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World history set to music, seasoned with legends, love and passion – no less
could be said about the second Leaves’ Eyes album Vinland Saga. Vocalist Liv
Kristine and Co. (a.k.a Atrocity) embark on a mystic journey. Leif Erikson’s
legendary voyage to Greenland in 1000 A.D., which consequently ended in America
according most historians, is depicted by Leaves’ Eyes through atmospheric
Metal, Rock and sensual ballads. It is a story marked by powerful riffs, melody
and string arrangements, which represent a colorful bandwidth of musical styles,
truly adequate to the very concept of the album itself and never concealing the
Nordic origins of the singer. “I found my inspiration for many of the pieces in
the Norwegian art and folk music, as well as in Celtic melodies,” explains Liv
Kristine. She knew from the very beginning that a special approach was needed
for such an ambitious musical enterprise: “I absolutely wanted to work with
actual classical instruments for Vinland Saga to do this great story justice.”
 Classic rock compositions ensnared in strings and kettledrums, loving flowing
harmonies, and hammering metal arrangements, can all be found on Vinland Saga.
In the midst of it all stands Liv Kristine with her unique vocals, made
recognizable from her past work with Theatre of Tragedy, skillfully navigating
through the story. The will to create something great in a musical sense does
not take a back seat in the ubiquitous epic Vinland Saga. “In comparison to the
debut Lovelorn (2004), the harmonies of the guitars, violins and chellos are
notably more complex,” explains Liv and adds that the recordings took
approximately twice as much time to complete: “The mood of both albums is very
comparable however. Vinland Saga is a further development of Lovelorn where both
sides of the band’s music were upgraded – the hard parts are now harder and the
sentimental parts are more sentimental.”
Thus one can expect to find such soft, folk-oriented pieces as the introductory
title song, the wonderful “Mourning Tree” or “Leaves’ Eyes” (“When one names a
song after one’s own band, it’s logical that it should include all of the
significant characteristics.”), as well as wild Gothic Metal tracks like
“Farwell Proud Men”, “The Thorn”, or “Solemn Sea”, in which one can almost see
the spray of seawater gushing out of the speakers. Vinland Saga tells of a crew
member on Erikson’s ship and his longing for the woman who awaits his return to
Norway,” explains the singer. “The medium between the two is the Tree of Life.
It’s a story of love but also of mysticism”. For the song “Amhrán”, belonging
amongst the most intensive musical experiences of the album, the singer went as
far as developing her very own language (in the good tradition of the Lord of
the Rings trilogy). The result is a unique world of experience within which one
can distinguish influences ranging from Kate Bush, past Clannad and even
Atrocity, “yet still always sounding like Leaves’ Eyes,” as Liv stresses.
The passionate commitment with which she and husband Alexander Krull (Atrocity
frontman and producer in his own Mastersound Studio) invested in driving the
Vinland Saga concept forth cannot be overlooked. Taken prisoner by the
atmosphere, one is led through an intriguing musical voyage of times long gone,
encountering fascinating musicality and an exceptional story that to some extent
draws parallel’s from Liv Kristine’s own life experiences. Ever since the birth
of her son Leon, born only hours following the completion of the debut album,
she has felt an even stronger bond with nature and her homeland Norway. “In
Leon, I see both Alex’s and myself,” explains Liv Kristine, who seems to bloom
both in her private role as a mother as well as the professional, musical one.
“That is in equal parts fascinating and inspiring. On Vinland Saga, the
Norwegian culture, nature, history and a love for my homeland play an important
role. My homesickness has grown somewhat stronger in the last two years,”
explains the Norwegian, whose adaptability draws no comparison on the European
rock scene, on as well as off stage. “During our fall and winter tour 2004 we
received an unbelievable response from our audience.
 After that, we went
straight into the studio, in order to capture this vibe. It was a very
productive, very industrious time – at times Alex and I forgot that a private
life binds us. But we were ‘brought back to earth’ at the latest when driving
home. We switched on the classical music station and allowed Leon to make us
smile.”
The Vinland Saga is not only legendary thanks to the Icelandic writer who
recorded the story in the 12th century. Thanks to Leaves’ Eyes it now has a
secured spot in the heart of the music scene. History gone rock! Nature,
romance, love, and lyrical poetry presented by one of the most beautiful voices
on the European rock scene. Welcome to the dreamlike world of Leaves’ Eyes!
LEAVES' EYES will be headlining this year's METAL FEMALE VOICES FESTIVAL and
under the motto "En Saga i Belgia" will be shooting a DVD to be released in
early 2008.
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