''Restoration'' is an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band Haken, that was released on 27 October 2014 through

Inside Out Music Inside Out Music is a German independent record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century Med ...

. It is the first release of the band to feature bassist Conner Green and the second with producer and mixer

Jens Bogren Jens Peter Daniel Bogren (born 13 November 1979) is a Swedish record producer, mixer and recording engineer specializing in heavy metal music. He has worked on albums by Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Katatonia, Babym ...

, who did his job at his Fascination Street Studios.

Background and recording

The EP was announced on 8 September 2014 via Haken's Facebook page. The EP's three tracks are reworked songs from their 2008 demo, ''Enter the 5th Dimension''. Commenting on the option of reworking old tracks, guitarist Charlie Griffiths said: The ending song, "Crystallised"—which is based on the track "Snow", -- is 19 minutes long and features guest performances from guitarist Pete Rinaldi (

Headspace Headspace may refer to: *Headspace (company), an online healthcare company specializing in meditation *Headspace (organisation), an Australian non-profit organization for youth mental health *Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container ...

) and drummer

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departur ...

(

The Winery Dogs The Winery Dogs are an American rock supergroup formed in 2012 by Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy. Background The idea of the band started out as a project featuring drummer Mike Portnoy and bassist Billy Sheehan, who were aimin ...

, Flying Colors, ex-

Adrenaline Mob Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata. History The ...

, ex-

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

). The band initially said Portnoy would not play the drums nor sing. Commenting on Portnoy's guest performance, drummer Raymond Hearne said: The band later promoted a contest in which people were invited to guess what Portnoy did in the song. They then announced the winner and revealed that Portnoy played the

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

a few seconds before the end of the track. On September 24, the band released a promotional video for "Darkest Light". The song is based on the track "Blind", originally clocking at 11:40. According to Hearne, the band managed to produce a half as long version after cutting away "all the excess fat". Both songs serve as the opening track of their respective releases. The song "Earthlings" is based on the demo "Black Seed".

Track listing

Personnel

;Haken *

Ross Jennings Ross James Jennings (13 November 1944 – 25 March 2016) was a New Zealand actor, becoming one of New Zealand's most experienced television producers and directors, whose credits included ''The Mad Dog Gang'', '' Close to Home'', Moynihan, Insi ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Richard Henshall Richard James "Hen" Henshall is a British progressive metal multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being the guitarist and keyboardist for the bands To-Mera, Haken (band), Haken, Nova Collective, and Opinaut. He has released one album ('' ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s * Charlie Griffiths – guitars * Conner Green – bass * Diego Tejeida – keyboards,

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

* Raymond Hearne –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

;Additional Musicians * Pete Rinaldi –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

–

;Production and design * Jerry Guidroz –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

* Anthony Leung – recording *

– mixing, mastering *Blacklake –

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

References

{{Authority control 2014 EPs Haken (band) albums Inside Out Music EPs