Leaves' Eyes

Nature, romance, love, and lyric encases one of the most marvelous voices found within the current European Rock scene: Welcome to the fantastic world of LEAVES’ EYES!

Lovelorn, the debut release of the sextet comprised by former Theatre of Tragedy vocalist Liv Kristine, as well as the current Atrocity line-up, captivates with wonderful harmonies, an epic atmosphere, and varied arrangements that embark the listener on a journey through the soundscapes of Rock. The band's first single, "Into Your Light", already unites bombastic symphonies with Hard Rock, as the playful piano accompaniment forges an expressive bond with Liv Kristine's vocals. The Norwegian singer has clearly become more emotive than in the past: "Lovelorn", "For Amelie", and "Into Your Light" are all tracks that espouse intensive emotion: Love, trust, and companionship.

While the tracks “For Amelie” and “Lovelorn”, both very melancholic interpretations, can be at times compared with one of Liv’s favored artists, Kate Bush, others such as the opener “Norwegian Lovesong” and “The Dream” make use of more classical elements, though in very rock-oriented arrangements: “The classical parts found in the music have inspired me to try something new. Even as a child, I diligently practiced singing classical pieces. I am always trying to further develop my voice.”

Liv’s vocal training and perseverance has paid off and can be heard on tracks such as “Ocean’s Way” and “Return to Life”, which give way to an escalating opera-like performance. “The music, together with my vocals, is meant to relate the Lovelorn storyline. In this way, we achieved a type of ‘mirror effect’ between the lyrics and overall sound, with the emotions serving as the fundament,” describes the frontlady responsible for all the lyrics and the album concept. “Lovelorn tells the story of a young man who loses his true love to the sea. The eternal connection between the two can only be reinstated with the help of a mermaid. The Norwegian landscapes inspired me to come up with this concept—thus, the track ‘Norwegian Lovesong’. The song reflects on my childhood, as well as on my love for nature, and at the same time is the stepping stone to the continuing story currently in the works.

The idea to form LEAVES’ EYES came to Liv during a stroll in the forest with spouse and Atrocity frontman Alexander Krull, who also produced the band’s debut and whose vocal duels with Liv are to be heard on Lovelorn. “Alex asked me, what I wanted to do with my degree in English, which also deals with lyric a la Edgar Alan Poe or William Shakespeare. We both agreed that it would be a good idea to use it in a musical project. So I sat down and began to forge the concept.” At about the same time, Atrocity bassist Chris Lukhaup had begun to develop song ideas that perfectly matched Liv’s concept. “Soon all the members of Atrocity were smitten with the idea and joined in the writing process. That is how the band and album came to be.”

During the recording sessions, Liv dealt with not only the challenges of laying down the vocal tracks, but also with her pregnancy and the birth of son Leon Alexander on 18 December 2003. The new mother, who plans to continue working on her solo career (her solo debut “Deus Ex Machina” was released in 1999), only had positive comments about her experience: “It was a wonderful time in my life”, she explains with a smile on her face. “I was extremely creative during my pregnancy and somehow I had the feeling that my voice became stronger. About two hours after the last of the vocal tracks were laid, we rushed to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, Leon Alexander was born. I truly felt that we had recorded the album together! I have never been so happy and content with my life as I am now, and I hope that it can be heard by our fans when they listen to the album.”

Matthias Weckmann (Metal Hammer)