Henki
Details
LP / Format
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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Henki is likely to prove equally irresistible to fans of Opeth, The Watersons and These New Puritans' Field of Reeds, and a life-changing event for those with a yen for all three.
90
There’s so much to unpack here. It’s a sprawling work, the shortest song being six minutes, the longest being over twelve. Lyrically, Dawson is on fine form.
90
Freed from his complex finger-picking, Dawson is able to soar gloriously over Circle’s layers of sound, while the group are stronger with his mighty voice and melodies elevating their tumult.
80
These are wild, protean hard rock songs rooted in psychedelic folk and delivered with Green Man-worthy gusto. What's not to love?
80
A sprawling epic written from the perspective of a seed and a lament for an ancient tree are highlights on this inspired collaboration.
80
The absurd and serious wheeze that is being alive is so brilliantly explored here; how the life of a seed (as on Silene) can mirror our own lived experiences. It takes special artists to draw out emotional resonance from something that can seem so abstract.
75
The eccentric English songwriter and the prolific Finnish rock group collaborate for an album that routes ancient plant life into deeply human stories of toil, tragedy, and the afterlife.
60
Newcastle folk artist Richard Dawson’s collaboration with the eclectic Finnish metal band is full of twists and turns.
'The worst voice in rock' returns on this collaboration album where the listener is offered some respite as he forgets to sing for minutes on end at a time. Bonus.
Still, Dawson's vocals are there a lot of the time and they frequently don't really mesh with the pomp folk rock backing - even when they do I'm still not sure what to make of this 'Tenacious D doing an epic number' widdly woo cheesiness.
Your Dungeons and Dragons tournament deserves a better soundtrack.
It's cool to see an embrace of Prog Rock that stems from its 70's roots, in Richard Dawson & Circles case we see use grooves, sonic palettes and general songcraft that feels like a tribute to the greats from this era, but 'Henki' as a whole just feels like a bland, sterile and uninspired collection of Genesis worship to my ears. That wouldn't be a bad thing in and of itself if it was executed well, but it's not on 'Henki' in my opinion. The bland production makes the driving instrumentation ... read more
I thought it would be a long time until I heard the next truly great prog record. I guess here we are.
I've loved Richard's past couple records, so I expected this to be at the very least cool, especially considering the collaboration with Circle. I think this record PERFECTLY combined the aesthetics of both bands into a hectic, but a loveable combination of heavy prog and folk aesthetics. Richard still performs with his somewhat amateur, yet passionate tone of vocals with a newfound drama to ... read more
Henki feels like pilgrimaging over a rugged mountain away from your medieval town after it’s just been sieged by invaders from another country during a long-lasting war over land and resources.
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Track List
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Added on: September 13, 2021