LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Haven is the fifth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal pioneers Dark Tranquillity, originally released in 2000 through Century Media.

One of the key albums in the band's musical evolution, Haven continued the experimentation begun on Projector, combining the melodic death metal sound of the Gothenburg scene with a greatly increased use of keyboards, electronics and atmospheric textures.

The album marked the first Dark Tranquillity recording with keyboard player Martin Brändström as a permanent member and bassist Michael Nicklasson, while Martin Henriksson moved from bass to guitar alongside Niklas Sundin. Mikael Stanne's powerful harsh vocals remain at the centre of the music, but the arrangements are more streamlined, melodic and atmospheric than on the band's earlier recordings.

Highlights include the powerful opening The Wonders At Your Feet, Not Built To Last, Indifferent Suns, Feast Of Burden and the atmospheric title track. Songs such as Fabric, Ego Drama and Emptier Still further demonstrate the increasing importance of keyboards and electronic textures within the band's sound.

Recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg and produced by Dark Tranquillity together with Fredrik Nordström, Haven represents an important transitional point between the band's classic '90s melodic death metal sound and the more modern, atmospheric approach they would develop throughout the following decade.

Track Listing:

Side A

1. The Wonders At Your Feet – 3:00
2. Not Built To Last – 3:38
3. Indifferent Suns – 3:35
4. Feast Of Burden – 3:25
5. Haven – 3:32
6. The Same – 3:10

Side B

1. Fabric – 3:56
2. Ego Drama – 4:34
3. Rundown – 3:53
4. Emptier Still – 3:39
5. At Loss For Words – 6:44