Dark Tranquillity Album: “Haven”

After hearing "The Wonders at Your Feet" about a year ago on an internet station, I excitedly rushed to download and listen to "Haven." I had heard good things about Dark Tranquillity and went into it with high expectations, but after three listens I was having a really hard time figuring out what the big deal was. However, after I got their last album "Damage Done" and proceeded to be blown away, I decided to give "Haven" another chance. However, another four or five listens later I'm still pretty stumped. I really should like this album: I'm a huge fan of Swedish metal, they're obviously very talented, there's a lot of diversity on display here. However, while Dark Tranquillity throw out a lot of ideas on "Haven," they don't often really seem to "stick." Maybe if they weren't so intent on getting their songs done in four minutes or less, the band would give them a little bit more room to stretch out and breathe. Take "The Wonders at Your Feet," for instance. Every necessary element is in place for this to be a great song: the musicianship is top-notch, the vocals are haunting, the melodies are insinuating. However, they rush through in a mere three minutes, and the song winds up feeling incomplete. The verses are only about ten seconds long, the choruses are roughly the same length, then there's an all-too-brief guitar solo, then the chorus is repeated a couple times, and the song is over. It's very frustrating, and almost every song is in the same vein. Just when I feel like I'm getting settled into a song, I'm hit with some sort of arbitrary change. Some bands can change tempo constantly and it works, but with a sound so reliant on mood and texture I really think it's a bad idea. I like the way Dark Tranquillity mix keyboards into their sound, I like Mikael Stanne's voice, I like the way the band mixes heaviness and melody, and I like the guitars. So in the end, I really should've loved "Haven." But I don't. When I want some great Swedish metal, I turn to "Damage Done," or to just about anything by In Flames, Opeth, Soilwork, and the Haunted.

Originally released in 2000, Haven was the fifth full-length studio album from Swedish melodic death metal innovators Dark Tranquillity. Picking up where At the Gates left off, Dark Tranquillity, alongside In Flames, Soilwork and Hypocrisy, took death metal in a bold new direction, adding melody as a major element and experimenting with traditional metal elements, clean vocals, and in Dark Tranquillity's case, keyboards. Lots and lots of keyboards.

Haven was the album where Dark Tranquillity finally seemed to figure out their definitive sound. You could hear them moving ever so slightly in this direction on

and

, and they perhaps went too far on the experimental Projector album, but with Haven all the pieces fit together. They figured out how to use a lot of gothic keyboard sounds and still remain undeniably a death metal band. It helped that Michael Stanne abandoned the clean vocals he used so abundantly on Projector. Not that I minded them, but at the time they made people wonder if Dark Tranquillity was going the way of Amorphis and Samael. I doubt it took anyone more than one listen to blistering songs like "Rundown" and the stunning "The Wonders at Your Feet" to put that idea to rest!

Haven is a stunning melodic death metal album all around. Inescapable melodies and atmospheric keyboards merge seamlessly with a traditional death metal assault and intelligent lyrics, and the result is an album where Dark Tranquillity proved that a death metal album could also be a work of pure artistry.

Haven really is a landmark album in Swedish melodic death metal history, and is one of Dark Tranquillity's finest efforts (and that's saying something). It's an absolutely essential album for Dark Tranquillity fans as well as fans of Swedish melodic death metal in general.

Edition Notes: Century Media reissued Haven (along with

and

) in 2009. The deluxe reissue features digitally remastered sound, a nice slipcase, expanded liner notes, and four bonus tracks. The first three bonus tracks - "In Sight", "Misery In Me" and "Cornered" were b-sides from the Haven sessions that also appeared on the

rarities collection a few years back. It's nice to have them added to the Haven album, but they're not really anything new. The final bonus track is a live version of "The Wonders at Your Feet". While I wouldn't recommend re-buying Haven just for the bonus tracks, I'd definitely recommend the reissue on the basis of the improved sound quality. Between the remastered audio and deluxe packaging, I didn't think twice about replacing my old copy of Haven.

Well, I must say, I am amazed. I will admit that I am fairly new to the melodic death metal genre but needless to say, its amazing. I heard In Flames first back in February of 01'. Theyve grown on me immensley, now I broaden my taste. I heard a lot of talk about DT but I wasnt sure. I decided to check out their most recent album, Haven. I had finally seen the light.

Dark Tranquillity is only parralleled by In Flames. Their song writing ability, the care and energy in the music, the lyrics. Everything comes together amazingly. Dear god, this is music from the heart. The music is an amazing blend of hard chugging riffage, with that so incredible melodic guitar thrown in. The drumming is awesome, the double base in the title track is great. Also a new addition is the synths that were added. I love it, I think it adds a lot more power to the music. Stannes vocals shocked me. Dark, brooding, but strong and very deep. You can tell he loves what he does.

Standout songs....how could I choose? I can seriously listen to this whole CD from front to back. From Wonders to Loss for Words. Every song is full of energy and is hard and powerful, sometimes even dark and brooding (Emptier Still, showcasing great clean vocals by Stanne). I do have 3 definity favorites however. I love the power of "Feast of Burdens". The riff that plays through the song is beutiful. The title track is what really cought me. The double base drum, the beutiful synths, guitar work, amazing. Also "The Same" captured me as well. The power he sings the chorus with is jaw dropping. Overall great song.

This album is a masterpiece in my opinion. Im going to work my way backwards as I did with In Flames, Projector is next on my list. I cant wait to explore this band because they are definite masters at what they do.

I really could never give any DT album under 5 stars. They always are melodic, catchy, and very musical. This album is more synth-influenced, which I kind of liked. While not as good as "The Gallery" (I doubt much is), this is a great cd.

this album is simply awesome, if you liked their last album (like me) Projector and a fan of their earlier material then this will not dissappoint but will rather pleasure you. Combining striking melodies and heavy riffs with keys it creates one hell of an album, all METAL fans go get this album now or get it right here from Amazon.com. Enjoy!