Leaves’ Eyes

Trees of Eternity – Hour of the Nightingale Review

By Steel Druhm on November 8, 2016 in 2016, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, International Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 30 comments

“Life is fleeting, sometimes cruel and always impossible to predict. Case in point – the circumstances surrounding the Hour of the Nightingale debut by Trees of Eternity – a project formed by Juha Raivio (Swallow the Sun) and his partner Aleah Liane Stanbridge. Prior to Trees, Aleah was best known for her vocal work on Swallow the Sun’s Songs of the North and Amorphis’ Under the Red Cloud. Trees’ and its melodic quasi-doom style was designed to showcase Aleah’s vocal talents and take her career to the next level.” What might have been.

Leaves’ Eyes – King of Kings Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on September 22, 2015 in 2015, AFM Records, Folk Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Folk Metal, Gothic Metal, Symphonic Metal, 50 comments

“Once a writer has reviewed a band, it’s standard practice for them to review any subsequent records that band releases. Unless, of course, AMG wrote the original review and is too busy masturbating over old Iron Maiden records to critique new music. As you will have noticed, this scenario arose just the other week, and that’s why it’s fallen to me to review Leaves’ Eyes’ latest platter.” We have a system and you’re gonna use it!

Sirenia – The Seventh Life Path Review

By Al Kikuras on May 7, 2015 in 2015, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Gothic Metal, Napalm Records, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, 49 comments

“Pizza is a sacred thing. When it’s good, it’s damn good. When it sucks, it’s an affront to humanity. An atrocity on a level with the Biafran revolt, just about every Adam Sandler movie, some genocides, and Illud Divinum Insanus. If you’ve read more than one of my reviews here on AMG you will know that I often equate music to food, not just because it is an analogy I think most people relate to, but I love these two things more than even my family members who aren’t reading this right now. The Seventh Life Path may not be my pie of choice, but during my tenure as a music critic, I’ve heard enough from the formative years on to be able to approach an album with at least relative objectivity.” In food, as in music, too much sugar wrecks the palate.

Savn – Savn Review

By Grymm on April 21, 2014 in 2014, Gothic Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, 15 comments

“Supergroups, as a concept, always intrigued me. When talented musicians from well-respected, established bands get together to create something new, it’s always an invigorating feeling. In practice, however, it rarely happens. The music released ends up being a sum of all its collective parts.” Can Savn escape this insidious super group trap or are they destined to be mere genre repeaters? Grymm tells all.

Leaves’ Eyes – Symphonies of the Night Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 5, 2013 in 2013, Gothic Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Gothic Metal, Symphonic Metal, 29 comments

“In 2009 I received a promo for Liv Kristine’s ‘new’ band Leaves’ Eyes and I was curious. The record was called Njord and as a fan of Liv’s voice and epic symphonic metal I figured for sure that I would be in for a treat. I was wrong. I was so very, very wrong. My complaints about the album were many—but a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was so compressed that it never felt heavy and the song-writing was just plain mediocre. Meredead, which followed two years later on schedule, was also a miserable record. The folky stuff was of the “let’s throw in a flute, hooray folk metal!” genre and I simply didn’t even have the patience to finish reviewing it. But because I am a masochist (and I’ve always liked Liv’s voice ffs!), I broke out Symphony of the Night when it arrived in my box.” Always a sucker for a lady with a pretty voice, Angry Metal Guy gave the new Leaves’ Eyes a chance. Is this turning into Charlie Brown, Lucy and the football?

Atrocity – Okkult Review

By Madam X on April 8, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Black Metal, Death Metal, German Metal, Heavy Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Napalm Records, Rating, Releases, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 12 comments

“Yes, Atrocity have indeed lived up to their name and not in the way one hopes for in death metal, technical, melodic or otherwise. They’re the band that brought out the very un-metal Werk 80 consisting of ‘metalled up’ covers of 80’s pop songs. Oh and wait for it they didn’t stop there, 11 years down the line they doubled the atrocity with the release of Werk 80 II (a double album offering) – I have to ask why?” Steel Druhm joins Madam X in asking why a death metal band chose to make their name doing novelty covers of 80s pop hits, but hey, who are we to judge? Now they’re doing real death metal again and Madam X kinda digs it.

Shadows’ Grey – Bonjour Tristesse Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 21, 2011 in 1.5, 2011, German Metal, Reviews, Twilight-Vertrieb, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 2 comments

You know, if you read this blog all the time you’d probably be getting the impression that I hate female fronted bands who are doing sort of the gothy thing. But that’s not true. It’s actually something I really enjoy when it’s done right! I have no issues with gothic metal, I don’t find the sort of dramatic, over-the-top stuff to be a turn off really. It just needs to be done well, something that it is serially not. And there are varying levels of ‘not done well,’ but let’s say that Shadows’ Grey, the German band formerly known as Scargod who had one EP in 2007, is one degree of the idea.

Sirenia – The Enigma of Life Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 11, 2011 in 1.5, 2011, Doom Metal, Norwegian Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 25 comments

So, I must admit, I was excited to hear this new Sirenia record. For whatever reason I’d not spent much time getting to know the band of former Tristania founding member Morten Veland and I guess I figured that Sirenia had to be pretty good ’cause, well, I’m willing to give people who have done cool shit the benefit of the doubt. Of course, it’s been a decade since the band formed and I’ve never had the kind of intrinsic motivation to actually go out there and try to learn the about the band, and after listening to The Enigma of Life I’m pretty damn glad I never wasted my damn time [see the final note, however – AMG].

Epica – Design Your Universe Review

By Angry Metal Guy on October 12, 2009 in 2009, 3.5, Nuclear Blast, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 12 comments

Epica is a symphonic power metal/gothic metal band from the Netherlands that has really taken the scene and the world by storm since their founding in 2002 due to the amazing voice of their mezzo-soprano vocalist (who also happens to be a hotty, there are no coincidences in metal) Simone Simons and the epic *cough* nature of their music. Design Your Universe is the band’s fifth album, and honestly, the first one I’ve ever sat through assuming the band would be like a mix of old Theatre of Tragedy and Nightwish.

Leaves’ Eyes – Njord Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 2, 2009 in 2.5, 2009, Finnish Metal, Napalm Records, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, 7 comments

Fame has its benefits. Getting signed immediately after you leave/get fired from your other band is one of those things. Of course, the inevitable problem with fame is that no matter how far away from what you got famous for, you will always be compared to it. And for me, Liv’s voice will live on forever in Theatre of Tragedy’s classic album Velvet Darkness They Fear. Leaves’ Eyes is not Theatre of Tragedy and Njord is definitely not Velvet Darkness They Fear, and while it doesn’t need to be that album all over again for me to like something she’s done, I know it can be better than this.