LEAVES’ EYES – King Of Kings (2015)

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LEAVES’ EYES — the German / Norwegian band fronted by ex-Theatre Of Tragedy singer Liv Kristine are releasing their new album “King Of Kings” today, September 11.
The group has been active since 2003 with various records under their belt but I have not heard any until now, simply because the rest of the musicians are members of death metal act Atrocity, not exactly my cup of tea.
However, I was curious to listen singer Liv Kristine, highly praised by many.

Well, Leaves’ Eyes is a rare band, and quite original for sure. They combine the angelical, poppy operatic lead vocals of Liv Kristine with the heavy guitar riffs courtesy of Thorsten Bauer and some occasional growl, death dirge vocals of Alexander Krull.
On paper, this looks awful to your melodic ears, however, there’s some kind of charm on Leaves’ Eyes.

At places, you have ethereal moments with keyboard orchestrations and sweet vocals, then the guitars go from groovy / clean to serrated, almost thrashy riffs, and Krull appears with his grunts.
It’s some kind of ‘beauty and the beast’… but works.
Works because the rhythm section is not heavy at all: bass and drums receive a sonic treatment to make the combo act as additional orchestration. Pretty interesting.

Additionally, Leaves’ Eyes adds some Scandinavian folk, with bagpipes, synth strings, bells, and a guest appearance by the awesome London Voices Choir (Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, The Hobbit, Harry Potter), all creating an atmosphere as if you are watching Vikings TV series.
Oh, Leaves’ Eyes tells a story here too, about Harald Hårfagre (c.850-932), remembered by medieval historians as the first king of Norway.
Add to all this baggage a touch of sympho, some epics, and an impeccable production, and you have a different, interesting product here.

Singing, Liv Kristine is more pop than operatic (and I like it) while Alexander Krull grunts sounds more like an additional instrument than anything else. Nothing is overly heavy, on the contrary, the razor guitars work as balance for the orchestration (layers of synths) and are strongly processed to not feel disjointed with the rest.
Don’t be afraid to taste Leaves’ Eyes “King Of Kings”. It’s all really melodic and extremely polished, quite original and effective.

01 – Sweven
02 – King of Kings
03 – Halvdan the Black
04 – The Waking Eye
05 – Feast of the Year
06 – Vengeance Venom
07 – Sacred Vow
08 – Edge of Steel (feat. Simone Simons of Epica)
09 – Haraldskvæði
10 – Blazing Waters (feat. Lindy-Fay Hella of Wardruna)
11 – Swords in Rock

Liv Kristine – Vocals
Alexander Krull – Vocals
Thorsten Bauer – Guitar, Bass
Pete Streit – Guitar
Joris Nijenhuis – Drums
The London Voices Choir

BUY IT !
www.emp-online.com/leaves-eyes-king-of-kings-cd/art_316616/
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