is Haven criminally underrated, or is it just me?

BiatchGuy

tired and rundown
Apr 3, 2002
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Well.. ?

I never see a lot of talk about this album, it's my second-favorite though (behind Projector) A very daring album and there's an atmosphere permeating the album which is rare, as well as a cohesiveness in the blend of beauty and savagery which wasn't repeated with the more primal Damage Done. Regrettable that the clean vox of Projector were almost totally jettisoned but the bold move to focus songwriting just as much around keyboards as around guitar riffs makes up for it.


Thoughts?
 
Well, it's definitely not my favourite DT album, but i have to admit it's the one that got me (and from what i read on this board, a lot of others as well) to start buying DT albums.
I guess it works quite well as an introductory album for some people.
 
Miolo said:
i believe i'm one of the few people who thinks it's way better than projector.
You're probably right.

There was a time when I thought it was slightly better, but I put Projector on top now. I do think it's way ahead of DD though.

Haven is probably in my top 20-25 metal albums ever. Projector is top 10 worthy.
 
I agree that Haven is underrated, but I think all of Dark Tranquillity's material is underrated by the metal masses as well. Haven is my favorite DT album, I have to listen to "The Wonders at Your Feet" at least once a day! :lol:
 
While I think Haven is probably the easiest DT-album to get into, in the end I think it offers slightly less than, for example, Damage Done. There's much more challenge in the other DT-albums, I believe, and while that doesn't make Haven any worse, it kind of leaves it less memorable.

So, to answer the question, among the DT-albums, no, I don't think it is underrated. Among other albums of its genre, it surely is - but so is about every DT-album (with the possible exception of The Gallery, which tends to get the recognition it deserves).

-Villain
 
I was into black metal and shit, though Haven is my number one DT album! And it's not about it being easy or not. You have to face it, this album is the one that has the most odors... lol

To me it's the one where Mikael Stanne sings the best; where the guitars sound the biggest and of course, the melodies are really special and aren't what we use to hear in metal.
 
Hmm. I'd say Damage Done is the album that's not "challenging".. it's a terrific album but a bit on the safe side.
 
i really didnt get into Haven, except for the last 2 tracks. then again, i was dissappointed in the beginning of my listening session so i wasnt paying much attention.
 
It's really underrated...I don't really agree with Villain at all about Haven being the most accessible or less challenging one. Like BiatchGuy said, Damage Done for example is a solid album that gathers all their previous albums in one and is what might be called 'less challenging.'
I had such a hard time getting into Haven. Especially from the metalhead's perspective I think Haven might be hard to get into.
I just got into Not Built To Last at first, and now the rest maybe a year later. It's a great album. The keyboards on this album are wonderful, also as usual the lyrics, vocals and the guitar riffs work very well. Stuff like the main riff of At Loss For Words or the ending of Not Built To Last is spectacular headbang material.
 
It got me into DT but the other albums got me out of Haven. I tried listening it yesterday but I didnt like it too much. Too chorus based structures.
Like Villain said, "the easiest DT-album to get into" in my opinion too.
 
like villain, i don't think haven is underrated. it's a bit too cheesy, and i find it's stopped growing on me quite early, mainly due to the excessive mellowness of some of the songs on it, plus the fact that repeated listenings to live versions of a bunch of the tracks (not built, indifferent suns, haven...) are currently making me see them as quite boring, almost annoying.

in other words, there are simply not enough outstanding tracks on it to make me appreciate the album as a whole. wonders, feast of bubu, the same, fabric, at loss for words, and especially cornered, are the songs on it that i would deem outstanding. sure, still better than the vast majority of the records by any other band, but in comparison with the rest of dt material (with the exception of gallery, which i like the least), i find it weak.
 
DeepInMisery said:
i have read that the digipack version of Haven contains the video ThereIn. I have the jewelcase Haven, and it still contains the video ThereIn. Therefore, i wonder if both versions are supposed to have ThereIn video on them. ?
yase. you know, i guess it's one of those cases where in the beginning something is meant to be digipak-exclusive, but then they end up stuffing it everywhere for reasons that are not really clear to me. i also have a jewelcase edition featuring the video, in addition to the other. the only one that's different is the japanese version, because of cornered.
 
Oh my god you guys compare albums? lol don't be surprised if then some album is left behind for being 'metally' different.

Face to metal the Mind's I, Gallery, Skydancer are to me the best albums, face to the whole european extreme metal scene nowadays, Damage Done, Projector are the most outstanding ones. Face to the whole wide music scene, Haven is the best of Dark Tranquillity.

It all depends on what your opinion faces to.