|
Artist: Leaves Eyes |
|
|
One
of the most impressive bands to come out of the Symphonic Metal scene of
recent years has to be Leaves Eyes. A band led by the stunning vocal
talent that is Liv Kristine along with the pummeling bass lines of
Thorsten Bauer, the stunning guitar work of Sander van der Meer, the tub
thumping splendour of Roland
Navratil on drums and
of course, the added vocals of Alexander Krull. The
band mix of Nordic folk and Symphonic Metal have produced three of the
finest album's in the genre in the form of 'Lovelorn',
'Vinland Saga' and 'Njord', now the band have gone one better with the
simply stunning new album ‘Meredead’. The
band have never lost sight of their roots and especially Kristine who
brings her Nordic roots to the forefront more in this album than ever
before, resulting in what is the definitive Leaves Eyes album. The
album opens up with the sublime epic feel of
‘Spirits Masquerade’ and from the off Kristine delivers her
usual air of mystical grace that has been the forefront of the band
sound from the very beginning. This is as powerful as it is enchanting. This
impressive release continues with ‘Étaín’,
the first of the Norwegian lyrical tracks which features the more
folkish element that runs through the entire album. Like I said before,
Kristine delivers an almost immaculate graceful air to the entire album
and this song is one of the highlights of the album for me. The
album is rife with melody and splendour and varied tempo, and the rock is
brought back with the excellent ‘Velvet Heart’, before the Nordic
tones return with the folk rock of ‘Kråkevisa’. The band have in the
past put their own spin on some of folks classics, who can forget the
stunning version of 'Scarborough
Fair' on the bands 'Njord'
album, and this album boasts another stunning cover version, this time
it's Mike Oldfield’s ‘To France’, which the band not only do it
justice, but fully make it their own. The
title track ‘Meredead’ is next a real heady mix of folk and rock
that really is the essence of this album and this album is the pinnacle
of the album for me. Kristine’s vocals are simply stunning and the
musicianship of the rest of the band is at its height of splendour on
this song. The
Nordic tales of wonder continue with the haunting ‘Sigrlinn’
and the stunning ‘Mine Tåror er ei Grimme’, featuring another haunting epic
vocal from Kristine. Even if you don’t speak Norwegian, you still
connect to the song because of it haunting melodies that span the
language barrier and deliver on so many levels. The
album picks up its pace and edge with ‘Empty Horizons’, which is the
first time we get to hear the gruff vocals of Krull, as he delivers his beast
to Kristine’s beauty. The
album continues its epic feel with ‘Veratis’, a short track that acts as
intro into the mysterious folk rock of ‘Nystev’. If folk rockers had
the inclination to raise the metal horns, then this would be the one to
do it to. This
tremendous album closes in real style with ‘Tell-Tale Eyes’, another
folk rocker that has a Jethro Tull feel about it, and wraps up another
groundbreaking album from the band. It also shows that Leaves Eyes
aren’t afraid to explore outside the box and expand the Symphonic
Metal envelope to almost bursting point. |
|
|
Tracklisting: 1. Spirit's Masquerade |
|
|
All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
|
