Haven (GER) - Causes review
Band: | Haven (GER) |
Album: | Causes |
Style: | Alternative metal, Post-metal |
Release date: | January 24, 2025 |
A review by: | musclassia |
01. Idol
02. Causes
03. Leash
04. Wesen
05. Rue
06. Theia
07. Ankou
It’s not uncommon for bands to try and defy the categorizations foisted upon them, even in cases where said labels are fully applicable; one only has to look at all the deathcore bands that tried to not be called deathcore bands. Conversely, it can be uncommon for a band to step outside the confines of one genre and still accurately define the end result themselves, but Haven (GER) have accomplished this for their own sound.
As stated in their Bandcamp and website biographies, Haven (GER) are an alternative/post-metal band, and their debut album Causes very much sounds like a fusion of alternative metal and post-metal. While it’s not an unheard-of combination (one’s mind might drift towards the likes of Ghost Brigade or Eden Circus), it’s infrequent enough that one can easily envisage intriguing new directions from which a band might approach said fusion. In the case of Haven (GER), the overall experience does offer something reasonably fresh, although they arguably wear their influences a tad too openly at timess.
When it comes to the post-metal influences, there’s a handful of bands that partially come to mind. Although Haven (GER) don’t approach their levels of intensity or dynamic contrast, there’s aspects of the pained harsh vocals and understated nature of the quiet passages in the first half of the album that invite comparison to Amenra, or perhaps SubRosa when the female clean vocals come in (who exactly performs these isn’t entirely clear, as album credits aren’t currently available, and while Sabrina Klewitz had been in the band until recently as bassist and backing vocalist, she seems to have been replaced by Peer Cyriacks). At other moments, I potentially pick up progressive hints more reminiscent of acts such as Blindead, The Moth Gatherer or Playgrounded.
For the alt-metal part of the band, however, it’s easier to look towards one particular artist. When he’s not unleashing raw, anguished screams, vocalist Norman Siegel has a clean singing voice that inevitably will leave most listeners thinking of Maynard James Keenan, and his projects are very relevant when listening to Causes. This is especially so in the second half, when the music flows into a style that both vocally and instrumentally lingers somewhere between Tool and A Perfect Circle, arguably drifting from the former towards the prior as it approaches the final tracks.
To begin with, Haven (GER) strike a fairly solid balance between these contrasting influences. The first three songs on the record are the heaviest, making plentiful use of the harsh vocals and crunchiest guitar tones, but amidst the punishing extremes and delicate lulls of opener “Idol”, glimpses of alt-metal accessibility and groove very occasionally shine through the dark clouds lingering above the song, and the pair of songs that follow allow those elements to seep further in. The title track is patient, melodic, and expansive with its soundscapes, crafting large environs during the choruses that are shaped by post-rock tremolos while introducing some catchiness through Siegel’s melodic vocals. “Leash” has probably the most dramatic dynamic contrasts across the album, as the longest quiet build on the record (taking up most of the song’s second half) is sandwiched between visceral, driving intensity, but those Tool influences do quite a bit to shape and distinguish the song’s identity.
With how accomplished these songs are, it is a bit of a shame that the album’s second half, following the tender lull that is “Wesen”, pivots in a more clearly derivative direction. While the heaviest vocals and moments on “Rue” go beyond the limits of Tool, it’s hard to listen to the fusion of Siegel’s honey-sweet vocals and the guitar/drum interplay during most of the song and not feel like you’re listening to a song that just missed the cut for Fear Inoculum. As the writing lightens and simplifies on “Theia” (and partially on “Ankou”, which the former serves as a quasi-introduction for), that’s perhaps replaced by a ‘this is A Perfect Circle’ nagging feeling.
I do feel slightly harsh focusing on this in a critical way, as the actual music itself in the album’s second half is largely rather enjoyable, with decent heavy peaks, interesting rhythmic interplay in the more complex passages, and a good degree of memorability to the melodic hooks. Ultimately, it’s a very likeable debut full-length album that’s concise and engaging; it’s just one that initially reveals a relatively novel musical vision without fully managing to capitalize on it. Still, it’s unfair to be too critical towards a band showing their influences too clearly on a debut record, particularly when others have been even more transparent early on (just think of Soen and Wheel when it comes to Tool) and subsequently found success while striving for their own identities.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 8 |
Songwriting: | 7 |
Originality: | 6 |
Production: | 8 |
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