- Rock Metal Machine
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
HÄVEN ARE BRINGING SOMETHING HEAVIER TO THE TABLE
Gabrielle de Val’s next chapter sounds different.
Published: 23 Aug 2026 • Author: Rock Metal Machine • Reading Time: 2 mins
Gabrielle de Val’s new material pushed beyond AOR and Melodic Rock into Symphonic, Power and Heavy Metal. The answer was Häven, a full band project giving her live musicians greater recognition, with Tommy Denander joining the impressive line-up.
RELEASE DETAILS
Artist:
Häven
Album:
Where Angels Fear To Tread
Release Date:
13 November 2026
Record Label:
Pride & Joy Music Pre Order:
TBC Formats:
CD • Digital
PR Label:
While writing and recording songs for ‘Revolution’, Gabrielle de Val’s next solo album, it soon became apparent that some of these songs were coming out heavier than the AOR/Melodic Rock that the group had previously been doing, especially those that Gabrielle and Bruce Mee wrote together with Tommy Denander: there were Symphonic Rock songs, Power Metal songs and even just straight up Heavy Metal.
The solution seemed clear. Maintain the style for Gaby’s solo albums but create an actual band project for Häven. It had always bothered the group that her backing band live didn’t get any recognition on her solo albums. The guys are now part of this bigger project. And the cherry on top? Tommy Denander was happy to join the band as well, making for quite a brilliant line-up:
🔥 FIREWORKS INSIGHT
Häven marks an interesting shift for Gabrielle de Val, whose solo work has largely occupied the AOR and melodic rock space. The heavier material emerging from Revolution has effectively created a new outlet, while also giving her live musicians a proper identity beyond the backing-band role. The involvement of Tommy Denander adds another significant dimension, linking Häven to the long tradition of musicians moving between melodic rock, hard rock and metal. For fans, the key question is how far the band will push those heavier influences. With symphonic, power metal and straight heavy metal already entering the songwriting, Häven could broaden de Val’s musical territory considerably.
Gabrielle de Val comments: “I’m genuinely moved, because Häven feels like the natural outcome of everything we’ve been building over the past year with Tommy Denander and my live band. It wasn’t planned or calculated, it simply formed on its own, shaped by the music and all the emotion we’ve shared together.”
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▶ WATCH THE NEW SINGLE
Want to hear the first taste of Where Angels Fear To Tread for yourself? Watch the official video below.
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Tommy adds: “This grew together naturally through all the amazing and creative work we've done. I'm very happy to be involved here.”
It was de Val that came up with the name Häven (pronounced ‘Heaven’), the English word with the ä meant to demonstrate the coming together of the English/German/Swedish core writing team triumvirate.
I’m genuinely moved, because Häven feels like the natural outcome of everything we’ve been building over the past year with Tommy Denander and my live band.
Gabrielle de Val
The album cover and logo has been designed by award-winning artist Sebastian Kozak (Ten, Crown of Thorns etc).
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Gabrielle de Val (Lead vocals), Tommy Denander (Guitar), Gustavo Martín (Guitar), José Luis Gallera (Bass), Isabel Fernández (Keyboards), Robert van der Laar (Drums)
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Images courtesy of Pride & Joy Music
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