Biography

Richard Henshall is acclaimed for his work as founding member of progressive metal juggernaut Haken, as well as Nova Collective, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, and as a Strandberg Guitars associate artist. In 2019 the multi-instrumentalist completed work on his ambitious debut solo album, entitled ‘The Cocoon’. World Prog Nation described it as “a complete creative exploration. It seems that Richard didn’t want to explore only one creative direction and managed to touch many styles and moods very well and give them proper attention. This album defines the musical and creative identity of one of the most talented composers in prog today.” Consisting of tracks that range from dense polyrhythmic passages to delicate minimalistic interludes and everything in between, 'The Cocoon' features Henshall’s trademark guitar and keyboard playing throughout, and marks his debut performance as a lead vocalist. The multi-layered, richly textured and often heart wrenching album, represents four years of creative input from Henshall and draws inspiration from artists such as Bon Iver, Meshuggah, Squarepusher and Tigran Hamasyan, which has resulted in, arguably, his most ambitious and eclectic work to date.