Leaves’ Eyes – Myths of Fate Review

Symphonic metal is a tricky genre to review; it is, at this point, so steeped in clichés that critiquing it for leaning on clichés is itself starting to feel like a cliché. Ever since Nightwish lobbed Once at the masses, it’s been easy to feel like everyone else is trying to do the same thing. Sometimes it’s effective, and sometimes you’re damaging your fist on a completely intact and rather thick layer of ice. For Leaves’ Eyes, who have been around for over twenty years now, I get the sense that the goal is consistency. Clearly, they know what they want to do—write symphonic metal with grand and folky flourishes—and they’re happy to keep on doing it. I wasn’t much impressed with 2020’s The Last Viking, but find it tough to sleep on a new release from a group who has been in the game so long, and that’s where Myths of Fate enters.

Nine albums in, and there’s no time for flowery introductions; “Forged by Fire” sets an immediate tone for the record by demonstrating everything Leaves’ Eyes is going to do well and everything they seem to be missing. Straight away, it’s clear that the balance of orchestral and heavy elements is strong; after a brief but effective orchestral intro, drummer Joris Nijenhuis and guitarists Luc Gebhardt and Micki Richter (also credited with bass) join forces to pull you right into the song. This sweeping, epic intro is a great way to get things started, but the song falters vocally shortly thereafter. Elina Siirala is a terrific singer, but her drawn-out style contrasts sharply with the tight, fast-paced playing behind her. Similarly, Alexander Krull’s harsh vocals (he also contributes keys) are not particularly impactful, lacking the volume and layers to add what I imagine is the desired texture. There’s an odd disconnect across the vocal elements of the song that gives it a sense of being pulled in two different directions.

Across the 50-minute runtime of Myths of Fate, songs succeed or fall on whether or not that disconnect rears its head. “Realm of Dark Waves,” for example, corrects the disconnect immediately by maintaining the dark, epic feel of the music while Siirala sings in a significantly more restrained style. The brief folk elements across the song also give it a nice, memorable texture that supports its grandeur. On the other side of the equation, “Goddess of the Night,” the album’s power ballad, has so little going for it musically that it becomes instantly forgettable, despite a strong showing from Siirala. “Elder Spirit” suffers from a similar issue, further highlighted by how strange Krull’s growls sound without a metal musical backing. Occasionally in a song nothing resonates—”Who Wants to Live Forever” feels generic and predictable, only really coming across as occasionally pretty—but for the most part, there’s a cool moment here or there in every song.

Fortunately, the opposite is true too—sometimes everything in a song resonates. “Sons of Trivlag” is one of the best songs on Myths of Fate, highlighting the best in Krull and Siirala’s vocal styles accompanied by an epic, resounding show from the rest of the band. This is a really strong folk metal tune that gets the head nodding. I also can’t help but love “Einherjar,” in part because it’s just so heavy. More than a lot of Myths of Fate, this song feels like a solid exercise in metal. Not that the rest of the album isn’t—I was actually surprised at how good the distorted guitars sound—but it feels especially prevalent here. The main tune of the song is incredibly catchy¹ and adapted very well to the vocal melodies in the chorus. The strong production and mix on Myths of Fate helps a lot here; being able to hear each element of Leaves’ Eyes’s sound makes it easier to see that everyone in the band has a moment to shine.

In that way, Myths of Fate is a clear improvement over The Last Viking, but doesn’t quite feel like a success story. It’s a mixed album, offering both really strong and unfortunately forgettable moments throughout eleven songs. As I’ve listened to the album, I’ve found myself wanting to like it more and more. There are some really good ideas and some very strong performances here; I just hope the momentum keeps up from here.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: AFM Records
Websites: leaveseyes.de | leaveseyes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/leaveseyesofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 22nd, 2024