Artist: DARK TRANQUILLITY
Album: HAVEN (CD)

Year: 2000
Media type: CD

Their history begins in 1989, albeit for the first few years under a different name before claiming the DARK TRANQUILLITY moniker. It took a few years of hard work in the underground before the debut album "Skydancer" came out in 1993 - an instant classic and one of the foundations of the so-called Gothenburg school of melodic death metal. At the time Anders Friden was still behind the mic, who left the band shortly afterwards and proceeded to become famous as the frontman of In Flames. In the years to come In Flames would stand for the status quo of the Gothenburg sound, while DARK TRANQUILLITY immediately started to tear apart the established song structures and build their identity as uncompromising innovators. The first result came in the form of "The Gallery" and set the basic formula for all DARK TRANQUILLITY albums to come. Former rhythm guitarist Mikael Stanne, who made his first appearance behind the microphone on the "Of Chaos And Eternal Night" MCD, and it is his charismatic voice, both aggressive and melodic, combined with Niklas Sundin's complex riffs that make the base ingredients for the band's unique sound. The other element of DARK TRANQUILLITY’s modern sound first appeared on the 1996 mini album "Enter Suicidal Angels", where they started to experiment with electronic sounds. It took another album, the rather progressive "The Mind's I", a longish creative break and the breakthrough with the dark and melancholic "Projector" in 1999, before these early experiments would yield truly dramatic results. Shortly after Projector's release they added Martin Brandstrom as a permanent keyboard player to their line-up, thus laying the foundation for 2000's "Haven", a masterpiece in the combination of death metal and modern elements. With its cold, atmospheric melodies and gripping, highly energetic guitar work, "Haven" took death metal straight into the 21st century. Worldwide extended tours raised DARK TRANQUILLITY’s profile as an exceptional live band, and it is no wonder that the following album, the precise and aggressive "Damage Done" entered both the Swedish and German official album charts on its release.

TRACKLIST:

"The Wonders at Your Feet" 3:00
"Not Built to Last" 3:38
"Indifferent Suns" 3:35
"Feast of Burden" 3:25
"Haven" 3:32
"The Same" 3:10
"Fabric" 3:56
"Ego Drama" 4:34
"Rundown" 3:53
"Emptier Still" 3:39
"At Loss for Words" 6:44

LINE-UP:

Mikael Stanne - vocals
Niklas Sundin - guitars
Martin Henriksson - guitars
Michael Nicklasson - bass guitar
Martin Brandstrom - keyboards
Anders Jivarp - drums