NEWS: Liv Kristen goes solo, Alestorm storm the charts

NEWS SNIPS
By Nico Solheim-Davidson

Liv Kristine reveals details for new solo album

ICONIC vocalist of Leaves’ Eyes, the lovely Liv Kristine, has revealed the details for her next solo

album, which is the follow-up to her 2012 solo album Libertine.

Her new album, titled Vervain, will be released on 27th October in the UK via Napalm Records and promises lots of great melodies, haunting song structures and of course Liv’s worldclass voice.

Vervain promises to be a spectacular piece of musical art: “A rock masterpiece with an incomparable sound, multifaceted and in every song in another shape between light and darkness.”

Autumn 2014 is going to see Liv on a tour, a first for her outside Leaves Eyes

Her tour band will be Kari Ruslåtten and Anneke van Giersbergen. The Sirens In Concert 2014 takes place in midOctober and December 2014.

Pirate metallers Alestorm enter the charts

Scotland’s pirate metal staaarrrs, arr, they be Alestorm and they be touring the seven seas in support

of their new album: Sunset On The Golden Age.

The album, which was released through Napalm Records, has entered the charts at number seven in the

USA Heatseeker listing, at number 26 in Germany at number 68 in the UK, number 49 in Austria and so on, and so on, showing how much these bunch appeals has grown.

Alestorm are also hitting the road in the UK in October this year. Catch them with Red Rum, Lagerstein and Rainbowdragoneyes across the countries including Belfast on 17^th October. They also play Dublin, Cork and plethora of Scottish, English and European dates...with only Wales seemingly left out...

Close to magisterial melancholia SAVN reach for hope on new platter

THERE is a wealth of female fronted symphonic rock and metal bands kicking around record stores and download charts across the world at the moment; however, occasionally you come across one which sits a little to the left of what you expected - and such is the self-titled release from SAVN.

Sitting in a world dominated by keyboards and symphonic sections the elements of guitar and drum are relegated to supporting roles, with no sign of an empathetic solo from a six-stringer.

And, that is where we initially found it difficult to get our heads around this album - where were the solos....

But after continued listens there is something that makes up for this, in the shape of  Carmen Elise Espenaes - sister of Liv Kristine of Leave's Eyes - and former front woman of Midnattsol.

Her haunting refrains push the melancholy with a lyrical message of hope, which given that SAVN translates as desperation is quite a feat.

“There is a strong red line through all of our songs," said Carmen. "Directly or indirectly they all touch the theme deprivation in some way, that’s the reason why we decided to have the same title as the band`s name."

From the off the track 'Musical Silence' sets the scene, the desperation of being without your craft then rediscovering the gift it can give.

And for all the band members SAVN is something of a re-discovery of that craft. The roots of the band lie in the late 90s Norwegian 'goth metal' (their description not ours) of The Sins of the Beloved. When Stig Johansen (vocals and guitars) and Anders Thue (keyboards) recruited Carmen to add vocals it seems they gradually came together as a musical unit.

And the essence of the musical unit is summed up on 'The Demons in Me' - once again lyrically about internal struggles in the search for personal redemption. It is a rounded track of symphonic rock bolstered by the appearance of Michelle Darkness (End of Green), in which keyboards and strings add to the atmospheric effect.

Guest appearances litter the album, but complement, but do no crowd the release.  Fiddle players Dag Bjorkedal and Lillian Hodne appear as does the Lingua Mortis Orchestra (which appears on the tracks Sorrowful and Lengselens Hand) directed, recorded and by 'composer' and Rage guitarist Victor Smolski.

However, what is the more notable appearance is by Carme's sister Liv from Leave's Eyes on 'I Am Free', the siblings' voices working in concert.

There is within this release a real sense of drama - sometimes slipping into melodrama, but overall coming across as a piece of uncontrived musical rock theatre.

It would be a stretch to describe this as a metal performance, but the musicianship throughout echoes the sense of the lyrics. Carmen states that although the tracks are about individual and band experiences she has also pointed them at being something the listener can relate to.

The penultimate track 'Now Or Never' is the best exemplar of this. Carmen describes it as:

“A wake up call; many people forget that it might be a chance that you only live once. They don't live in the moment and live their lives as there would be many more chances to come. Now it`s the time to change”.

Overall SAVN's self-titled release is a piece of art best sampled alone, with the chance to reflect on the soundscapes and the melodies, while penetrating the lyrics.

The addition of some more guitar leads to echo more emphatically the magisterial melancholia would have been the icing on the SAVN cake. However, don't let this deter you from listening. Should you seek a reference point. Carmen's sister said:

“If you like the early Theatre Of Tragedy, you'll enjoy SAVN”, she said. “It's very down to earth. Stig was in The Sins Of Thy Beloved and there are things he really loves about that period of bands like Sirenia and Tristania.

 

"He’s always been influenced by these bands and what he put together with Savn is like a dream come true”. I love the album. It's an excellent piece of art”.

Overtime we've come to like this album, wavering towards Liv's sentiment of loving it.

 

Produced by Leave's Eyes Alexander Krull, SAVN is released Digipak CD, Vinyl and picture disc at the end of April on CDR Records Norway via Intergroove and also as a download.

 

 

 

Feminist lore, historical struggles and damn fine music

By Jason Burke

LEAVES' EYE are in a competition, whether they like it or not, for supremacy in the symphonic, female fronted metal - and the German-Norwegian are currently dominating the genre through intelligent use of lore, feminist themes and a diverse set of tales set against a lush musical landscape.

The 2013 release Symphonies of the Night - available on Napalm Records - has built up their 2009 release,  Njord, and the masterpieces such as Ragnarok, Irish Rain and My Destiny from that that release.

References to Shakespearean tragic characters such as Ophelia and the bathos of Hamlet, the lyrics also touch on the oft-repeated myths around Joan of Arc on the track Maid of Lorraine and the battles that ensued in her time: "May 1431, Between the walls that imprison me I seek divine guidance."

Leaves Eyes are a captivating band with thought provoking lyrics and musical scores and playing to complement historical myth and legend and "Symphonies of the night" is an intense and gripping plethora of incredible songs and a thoroughly enjoyable listen for both the casual listener and hardcore fans.

Liv Kristine's vocals stay dynamic, and initial echoes of Nightwish and Within Temptation are quickly dispelled and with Alexander Krull's singing giving it a metal edge to fit in with the playing of Thorsten (bass), van der Meer (guitar) and Born (drums) which weaves tapestries around the mythic but literate styles.

Opener "Hell to the Heavens” is a powerful introduction with intense and incredible vocals from both Kristine and Krull sounding as if they are preparing for war. Fading Earth gives the feeling of the descent of a woman’s mind to the dark thoughts and speaks of hoping for another waiting on the other side, a deep and thoughtful song with a rocking guitar solo.

Songs that would jump out to listeners of the album are Hymme to The Lone Sands with well-structued riffs and gives a certified head banging mosh pit feel friendly feel to the song. The album contains an almost perfect mix of slower, more vocal songs like Angel of the Ghost with an almost pagan speech halfway through and yet another guitar solo to make the eardrums feel pleasured!

Ophelia which is the final song of the album is not only a song of lyrical mastery but an insight into the vocal prowess and skill of Kristine alongside Krull's skilled werewolf growls enough to scare virgins and consummate music to match.

Leaves Eyes are an amazingly talented band with a list of collaborators as long as any fan’s arm, and have only improved through the years. This release shows true feeling and individuality in their genre.

Additional editing by Jonny