Leaves’ Eyes – King of Kings

[schema type=”review” name=”Leaves’ Eyes – King of Kings ” description=”Label: AFM Records” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2015-09-11″ ]

When it comes to symphonic metal, Leaves’ Eyes is one of the names that comes to one’s mind. This Norwegian/German band formed by Liv Kristine and the entire line-up of Atrocity has been delivering us awesome melodic metal since 2003. The band’s latest record “King of Kings” is out this month. This album has caught my attention even before it was released; “King of Kings” tells the story of Harald Halvdansson, who played a vital role in Norway’s medieval history.

Even from the intro “Sweven”, the album gives the signal that this is a symphonic metal album with a medieval atmosphere. I loved this aspect of the record since it fits to the whole concept really well! Great examples of this atmosphere is “Vengeance Venom” – which is a song about the celebration of Yuletide – and the last song of the album “Swords in Rock” . Apart from the medieval melodies, the typical Leaves’ Eyes sound is surely there; Liv Kristine has impressed me once again with her awesome vocals. Her vocals combined with the choirs and growls, which form the essence of the band’s sound and the character of this album, will definitely entertain Leaves’ Eyes fans and the fans of symphonic metal in general.

A great highlight of the record is the collaboration with Simone Simons (EPICA) in “Edge of Steel” and Lindy-Fay Hella (WARDRUNA) in “Blazing Waters”. I gotta say that “Blazing Waters” mesmerized me the most; Lindy-Fay Hella happens to be one of my favorite female vocalists and it was a great surprise to see her name in the tracklist! Imagine two great female vocals joining their forces.. and the result is a magical song!

“King of Kings” is definitely one of the best of 2015! It’s symphonic, catchy and has that magical medieval atmosphere! My personal favorites are “The Waking Eye”, “Halvdan” and “Blazing Waters”.

Line up:
Liv Kristine – vocals
Alexander Krull – vocals
Thorsten Bauer – guitar, bass
Pete Streit – guitar
Joris Nijenhuis – drums

Tracklist: 01. Sweven 02. King of Kings 03. Halvdan 04. The Waking Eye 05. Feast of the Year 06. Vengeance Venom 07. Sacred Vow 08. Edge of Steel 09. Haraldskvædi 10. Blazing Waters 11. Swords in Rock

Links:
Leaves’ Eyes Facebook
Leaves’ Eyes Official