Leaves' Eyes: album reviews and ratings

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	Leaves' Eyes

Artist Listing:

S - Z

Leaves' Eyes was formed in 2003 by ex-Theatre of Tragedy frontwoman Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and Atrocity band members.

Line-up:
Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull - vocals
Alexander Krull - vocals, programming
Torsten Bauer - Guitars
Mathias Röderer - Guitars
Chris Lukhaup - Bass
Martin Schmidt - Drums

"Mid-tempo percussion fuse with lush guitar grooves and gorgeous keyboards. Over the top of this thick but beautiful, not brutal, metal, are female vocals that are enough to make you enslaved to the lovely blonde front lady. Classic instrument sounds also find themselves enhancing the sound. This is a fine example of fusing heavy metal sounds with melodies that boast just as much presence as the melody. Fine gothic, female fronted metal."

-- upchuck undergrind, Fishcom Collective

Leaves' Eyes Discography - Album / CD Reviews

½ 2004: Lovelorn
"If you've ever wondered what would happen if Kate Bush recorded a rock album, then this disc encompasses all your fantasies wrapped into 45 musical minutes. Leaves' Eyes is the sextet comprised of former Theatre of Tragedy singer Liv Kristine plus the current Atrocity line-up - including husband and Atrocity frontman Alexander Krull. And while all the tracks on offer have a very distinctive and edgy metallic vibe, Lovelorn is an album where Liv's voice is the centrepiece. And a truly enchanting voice she has. Pushed to the very front, in a crystal-clear mix, she possesses a delightfully light tone, a childlike innocence that floats, nay caresses, over every song. Having just completed a degree in English literature, it's little surprise that Liv has chosen to base the album around a story that could be lifted from the pages of Edgar Alan Poe or Shakespeare. Lovelorn tells the tale of a young man who looses his True Love to the sea. The eternal connection between the two, can only be restored with the help of a mermaid. ... Leaves' Eves has produced a rare album. An album that manages to be both familiar, yet sound fresh and exciting. An album that passes between the extremes of the musical spectrum, yet manages to maintain a cohesive sound. An album that really has an indecent amount of obscenely addictive melodies."

-- Andy Read, DPRP.net

¾ 2005: Vinland Saga
Tracklisting: 1. Vinland Saga 2. Farewell Proud Men 3. Elegy 4. Solemn Sea 5. Leaves? Eyes 6. The Thorn 7. Misseri (Turn Green Meadows into Grey) 8. Amhrán (Song of the Winds) 9. New Found Land 10. Mourning Tree 11. Twilight Sun 12. Ankomst
"Maybe it’s a case of expecting too much, but I was a little hung on the hope that this would be a more polished version of its predecessor when what it seems to be is little else but leftover scraps from other Leaves’ Eyes and Atrocity ideas thrown into some kind of musical reject bin and held together by concept album glue. Let’s face it, there’s not a huge amount of work that a band can put towards an album in the space of one year, especially when the rest of your band is, well, an entirely different band. After the – I hate to say it – ‘intro track’ called Vinland Saga, the album belches it’s first proper song at us, Farewell Proud Men, which boasts an intro so reminiscent of Within Temptation that you could be forgiven for thinking that you’d got this CD mixed up with the Silent Force. (...) The biggest problem is that the chorus is terribly unarousing due to the very dull vocal melody which farts about drearily and unadventurously, doing nothing much but leaving you hoping the next track will be better, which fortunately it is. Well, it is the single after all. Solemn Sea, which follows this, isn’t too bad a number either, but yet again we have a very monotonous chorus with Alex grunting over the top. These are really not great songs, and I have the impression that Leaves’ Eyes know this and don’t care that much about what they’re creating here. This is not a band who are giving their all to this record and it almost seems as if they’re having a laugh at their gullible public who will hoover up anything that they spit out. Still, it’s not altogether terrible, since after we’ve trudged through the sludge of songs like The Thorn, the quite terrible Amhrán and New Found Land [We sail the sea - yeah! We fight the storm - yeah!] songs like the unexpectedly tuneful Mourning Tree and Twilight Sun really do something to salvage the reputation of not only Leaves’ Eyes, but that which this CD has set itself up with so far. Unfortunately, the most bewildering moment is yet to come since the final track, Ankhonst, has an intro which is almost identical to that which fronts Into Your Light – same tune – same guitar effect – same rhythm. (...) I know that Leaves’ Eyes have the potential to do better, so it’s almost frustrating that they haven’t this time round."

-- Sam B. Grant, SonicCathedral.com, 6/05

½ 2009: Njord
Tracklisting: 01. Njord 02. My Destiny 03. Emerald Island 04. Take The Devil In Me 05. Scarborough Fair 06. Through Our Veins 07. Irish Rain 08. Northbound 09. Ragnarok 10. Morgenland 11. The Holy Bond 12. Forya's Theme 13. Landscape Of The Dead (ltd-edition bonus) 14. Les Champs De Lavande (ltd-edition bonus)

"While front-woman Liv Kristine may not be the most extraordinary sonic presence, she is more than capable of carrying the front-line of the band. Sadly, the cookie-monster backing vocals make frequent appearances courtesy of co-vocalist and husband Alexander Krull. While the actual screams aren't particularly grating, it's when Krull takes the lead with his craptastic pantomime stylings that music enters the realm of ridiculousness reminiscent of a newsreader with a duck's head informing you of the NASDAQ report. Emerald Island provides the smoking gun for such crimes. Try to make it through the third act slowdown where Krull launches off on a spoken-word piece about his "heart" and "courage" with a straight face. (...) It seems obvious that Leaves' Eyes are setting their sights on the mainstream with this album, what we can't decide is if this results in weaker results than their natural territory. For you see, usually the band dabble in Norweigian/Germanic folk-infused metal. Scarborough Fair does fall very flat as an example of this with its hackneyed retread of Within Temptation's Mother Earth. Its successor, Through Our Veins, however, is unashamedly pop in its skew, yet it is equally flaccid: completely squandering the opportunity for serious power-pop come the chorus in favour of a weak-willed, half-hearted undertone. Failing to excel at anything in particular and the one-dimensional arrangements where all the instruments fail to spread their wings, instead gravitating almost-exclusively around one fixture (usually the guitar) there is precious few places where these songs really spring to life. The heavy focus on traditional folk music and lyrical dealing with obscure historical/fantasy themes is unlikely to snag many beyond the band's geographic borders. While we still have Mutyumu, Within Temptation, and the surprisngly improved new incarnation of Nightwish at our disposal, there are just too many flaws and too little originality and muscle to warrant anything more than a passing flirtation with the good people of Leaves' Eyes."

-- Aidan Williamson, strangeglue.com, 9/09

2011: Meredead
Tracklisting: 1. Spirits? Masquerade 2. Étaín 3. Velvet Heart 4. Kråkevisa 5. To France 6. Meredead 7. Sigrlinn 8. Mine Tåror er ei Grimme 9. Empty Horizon 10. Veritas 11. Nystev 12. Tell-Tale Eyes 13. Sorhleod (Bonus Track)

Release date: May 11, 2011

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Recommended Links:

The official Leaves Eyes site