Leaves Eyes Vinland Saga
Napalm Records NPR164 30/05/2005
By Patrick Walsh
Leaves Eyes songstress Liv Kristine will probably be known of by anyone who has heard her performance on Cradle of Filths Nymphetamine. Leaves Eyes is basically her very own Goth rock group, and it also features her husband and Atrocity frontman on barked vocals, production and programming. Vinland Saga is Leaves Eyes attempt at setting the voyages of Erik the Red (as accounted in the Old Norse saga Eirika Ruada) which culminated in the first European visitation to North America. Seriously! So as you might expect, Vinland Saga is chock full of classical, film-score arrangements with added metal substance, and has got pompous written all over it.
To be fair, its clear Liv Kristine and Co. have made a sincere effort at weaving a sense of epic adventure to Vinland Saga, but its a disappointingly lacklustre affair in places. Farewell Proud Men is an example of Leaves Eyes successfully blending the overbearing orchestration, guitars and Kristines many vocal overlays quite well, and they manage to conjure up some nice imagery in the process. There are influences of folk, traditional Irish and even Lord of the Rings in places, and Kristines pristine vocals remain the focus throughout the album. For Amhran she even came up with her own language apparently, but I really dont think its in her interest get herself compared to the wondrous Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance fame! Solemn Sea heralds the first vocal intrusion of Alexander Krull. Like so many bands of this ilk, the mistake of adding growled vocals thinking they somehow add to the atmosphere is made, and here its no different, being an unwelcome irritation more than anything. Furthermore, all the layers of orchestration in the world fail to hide that much of the metallic content on offer is actually quite weak, and listening to Vinland Saga becomes bland rather quickly. Most of the tracks, despite their pretensions of grandeur, follow quite a similar structure, and Krulls vocals only serve to get in the way of Kristines talents.
Leaves Eyes might come across like a more grandiose Lacuna Coil or even Nightwish lite, but unfortunately their heightened illusions of grandeur only amplify the downsides of aforementioned bands. The overbearing synths and orchestration seriously detract from the metal content, which when listened to singularly is really quite average. Kristines vocals are beautiful throughout, and every now again the band hit a stride and everything comes together nicely. Unfortunately, Krulls annoying growled parts and staid song writing all too often punctures the mood and reminds you why youve been avoiding most of this kind of thing in the first place. Vinland Saga is as ambitious a record youre likely to come across in a while, but Leaves Eyes dont seem to be up to the job quite yet.
5.5/10
Official Leaves' Eyes Website
Official Napalm Records Website
Napalm Records NPR164 30/05/2005
By Patrick Walsh
Leaves Eyes songstress Liv Kristine will probably be known of by anyone who has heard her performance on Cradle of Filths Nymphetamine. Leaves Eyes is basically her very own Goth rock group, and it also features her husband and Atrocity frontman on barked vocals, production and programming. Vinland Saga is Leaves Eyes attempt at setting the voyages of Erik the Red (as accounted in the Old Norse saga Eirika Ruada) which culminated in the first European visitation to North America. Seriously! So as you might expect, Vinland Saga is chock full of classical, film-score arrangements with added metal substance, and has got pompous written all over it.
To be fair, its clear Liv Kristine and Co. have made a sincere effort at weaving a sense of epic adventure to Vinland Saga, but its a disappointingly lacklustre affair in places. Farewell Proud Men is an example of Leaves Eyes successfully blending the overbearing orchestration, guitars and Kristines many vocal overlays quite well, and they manage to conjure up some nice imagery in the process. There are influences of folk, traditional Irish and even Lord of the Rings in places, and Kristines pristine vocals remain the focus throughout the album. For Amhran she even came up with her own language apparently, but I really dont think its in her interest get herself compared to the wondrous Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance fame! Solemn Sea heralds the first vocal intrusion of Alexander Krull. Like so many bands of this ilk, the mistake of adding growled vocals thinking they somehow add to the atmosphere is made, and here its no different, being an unwelcome irritation more than anything. Furthermore, all the layers of orchestration in the world fail to hide that much of the metallic content on offer is actually quite weak, and listening to Vinland Saga becomes bland rather quickly. Most of the tracks, despite their pretensions of grandeur, follow quite a similar structure, and Krulls vocals only serve to get in the way of Kristines talents.
Leaves Eyes might come across like a more grandiose Lacuna Coil or even Nightwish lite, but unfortunately their heightened illusions of grandeur only amplify the downsides of aforementioned bands. The overbearing synths and orchestration seriously detract from the metal content, which when listened to singularly is really quite average. Kristines vocals are beautiful throughout, and every now again the band hit a stride and everything comes together nicely. Unfortunately, Krulls annoying growled parts and staid song writing all too often punctures the mood and reminds you why youve been avoiding most of this kind of thing in the first place. Vinland Saga is as ambitious a record youre likely to come across in a while, but Leaves Eyes dont seem to be up to the job quite yet.
5.5/10
Official Leaves' Eyes Website
Official Napalm Records Website
