Haken Australian Fauna Expedition + Support

Bands: Haken, I Built the Sky
Venue: Max Watts, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 2nd May 2024

Review by: Ziggy Thunders
Photos by: Dave Collopy

A close to sold out Max Watts was treated to a feast of progressive music, with I Built The Sky and Haken taking the venue by storm and creating a perfect pairing. At the time of writing I’ve had sixteen hours to process this and I’m still left speechless from this wonderfully unhinged show, so please bear with me as I try and put this into words.

I Built The Sky
To a grand opening and heavy weight worthy introduction full of humour, I Built The Sky’s Rohan commanded the stage solo with the assistance of a band in the form of a backing track.
With an onslaught of heavy as fuck riffs, I Built The Sky dazzled the audience with his technical abilities. Rohan took us on a journey through their discography, from Wormhole Traveler off 2019’s The Zenith Rise to which an audience member shouted “That was sick” at the end, to You Got This, a single released in 2023.
We were treated to a show of mind-boggling guitar proficiency, with songs that took us on a well structured journey of turbo charged riffs combined with complex tapping moments, gentle harmonics filled with emotion to breakdowns that sent many heads banging in the audience.
Midway through the set the electric guitar was traded out for an acoustic. What followed was nothing short of beautiful. During a performance of This Is Astral Travel a request was made for everyone to get out their phone torches. To the sound of uplifting chords and delicate harmonics the room was illuminated by the audience’s phones, the ceiling lights of the venue glistened like sparkling silver stars, and in this moment Rohan built us a sky of shimmering bright lights.
It was an absolute treat to see I Built The Sky in their hometown, with a heartfelt message during the beginning of the set encouraging people to follow their dreams and do what they love, you could feel the appreciation from the stage and the adoration for the music from the crowd. It’s a reminder we all need every now and then, isn’t it? Find the thing in life that makes you happy and fucking go for it. You Got This.

Haken
I don’t even know where to begin with Haken. They’ve left me utterly speechless. The musical skill and presence of Haken was unreal, the energy they delivered was infectious, you could tell immediately this was one of those special nights where the energy in the room was electric.
After five long years Haken finally returned to Melbourne in support of their latest release, Fauna. They kicked off their set with Prosthetic, a track of 2020’s Virus, heads started banging and didn’t stop for the rest of the night.
The setlist was stacked with songs that would’ve pleased any Haken fan, from Elephants Never Forget off Fauna, fan favourite Earthrise from Affinity and as an encore, a performance of The Cockroach King from The Mountain that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The way the band work together seamlessly to take influence from other genres and incorporate them into progressive metal is so goddamn good. From Ray Hearne’s disco beats on the drums to jazz piano sections from keyboardist Peter Jones, to acapella sections involving all members of the band which is absolutely fucking magical to witness. Guitarists Charlie Griffiths and Richard Henshall play perfectly off each other with rhythm and solo sections, their incredibly tight playing and ability to go from brutal face melting riffs to upbeat, seductive pop moments featured in Lovebite is mesmerising to watch; a song that was also served by bassist Conner Green who laid out the most delicious grooves that got the crowd dancing. Led by frontman Ross Jennings, whose charisma, powerful vocal techniques and theatrical presence held the audience captive and added the perfect finishing touch.
Progressive metal is a genre known for long epic songs, which sometimes can be overwhelming and daunting – but not when Haken does it. To close the set they performed Crystallised, a 20 minute epic from 2014’s Restoration. Their ability to make a song of this length go by in an instant is a testament to their skill as composers because there is not a single moment in this song that drags, everything feels right. The masterful vocal harmony section that floored the audience to the medieval folk moment to the jazz jam towards the end – this is a journey of a song to say the least, and it felt like some sort of pleasantly chaotic fever dream to see live.
Go see Haken perform if they come to your city, you’ll be in for a wild ride that you won’t want to end. I can say with one hundred percent certainty Melbourne cannot wait for Haken to return.