Leaves’ Eyes – Elegy – Review

leaveseyes200Leaves’ Eyes

Elegy (Napalm)
by Scott Hefflon

Goth metal/dark metal/whatever is easy to do reasonably well. There are a ton of filler bands, and they’re all quite pleasant to listen to, even if you can’t tell them apart, and you can’t remember a melody or song title or lyric 30 seconds after it’s gone. It’s mood music, romantic and lush, and like a good kiss or caress, no one moment really stands out, it’s all good.

leaveseyesphotoLeaves’ Eyes are top-notch dark metal. It’s hard to tell why they’re better, you can just tell within seconds that they undoubtedly are. Female-fronted bands with male grunters are commonplace, as are grunting/shrieking male-fronted bands with angelic counterpart. Leaves’ Eyes frontwoman Liv Kristine is a well-known metal hottie, and husband (and Atrocity mainman) Alexander Krull is a well-known lucky dog. His production (here and elsewhere) is perfect: Brutal when called for, romantic and lush where it should be. His growling is the thorn to Liv’s rose, and while I personally dislike being jarred out of the thoughtful reverie this type of music creates, some people like to alternately dip their chicken fingers in sweet & sour and spicy barbecue, ya know?

Elegy is a six-song mini-CD following up last Fall’s glorious Lovelorn, and a teaser for this summer’s Vinland Saga concept album. Anyone into Evanescence, Lacuna Coil, Theatre of Tragedy (Liv’s previous band) oughtta dig this, or if you ever thought Clannad/Enya/Dead Can Dance would sound pretty bad-ass with plodding metal guitars mixed in the back, well, here ya are.
(www.napalmrecords.com)