|
Many metal / gothic metal fans will remember Liv Kristin from her days in Theatre Of Tragedy and some might even know her first solo album Deus Ex Machina, now she's back with her own band - Leaves' Eyes. Actually her backing band is Atrocity which isn't a big surprise, coz Liv is married to Alex Krull, the mainman of Atrocity. Musically Lovelorn is atmospheric, guitar-driven heavy dark metal. The opening track is Norwegian Lovesong and gives a good impression of Lovelorn. Starting slowly, but soon the band joins in full force. Heavy, aggressive guitar riffing is building a nice counterpart to the angel-like vocals of Liv Kristine and the strings. The song ends suddenly. Next in line is the really heavy Tale Of The Sea Maid which let you think of Theatre Of Tragedy, but at least this one has no growls. But at some tracks Alex Krull is adding some growls and so revives the memory of Theatre Of Tragedy - a bit. Ocean's Way is way heavier then the other tracks and here Liv's husband is adding growls. Partly Liv Kristin is singing opera-like, but changes back to her more natural and more emotional way of singing. It they would have chose this one for the single they would probably attract fans of Nightwish and Within Temptation... But it would have give a wrong impression of Lovelorn, too. An enchanting ballad is Lovelorn. Her sweet, beautiful voice is giving you goose-bumps. Very romantic. Or check out For Amelie which is touching your heart. Some phrasing even let me think of Kate Bush... A balladesque tune with heavy parts. One of my favorites. Temptation starts atmospheric and with dark, threatening whispering. Very aggressive and threatening the vocals of Alex Krull and his wife sounds like pleading.... Asking for mercy... Bittersweet and terrorizing. A new version of the beauty and the best.
Another facette in the sound of Leaves' Eyes is the symphonic sound with string arrangements like in the beginning of The Dream. A good one to check out the band, coz here you have the whole spectrum of Leaves' Eyes - the heavy guitar-driven parts and the atmospheric slow parts. Alex' growls and her soprano angel-like voice. Or listen to the single Into Your Light which they did a video clip for - also on the CD as a kind of bonus. This song has the chance to make it onto the rotation of the music TV channels. Perhaps the most commercial one...
This album make you forget the last Theatre Of Tragedy releases and bands like Within Tempation, After Forever and even Nightwish should be aware of Leaves' Eyes who easily entered the premier league with their first album. Soon Mrs. Espenaes-Krull will fight for the crown.
|
|