There are bands that release songs.
Then there are bands like Haken who return from silence sounding like theyโve accidentally opened an interdimensional portal somewhere beneath a synthesiser shop in London.
After three years without new music, Haken have finally unleashed โIn A Fever Dreamโ โ a sprawling, emotional, technically absurd prog epic that immediately reminds the world why they remain one of the most important and unpredictable bands in modern heavy music. ๐ฅ๐ถ
And letโs be honest here, munโฆ the prog scene has been WAITING for this.
Since the release of 2023โs critically adored Fauna, fans have spent the last few years surviving largely on live footage, rumours, theories, and lengthy Reddit discussions involving graphs, hidden lyrical meanings and people arguing about whether The Mountain is still their masterpiece.
Now the wait is over.
And Haken havenโt come back quietly.
๐ THREE YEARS OF SILENCEโฆ AND THEN THIS
โIn A Fever Dreamโ isnโt just a comeback single.
It feels like a statement.
A giant neon sign screaming:
โWeโre still evolving. Catch up.โ
Clocking in at over seven minutes, the track refuses to play by mainstream rules. Thereโs no rushed chorus engineered for TikTok clips. No safe radio-metal structure. No watered-down compromise.
Instead, Haken do what Haken have always done best:
they build worlds.
The song opens in haunting fashion, drifting into existence through delicate atmosphere, ambient textures and the unmistakable voice of Ross Jennings. Thereโs a dreamlike quality to the opening moments โ calm, reflective, almost hypnotic.
Then slowlyโฆ everything begins to mutate.
The guitars become sharper.
The rhythms become stranger.
The tension starts climbing.
Before long, the whole thing erupts into the kind of colossal prog-metal crescendo that makes you instinctively stare into the middle distance while pretending your life is a Christopher Nolan film. ๐๐ฅ
This is music built for headphones, dark rooms, long journeys and those weird moments at 2am where your brain suddenly decides to contemplate the universe for no reason.
๐ธ THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM โ HAKENโS HUGE LINE-UP CHANGES
Of course, thereโs another reason this single carries so much weight.
Earlier this year, the band shocked fans by announcing the departures of guitarist Charlie Griffiths and bassist Conner Green.
For many prog fans, that news landed like somebody unplugging the Matrix.
Charlie Griffiths especially has long been viewed as one of the defining architects of the Haken sound โ delivering riffs, solos and compositional ideas that helped shape albums like:
- Visions
- The Mountain
- Affinity
- Vector
- Virus
Meanwhile Conner Greenโs bass work brought groove, punch and ridiculous technical precision to the bandโs modern era.
Losing two core members in the same year would derail most bands completely.
But Haken have never really operated like most bands.
Rather than sounding lost or uncertain, โIn A Fever Dreamโ feels focused, cinematic and strangely fearless.
It doesnโt sound like a band trying to survive change.
It sounds like a band charging directly into it.
๐ฅ ENTER BRYAN BELLER โ AND GOOD LORD THAT BASS TONE
For the recording of the new single, Haken recruited none other than Bryan Beller โ a musician whose reputation within progressive music circles is already legendary.
Known for his incredible work with The Aristocrats as well as collaborations with Mike Keneally, Dethklok and countless prog icons, Beller brings a thunderous low-end presence to the track.
And honestly?
The bass on this song sounds like itโs been forged inside an active volcano.
It rumbles beneath the mix with ridiculous warmth and clarity, locking into the drums while still managing to dance around the guitars with unsettling elegance.
Prog fans are going to spend weeks dissecting this thing note-for-note.
Somewhere in Wales right now thereโs already a bloke on YouTube uploading:
โHaken โ In A Fever Dream FULL BASS COVER (NO TABS)โ
You know itโs happening. ๐คฃ
๐๏ธ GEORGE LEVERโS PRODUCTION MAKES EVERYTHING FEEL MASSIVE
Another huge part of the trackโs impact comes from producer George Lever.
If the name sounds familiar, itโs because Lever has helped craft some of the most immersive heavy music productions in recent years through work with:
- Sleep Token
- Loathe
- Thornhill
That modern cinematic production style is all over โIn A Fever Dreamโ.
Everything sounds enormous.
Not messy.
Not overproduced.
Justโฆ huge.
The synth layers shimmer without drowning the guitars. The drums punch like a hydraulic press. The vocals float above the chaos beautifully.
There are moments where the entire track feels less like a song and more like a collapsing sci-fi city soundtrack.
Itโs absolutely gorgeous.
๐ง WHY HAKEN STILL MATTER SO MUCH TO MODERN PROG
What makes Haken special isnโt just technical skill.
There are loads of bands who can play complicated music.
Hakenโs real strength is emotion.
Thatโs why their music connects beyond the usual โmusicianโs musicianโ audience.
Yes, they can shift time signatures seventeen times before lunch.
Yes, they can write riffs complicated enough to make your guitar tutor cry into a pint.
But underneath all the complexity is melody, atmosphere and genuine feeling.
Thatโs what separates them from a lot of modern prog bands who disappear up their own fretboards.
Haken songs feel human.
Even when they sound like they were composed by emotionally unstable robots in outer space. ๐ฝ๐น
๐ช THE LIVE RETURN IS GOING TO BE CHAOTIC IN THE BEST WAY
Haken are already scheduled to headline Euroblast Festival later this year, marking one of the first major live appearances of this new era.
And honestly, Euroblast crowds are exactly the kind of audience that will treat โIn A Fever Dreamโ like sacred scripture.
Expect:
- Air-drumming Olympics
- Emotionally overwhelmed prog dads
- People nodding thoughtfully at polyrhythms
- At least one wizard-looking bloke with a ยฃ400 vinyl backpack
- Someone loudly explaining concept albums at the bar
Prog festivals are magical places, mun. ๐ค๐บ
And if this single is anything to go by, Hakenโs next live chapter could be absolutely enormous.
๐ต THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
โIn A Fever Dreamโ is everything fans hoped for:
โ
ambitious
โ
emotional
โ
technically jaw-dropping
โ
weird as hell
โ
unmistakably Haken
Most importantly thoughโฆ it feels inspired.
Not every band survives major line-up changes with their identity intact.
Some fade.
Some panic.
Some release terrible โsafeโ records trying to win over radio playlists.
Haken have done the opposite.
Theyโve returned with a sprawling prog odyssey that doubles down on everything that makes them unique.
And in a musical world increasingly obsessed with algorithms, trends and 30-second clips, thereโs something genuinely refreshing about a band still willing to create music this unapologetically ambitious.
No shortcuts.
No compromise.
Just atmosphere, chaos, emotion and colossal musicianship.
Proper prog metal.
Proper art.
Proper job. ๐ฅ๐ค
Now if youโll excuse us, weโre off to listen to โIn A Fever Dreamโ while dramatically staring out of rain-covered Welsh windows pretending weโre in a dystopian sci-fi masterpiece.
