - Magazzini Generali - Milan, Italy
10 - Transbordeur - Lyon, France
12 - Mon Live - Madrid, Spain
13 - Kafe Antzokia - Bilbao, Spain
14 - La Maroquinerie - Paris, France
15 - De Boerderij - Zoetermeer, Netherlands
16 - Islington Assembly Hall - London, UK
23 - Tavastia - Helsinki, Finland

Full ticket details here.

(Photo - Will Ireland)