1. Njord 2. My Destiny 3. Emerald Island 4. Take The Devil In Me 5. Scarborough Fair 6. Through Our Veins 7. Irish Rain 8. Northbound 9. Ragnarok 10. Morgenland 11. The Holy Bond 12. Frøya's Theme 13. Landscape of the Dead (Bonus Track) 14. Les Champs de Lavande (Bonus Track)
This is not the same Leaves' Eyes that gave us the two masterpieces entitled "Lovelorn" and "Vinland Saga", both of which are in my top ten albums of all time. This is Leaves' Eyes channeling one of their less-talented female-fronted dark metal brethren (which are too numerous to name). Everything just seems slightly off. The melodies are sloppy, the hooks either aren't there or are left to die, and the vocals mixed too low. "My Destiny" is the only track that comes close to what they've put out before. Let's hope this unfortunate release is just a temporary setback.
I never thought I'd be saying this... Submitted on: 2009-11-06
But now I have.
Leaves' Eyes, in my view, has had a nearly flawless career. I own everything they've released so far and have been impressed each time by the quality of their music. Vinland Saga was a masterpiece of an album and Lovelorn, aside from some out of place death growls, came pretty close to perfection too. The EPs: Elegy, Legend Land, and Into Your Light were all perfect additions to round out the Leaves' Eyes collection. To top it off, "En Saga I Belgia" was a wonderful documentary/concert by the band itself. So, when I heard that Leaves' Eyes were releasing a new album, I was stoked.
"My Destiny" was released and, while I found it slightly weaker than the rest of their work, I still held high hopes for this album. It promised so much. The band was toting it as the pinnacle of their work so far. But, when I heard the songs on Njord, I found myself very disappointed. It's not that the songs are terrible; but, as one other person put it, we know that Leaves' Eyes are capable of much more than this.
The first problem with this release is that the bombast has been turned up to high volume. While I like bombastic songs, it doesn't work on Njord for two reasons. The first is that it drowns out many other instrumentals added to the song, giving many pieces a one dimensional feel to them. Not every song is like this; but there are several (like the title track) where different parts of the song disappear. On their previous works, I loved trying to pick out the different layers of instrumentals. But here, there aren't as many. Don't get me wrong. There are some songs that do bring that out (Irish Rain, Ragnarok) which add flavour to the album. When we do get to hear those, the sound is lovely and the song shines. They've still got the magic of being able to layer instruments onto each other and make it sound seamless.
The second problem with the spastic instrumentals lies in the vocals. I have a hard time trying to understand what is even being sung. Liv's voice, which is amazing, finds itself lost in some areas. I don't know if this is a mixing issue - where the vocals are not brought up to the level of bombast; but I find it frustrating trying to listen to something like this. It reminds me of the first Theatre of Tragedy CD. No matter how much you try to turn up the volume, you still can't hear Liv in some areas.
Speaking of the vocals, there's a mix of good and bad in here. First, Liv Kristine has definitely improved her technique. She experiments with her voice on some pieces (Froya's Theme), and even goes into what she refers to as "operatic territory" on other songs, like Njord. Several different languages are used, including French on the Les Champs de Lavande bonus track. This is a nice change and it suits the music well. If I had to critic anything, it would be that on a couple of songs she holds the notes for far too long, stretching out the lyrics. That can make the beginning of two different tracks seem alike. But other than that, she does a great job as a whole.
Now onto the bad side of the vocals: the death growls are way, way overused. Previously they were kept at a minimum; but now they're everywhere. It doesn't work very well on the CD as Alex seems way out of place. Some great songs like Emerald Island begin perfectly and then all of the sudden Alex is randomly screaming "Emerald Island" over Liv in the chorus. It doesn't mesh very well and pulls the listener out of the song. I like Emerald Island; but I could do without Alex's growls.
Now onto the songs themselves: we have a mix. On the negative side, some pieces sound like copies of their old work (Morgenland) only not as good. There are some pieces which have a bite to them (Northbound) but sound empty. I don't feel much energy - it's almost as if they were trying too hard for an epic sound and it falls flat. The guitars coming in on My Destiny and Through Our Veins sound very generic. Don't get me wrong, both songs are incredibly catchy to listen to and TOV has some really nice soft elements to the intro and verses. But, when I listen to the songs, the guitars sound forced, instead of natural, like they were on Lovelorn and Vinland Saga.
On the positive side: there are still elements of the ethereal sound that Leaves' Eyes is so great at. The atmospheric Scarborough Fair and Les Champs de Lavande are two such gems. Liv's voice even echoes on the latter song blending with the music. As mentioned before, Through Our Veins has some very nice elements to it (aside from the guitars) which add a nice sound. Ragnarok is, to put it plainly, a very energizing re-telling of the classic Norwegian myth, even though it could use some guitar variation mid-way through. We even have an 8 minute long song, Froya's Theme, which also tells another Norse myth in an interesting fashion. (Growls aside, it's an experimental song that seems to work.) And Irish Rain is a rather relaxing piece to listen to.
In conclusion, I was expecting much more after four years. There's a mix of good and bad here so be warned that the quality of music isn't as great as their previous releases. While it doesn't drive me away from future releases, I hope their next one is better than this. What I'd recommend to you is that you listen to the tracks and buy the ones that you like, instead of paying money to buy this CD. It's not a Leaves Eyes release that you simply "have to buy"; but for the songs on here that really shine, it's probably best for you to buy them individually. It would be a shame for you to miss the really nice ones.
Leaves' Eyes; CD Submitted on: 2009-11-01
Outstanding again! All Leaves' Eyes CDs are outstanding. I recommend this band to anyone wanting to try something different in metal.
THE BAND'S STRONGEST EFFORT SO FAR Submitted on: 2009-10-30
When Liv Kristine was in Theatre Of Tragedy, they were one of the first bands to use classical female vocals and gruff male vocals, the so-called "Beauty And The Beast" genre. Kristine started Leaves Eyes a few years ago, and "Njord" is their third full-length. Her husband Alexander Krull is the male vocalist and producer, and his band Atrocity is also Leaves Eyes' backing band.
It's been four years since their last studio album "Vinland Saga," and Leaves Eyes has made a nice progression on "Njord." The songs are intricately composed, combining delicate classical influences with powerful metal guitars. The songs run the gamut from loud, bombastic and symphonic to quiet and fragile.
The album kicks off with the title track, which builds slowly into a cinematic and diverse song with Kristine's singing offset by Krull's growls. "Emerald Island" is a strong song, ebbing and flowing in tempo and intensity. "Through Your Veins" is one of the most accessible and mainstream leaning songs on "Njord," with all melodic vocals and a nice combination of heaviness and melody.
"Irish Rain" is more subdued with acoustic guitars, a prominent flute, reserved vocals and more of a folk metal vibe. "Morgenland" is also in that vein, with piano and Kristine's vocals in the forefront. Leaves Eyes tackles the traditional English ballad "Scarborough Fair," popularized by Simon and Garfunkel in the mid 1960s. It's given a symphonic arrangement with plenty of guitars and atmosphere, and is well-done.
The lyrical concept of "Njord" covers Nordic mythology. Kristine's vocal performance on this album is outstanding. Her voice runs the gamut from quiet and emotional to "regular" singing to belting it out in a powerful classical style. She also sings in an astounding eight languages on the album, including English, Norwegian, Gaelic, and even a made up language for one brief sequence.
Sometimes symphonic/gothic metal albums get too caught up in the orchestral arrangements and forget about things like choruses and melody. "Njord" has both painstakingly composed and arranged songs along with memorable hooks and choruses. It's hands down the band's strongest effort thus far.
Kind of uninspired Submitted on: 2009-10-26
I own everything Leaves' Eyes have ever put out, including the maxi singles. I own both of Liv Kristine's solo albums. I own all the Theater of Tragedy albums that feature Liv Kristine on vocals. I once met Alex and Liv and the whole band at one of their shows and stammered like an idiot while saying hello.
In my opinion, Leaves' Eyes is the best "symphonic/gothic/whatever categorization floats your boat" metal band out there today. They could release an album titled "62 Minutes Of Gusty Flatulence" (containing precisely that) and I would still rate it 2 stars.
That does not mean, however, that every album will be a masterpiece. And Njord just doesn't seem all that inspired, especially when compared to their previous 2 releases. Rather, it's merely average, sounding a lot like the more pedestrian gothic metal outfits working today.
To be sure, the musicianship is impeccable as always, and Liv's voice is better than ever. But none of the songs really have much in the way of hooks that reach out and grab you. Compared to such stunners as "Solemn Sea," "Misseri," and "Twilight Sun," the songs on Njord mostly just amble along, without ever catching fire. Several of the songs are so gentle that it's hard to believe they're from a Leaves' Eyes album. Not that every song has to blow you out of your shoes, but this really has a much more toned-down feel overall.
This album also features more growling and singing in general from Alex. Rather than sparingly providing a counterpoint to the sweetness of Liv's voice, he's taking on a much larger role, and I don't particularly care for the results. Still, can't say I blame him - I suppose he needs something to do at concerts besides roaming around the stage and pumping up the audience when they play songs that he doesn't sing on.
Do I recommend Njord? Yes - you could do a lot worse. Is it my favorite? No. Will I still look forward to their next release? Of course.
Tragic!
I never thought I'd be saying this...
Leaves' Eyes; CD