LEAVES’ EYES – Sign Of The Dragonhead

8.5/10

LEAVES' EYES - Sign Of The Dragonhead - 8.5/10

8.5/10

Summary

AMF Records
Release date: January 12, 2018

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Leaves’ Eyes without founder, voice, and lyricist Liv Kristine? Kristine split up with the band and husband Alex Krull, Leaves’ Eyes’ keyboardist and the “beast” in their “beauty and the beast” vocal style a few years ago; losing a band-defining voice like Kristine’s presents a creative problem that has been the start of a downward spiral for many bands. Sign Of The Dragonhead is the first full album to feature her replacement in the band, Elina Siirala of Angel Nation (EnkElination), following the 2016 EP Fires In The North. Two tracks into Sign and it is clear that there will be no downward spiral; if anything, Sign represents an elevation in Leaves’ Eyes already impressive creative output. This elevation has more to do with the changes in musical direction than they do with the shift in singers.

Siirala’s voice, like Kristine’s, is beautiful and well-suited for the epic Symphonic Metal stylings of the band, but it is the complete musical package that hits the listener as opposed to the individual elements. Leaves’ Eyes combine their precise, hard-hitting musicianship with the London Voices soundtrack choir and traditional instruments such as Medieval nyckelharpa, fiddles, uilleann pipes and whistles. The resultant sound is unconventional even by Symphonic Metal standards; the blend of voices and folk instruments helps the music achieve a sound that it is more grounded and earthy than over the top and bombastic. The opening title cut and follow-up “Across The Sea”, both rousing fight songs, effectively set the tone for the exciting album that follows, surely a bright new chapter in Leaves’ Eyes already compelling story.

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Leaves' Eyes

Author

Daniel Waters

Daniel was a reviewer here at Metal Express Radio. Iron Maiden’s Piece Of Mind wasn’t the first Metal album he owned, but it was the one that lifted the lid off his soul when he received the record as a gift on his 15th birthday. He's been a Metal fan ever since. He's probably best known as the author of various Young Adult novels such as the Generation Dead series and the ghost story Break My Heart 1,000 Times, now also a major motion picture entitled I Still See You, starring Bella Thorne. Writing and music, especially Heavy Metal music, has always been inextricably linked in his mind and career. His first paid gig doing any type of writing was for Cemetery Dance, where he wrote a horror-themed music column called Dead Beats, and when he was writing the first Generation Dead novel he had a ritual where he started his writing day with a Metal playlist that kicked off with “Crushing Belial” by Shadows Fall.
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