Lyrics by the composer:

I used to feel like our love kept me sustained

Thought it was paradise

I used to feel fire coursing through my veins,

But there was poison inside.

I thought that we would be together,

I wouldn’t have to walk alone.

But they say hell is other people,

So I’ll just burn here on my own.

Can’t remember all the times I took up arms

Slept with a knife at my chest

‘Cause when the horrors of the day had gone,

The devils breathed down my neck.

I really wish that I could have slayed them all,

Emerging strong and proud.

But when you left, you set my life ablaze

And now the flame won’t go out.

I thought that we would be together,

I wouldn’t have to walk alone.

But they say hell is other people,

So I’ll just burn here on my own.

If our love was meant to be temporary

Why won’t these embers burn down?

Left in the ash of a smoldering sanctuary

In the husk of my heart’s haven.

I’m done making burnt offerings to you

Slaying my dreams at the altar,

Watching the blood as it gathers around you

Streaming from down the ivory pillars

I sacrifice myself,

To myself alone.

Rending flesh, revealing bone

Layers of suffering long neglected.

These ailing limbs that you infected

I cast off for the wings of the crow.

If our love was meant to be temporary

Why won’t these embers burn down?

Left in the ash of a smoldering sanctuary

In the husk of my heart’s haven.

They say hell is other people,

So I’ll just burn here on my own.

Heart’s Haven is my attempt at melding the melodiousness of pop-punk and metalcore into a semi-classical art song. As a metal fan, I’m attracted to all sorts of niches within the genre but I am often so impressed with the way bands like Northlane and Dayseeker combine the most beautiful (and virtuosic) vocal lines with heavy instrumentations and harsh vocals. Additionally, the songs are generally brief in scope, and thus often feel much more pop-adjacent than metal. I wanted to try my hand at writing a song which included these elements, in my own language.