UK metallers, Haken, have released a lyric video for the track “The Endless Knot”, featured on their fourth full-length studio album, Affinity. The follow-up to their 2013 album The Mountain will be released on April 29th.

Says the band: ““The Endless Knot” explores ideas of human survival instinct and the power of unity in the face of extinction. Musically, you could say this is new territory for us as we've taken sounds from dance and electronica music and blended them with our own brand of rock/metal. The end result hopefully gives the song a nice and upbeat, energetic feel. The visuals loosely follow the life-cycle of a star and Miles Skarin at Crystal Spotlight did an awesome job with the animation on this one!"

Since releasing their Restoration EP in 2014, Haken have been making waves on the live circuit, including appearances at high-profile festivals such as Hellfest, Ramblin' Man Fair, Be Prog! My Friend and Cruise to the Edge as well as supporting the likes of Between The Buried & Me and The Neal Morse Band, a double headline UK tour with Leprous, and their first North American headline tour.

Recorded during the winter months of 2015, Affinity marks a new approach to the song-writing process for Haken, as vocalist Ross Jennings explains; "It is the most collaborative we have ever been on an album. We wanted to develop and expand our sound by having every member contribute initial ideas from the very beginning of the process. It naturally takes longer to filter through the mass of material and fit it all together coherently, but this approach has helped to create something completely fresh whilst maintaining the core elements of Haken's sound."

The band once again called upon Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Between The Buried And Me) for mixing and mastering duties. "He is a wizard in this department! We are always confident his mix will bring out the best from our performance and this is no exception," remarks keyboardist Diego Tejeida.

Like much of Haken's previous music, Affinity is full of surprises and “The Architect”, the album's centrepiece, is no exception. Blasting through a dizzying array of instrumental insanity coupled with down-tempo atmospheric tenuity, Haken welcomes friend and Leprous frontman Einar Solberg mid-song for a spot of guest vocals! Just one of many twists and turns throughout this 60-minute musical lobotomy, Haken's Affinity will open up a new dimension in this UK sextet's trajectory.

Affinity will arrive as a Limited Edition Digipak (incl. bonus disc with instrumentals), 180g Gatefold 2 LP Edition (incl. album on CD), Standard CD Jewel Case, Digital Download and Deluxe Digital Download (incl. instrumental version of the album as bonus).

Tracklisting:

“affinity.exe”      
“Initiate”
“1985”
“Lapse”
“The Architect”
“Earthrise”
“Red Giant”
“The Endless Knot”
“Bound By Gravity”

“Initiate” video:

The band have confirmed their first European tour dates:

May
26 - London, England - The Garage
27 - Zoetermeer, Netherlands - Boerderij
29 - Paris, France - Divan du monde
30 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
31 - Lyon, France - Marché Gare

June
2 - Barcelona, Spain - Razz 2
3 - Madrid, Spain - Caracol
4 - Spain - Minnuendo Festival
6 - Milan, Italy - Legend Club
7 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
8 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Substage
9 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - Colos Saal
10 - Berlin, Germany - Maschinenhaus
11 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresija
14 - Stockholm, Sweden - Bryggarsalen
15 - Oslo, Norway - John Dee
16 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Spillestedet Stengade
17 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo
18 - Cologne, Germany - Gebäude 9
19 - UK - Stone Free Festival