Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The profusion of great music that has come out of Scandinavia this last year, especially from its Metal genres is almost an embarrassment of riches. It has been relentless, a Metal take over from the traditional homes of the field in which for the vast majority of groups from the U.K. and America, with some very obvious exceptions, have been left floundering in their wake.

If the year was so good then it feels only right to have the German-Norwegian Symphonic metallers Leaves’ Eyes finish off the year in the style that has come to distinguish it apart from anything else. In a strong arena of Metal, in which even music from Italy, Greece and France has been nothing short of fantastic, Leaves’ Eyes and the haunting, lingering ghost-like evocativeness of Liv Kristine Espenæs Krul leaves that little extra imprint of the shudder of expectation that resides in us all. The shudder, the quiver of excitement that the listener has when taking in the almost operatic tones of this extraordinary lead vocalist is only matched by the growling mystique that Alexander Krull provides to counteract the soaring beauty of both music and feminine vocal.

Symphonies of the Night abounds with the language and legends of a country that the U.K. seems to have forgotten about, the shared history, the shared myths that we have in closer connection than the culture of the Latin temperament. Leaves’ Eyes have poured all that focused energy that sits silently waiting in the psyche of Scandinavia, the opportunity to thrill their British cousins has been patient and now at last they have become the force to reckoned with, it is stirring stuff.

From the brilliant introduction of Hell to the Heavens and through tracks such as Maid of Lorraine, the title track, Symphonies of the Night and the outrageously good Ophelia, this is an album that cements the growing admiration, the rising respect for the areas near complete dominance of a genre. Leaves’ Eyes round off a tremendous year, not just for Metal but for music with Scandinavian heritage.

Ian D. Hall