{"id":18039,"date":"2013-11-26T00:00:27","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T00:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18039"},"modified":"2014-03-14T18:14:15","modified_gmt":"2014-03-14T18:14:15","slug":"feature-leaves-eyes-11-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-leaves-eyes-11-13\/","title":{"rendered":"LEAVES\u2019 EYES – Siren Of The Night (November 2013) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEAVES\u2019 EYES – Siren Of The Night<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nNovember 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

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Leaves\u2019 Eyes (l-r): Felix Born, Sander van der Meer, Liv Kristine, Thorsten Bauer and Alexander Krull<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nGerman-Norwegian symphonic metal group Leaves\u2019 Eyes issued fourth studio full-length album Meredead<\/em> in April 2011 via Napalm Records. Of the 15 compositions to pool from, 13 were ultimately selected. Two numbers didn\u2019t surface on the effort\u2019s track listing, namely \u2018Saint Cecelia\u2019 and \u2018Eileen\u2019s Ardency\u2019. The pair eventually emerged on November 2013 studio outing Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>, the latter as a bonus cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were kind of left over, but not in a negative way,\u201d stresses Liv Kristine, lead vocalist of Leaves\u2019 Eyes. \u201cWe just had more than enough songs for the Meredead<\/em> album, so that was our starting point. They\u2019re two great pieces of music, so we thought \u2018Okay, let\u2019s start from there.\u2019 We have the tenth anniversary of Leaves\u2019 Eyes in 2013, so through all the interviews I\u2019ve done this week, I started thinking about what\u2019s so special about the production and the composition process for Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>. Well, yes: the ten-year anniversary of Leaves\u2019 Eyes. Everything we\u2019ve experienced \u2013 live experiences, studio experiences \u2013 all comes together on Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>. I feel very comfortable where I\u2019m standing right now when it comes to my own music, so it\u2019s very interesting. It feels, as I said, comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The frontwoman\u2019s sister \u2013 Midnattsol alumni Carmen Elise Espen\u00e6s \u2013 lends guest vocals to the number \u2018Eileen\u2019s Ardency\u2019. \u201cShe just happened to be around for the holidays,\u201d the frontwoman shares. \u201cShe moved back to Norway many years ago but she loves Germany, so she visits me here. I\u2019m an aunt now, so she brought her little Rebecca. She happened to be around, so that\u2019s why she\u2019s on \u2018Eileen\u2019s Ardency\u2019. \u2018Eileen\u2019s Ardency\u2019 is a ballad with a folky touch. I can\u2019t wait to perform it live, especially together with my sister. It\u2019s always payback time someday. My sister just recorded her upcoming album with her new band Savn in July and August here at our Mastersound Studio, so it was payback time. Now, I\u2019m singing on one of my sister\u2019s songs. Savn\u2019s album is going to be released in 2014, so you\u2019ll hear it then (laughs). It\u2019s all top secret information. We just finished the mixing and mastering of the album, so the production is finished. It\u2019s an amazing album, actually. It reminds you a little bit of the early days with my former band Theatre Of Tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing sessions for Symphonies Of The Night<\/em> spawned no leftover compositions. \u201cThose recordings we weren\u2019t satisfied with just got deleted during the composition process,\u201d Liv elaborates. \u201cWe just decided to go for the very best. For some songs we needed almost two years, whereas \u2018Nightshade\u2019, for example \u2013 that\u2019s one of my babies on the album \u2013 was basically recorded within 48 hours. The good thing is that we have our own studio just 20 metres from our home, so it\u2019s just for me to cross the road. We have two recording rooms, so there is always something going on. Thorsten (Bauer) my guitar player and Alexander (Krull) my husband are kind of night owls, and like to work during night-time. For me, after bringing my kids to school and having my first cup of coffee, I enter the studio and just open the files they\u2019ve just worked on during night-time before leaving the studio (laughs). There\u2019s always something going on at Mastersound. The whole composition process and recording process was a very intense and creative period of time. I enjoyed it very much, and also learnt a lot about my own manners of singing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had a friend visiting me at the studio. She\u2019s called Maite Itoiz; she\u2019s from a band called Elfenthal, and she\u2019s also the wife of John Kelly from The Kelly Family. She\u2019s just the most amazing singer ever. She\u2019s studied music and singing off of historical instruments for years and years. Since she\u2019s my good friend, I asked her for some dirty singing tricks (laughs). I\u2019ve never had a single singing lesson in my whole life, and I\u2019m not really very good at reading notes and things like that. I asked her, and she commented on a couple of things about my manners of singing. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows where to get the power from, the power that you sometimes miss in your voice. If you haven\u2019t really prepared for a recording session or a live situation, there are actually some dirty tricks you can use to feel comfortable walking onstage and doing your thing \u2013 the same goes for studio recordings. Sometimes you just feel weak. I used that for myself to develop vocally during the recording period. That was extremely uplifting and a very positive experience, yes. I was very lucky to have Maite around. I hope that I will be able to show her some of my dirty tricks some day (laughs).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think every band member actually felt very comfortable during the composition and recording process, and now we have a very powerful album.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The classical forte is Maite Itoiz\u2019s dominant vocal discipline. \u201cWhat she taught me and what she commented on definitely helped me in my classical singing, because that\u2019s something I\u2019ve been doing since I was a little girl,\u201d the lyricist reflects. \u201cMy parents always told me to shut the door and stop doing the opera thing (laughs), but it has been a very normal thing to me, to sing in a classical way. I\u2019ve never known if I\u2019ve been doing it right, though. That\u2019s what Maite told me: \u2018You can use your voice in this or that manner, but if you do it this way then you will sound more powerful.\u2019 There are always things for a soprano voice which can make your voice sound better. You can probably hear it on songs like \u2018Saint Cecelia\u2019, or \u2018Symphony Of The Night\u2019. With \u2018Symphony Of The Night\u2019, the title track, you need to be in good physical condition to be able to perform this live onstage (laughs). I really enjoy it, though. I can\u2019t wait to be able to play five new Leaves\u2019 Eyes songs in Belgium at Metal Female Voices Fest on October 19th. That would be the first five tracks off of the album, actually; \u2018Hell To The Heavens\u2019, \u2018Fading Earth\u2019, \u2018Maid Of Lorraine\u2019, \u2018Galswintha\u2019, and \u2018Symphony Of The Night\u2019. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

With each and every full-length, Liv searches for ways in which to improve her vocal abilities. \u201cAll the developing steps I have been able to take so far and everything I\u2019ve done in my artistic career so far is based on my own experiences, live and in the studio,\u201d she credits. \u201cI\u2019ve always taken a great interest in singing manners, myself. My parents keep telling me about my early days, being five to six-years-old and imitating singers, especially female singers like Montserrat Caball\u00e9. A little bit later, Madonna, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Enya \u2013 actually any kind of female voice. That\u2019s very good advice that I would give to other female singers, to just sing along to anything, and I still do. I sing in the shower, I sing in the car \u2013 especially in the car (laughs). It\u2019s a bit embarrassing when you get a red light, because everybody keeps staring at you, wondering what\u2019s going on (laughs). It\u2019s the best way to practice though, to just sing along to anything. For me, it works this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The singer enjoys October 1988 record Barcelona<\/em>, which paired Montserrat Caball\u00e9 with Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury. \u201cOh yes,\u201d she confirms. \u201cI do, I do (laughs). Very much, very much, yes. Lately, I just watched a live gig of Queen in Hungary. It was recorded in Hungary (on July 27th, 1986 in Budapest, and released on DVD as Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest \u201986<\/em>), and was one of their last gigs. I was moved to tears. Freddie Mercury is just amazing, even if Montserrat Caball\u00e9 is twice as big in lung volume size (laughs). Both of them have the most impressive voices, and they fit together so well. Freddie Mercury though, he\u2019s definitely someone I will sing along to when practising for my upcoming recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The musical style on Symphonies Of The Night<\/em> draws its influence from a wide array of sources. \u201cThat\u2019s a very tricky question,\u201d Liv considers. \u201cTo start, where we come from, female-fronted metal. It\u2019s symphonic, it\u2019s epic, it\u2019s folky. And, what else? Yes, it\u2019s metal (laughs). It\u2019s metal. It has a very, very kicking sound to it this time, a very powerful sound \u2013 as we already talked about. I\u2019m not very good at labelling, especially with my own music (laughs). So yes, female-fronted symphonic, folk-inspired metal, something like that. I like to move outside the definitions and labels, though. I always feel new inspiration with every album, and I never felt like I had to stick to certain musical styles or I just had to go with the flow. That would be pretty easy, but I\u2019m quite immune to input from the outside. I like to just keep the three minds of the composing team of Leaves\u2019 Eyes together, and just concentrate on our own influences and artistic aims. So yeah, I guess I was born with a hyperactive artistic mind (laughs). There is always something going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liv, Alexander, and Thorsten form the writing team behind Leaves\u2019 Eyes. \u201cI\u2019ve been around for more than 20 years,\u201d the songwriter cites. \u201cThorsten, my guitar player, and Alexander, my husband and producer and male singer of Leaves\u2019 Eyes, have been around for 25, 30 years almost. It\u2019s amazing when you think about all of the experience that we\u2019ve gathered so far, and also the influences we have. Everybody changes. Thorsten has of course been my guitar hero (laughs). He\u2019s very much into special techniques when it comes to guitar playing, like playing the Spanish guitar. He plays the mandolin, he plays the sitar, and so he\u2019s developing in that field. With his background in Atrocity, Alex always brings in the metal, the powerful elements in Leaves\u2019 Eyes. Then I\u2019m the contrast, bringing in the more female elements. That\u2019s where I come from, though. <\/p>\n

\u201cBack in 1993, founding my former band Theatre Of Tragedy in Stavanger, Norway, my thoughts back then were already focused on the contrasting elements within music, like the beauty and the beast concept. You have the female vocals and the male vocals, and the guitars contrasting the symphonic elements. You have the symphonic elements contrasting the folky elements, so that\u2019s something I\u2019ve always paid a lot of attention to \u2013 contrasts in music. I\u2019m glad to have Alex and Thorsten next to me, because they\u2019re my best critics as well. We have a lot in common, the three of us each being perfectionists (laughs). It\u2019s always interesting to see what happens during a pre-production for an album, because we actually have the deal that everybody is allowed to bring in any kind of influence into the music. It\u2019s very exciting, and I\u2019m very grateful to have such a professional composing team in my band to be a part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

A staple within female-fronted metal, the beauty and the beast concept is arguably a formula nowadays which a newer crop of groups replicate, as opposed to delving into fresh areas. \u201cYes, it\u2019s true,\u201d Liv agrees. \u201cThe artists introducing the beauty and the beast concept, and also female vocals, angelic vocals in metal, were Theatre Of Tragedy, The Gathering, Nightwish, and Within Temptation, with bands like Epica coming later. Some of the bands coming up now, that\u2019s 20 years after this genre came into existence. It\u2019s interesting to see how some bands just try to pick up the formula, as you already mentioned, 20 years later (laughs), smelling the surface of the genre but not really being a part of it. I just hope and pray that some of us ladies from those bands which were already around in the 90s and introduced this genre will still be able to be around in ten years time. I\u2019m very positive about it. Anneke from The Gathering is still here and still around, Tarja (Turunen, ex-Nightwish) \u2013 although she came a bit later \u2013 is still around. That\u2019s great, that\u2019s great. It\u2019s relieving, and I\u2019ll meet all my girl friends this upcoming week in Belgium. I\u2019m looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The vocalist tends to experience albums in compact disc format, as opposed to digital format. \u201cI\u2019m probably one of the last people on this planet who go to the music shop and actually buy CDs, and read the booklets,\u201d she laments. \u201cI spend quite a lot of time listening to music, and discovering new bands and new directions. So far though, my feelings are for the earlier bands, I have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

This journalist shares the same preference for compact discs as opposed to digital files. \u201cYou\u2019re probably much younger than I am, and still you\u2019re buying physical CDs,\u201d Liv continues. \u201cI think that\u2019s a very important thing, because you support your band if you do that. I grew up with cassettes and vinyls (laughs), and then the CD came. I probably have a different relationship with music when it comes to how music is produced, or manufactured, and promoted. It\u2019s interesting, but still some day, we have to find a way that the artist will get rewarded when people download their music. We tend to believe that everything is so fast. Everything is going so fast these days, so then you expect everything else to be fast. Art is something that happens because of synapses in your brain connecting though, millions and trillions of synapses in somebody\u2019s brains, and that takes just as long as it did 2,000 years ago. What happens inside our brains is just the same. It takes the same amount of time, although we live faster and everything is faster. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something you should think about when you get hold of a product by your artist. If you want to support your artist, think about how much time this person actually spent on this product or project. It\u2019s always a matter of giving and taking, and accepting an artist\u2019s steps, and accepting that there\u2019s depth to it. Of course it makes it more difficult for an artist to be a full-time artist. For me being a full-time musician, times were different I would say up until 2000, 2001 \u2013 then things really started to change. For me, it\u2019s a privilege having fans and friends all over the world, making it happen for me. That\u2019s why I\u2019m able to be a full-time musician. Sometimes it\u2019s really hard, especially when it comes to all of the downloading. That\u2019s what all of the record labels are complaining about. In the very end, it\u2019s the artists who suffer. I\u2019m still here though, and as I already mentioned, I hope I will still be around for ten, 20, maybe 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touring is costly. \u201cOh yes, definitely,\u201d the frontwoman concurs. \u201cI remember my first tour with Theatre Of Tragedy, supporting Atrocity in \u201996. We actually got paid for being a support act; we got paid every night. Nowadays, you pay to play. Yeah, think about that (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Paying to perform concerts \u2013 better known as \u2018paying to play\u2019 \u2013 was the sole reason behind guitarist Daniel Dlimi\u2019s decision to part ways with Aeon. Revealed on October 10th, 2013, the news item garnered attention in heavy metal circles. \u201cYes, I read that,\u201d Liv acknowledges. \u201cIt\u2019s actually the truth for a few of us. So far, I\u2019ve actually said \u2018No\u2019 to paying to play. I\u2019ve been forced to say \u2018No\u2019 to a couple of offers. We will do a couple of shows in Asia \u2013 we have China, Taiwan, and Thailand coming up \u2013 and because these are tours, there will be costs there for the promoter to pay. It\u2019s the first time we\u2019re going to Asia, so I understand that there will be no money left. That\u2019s fine with me, but if there\u2019s a tour, and you know that those bands would match well, and you\u2019ve sold a couple of albums throughout the years, and then you get told that you have to pay to play, that hurts. It really hurts. So far, I\u2019ve always said \u2018No.\u2019 I won\u2019t do it. No, I\u2019ve never had anybody to pay for being my support act. Never.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the wordsmith enjoys the experience of live performances. \u201cIt is definitely worth touring,\u201d she emphasizes. \u201cDuring the Firewind in 2012, I felt that the audience really wanted to see their favourite bands live. They want to know if their bands have a substance, a certain substance, especially in the rock and metal genre. That\u2019s very positive, so it\u2019s very important to go out to play now, and be a good live band. You\u2019re a winner if you have a lot of experience, I can tell you that. I really enjoy being onstage, and the experience you gather from playing live shows is just unpayable. It definitely made me the artist I\u2019ve become today, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Cardiff, Wales venue The Globe on January 15th, 2014, Leaves Eyes\u2019 begin a trek of the United Kingdom. \u201cWe got the news recently, and I\u2019m very excited about it,\u201d Liv exclaims. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a big heart for the UK, and the UK audience. I was an exchange student in Cardiff when I was 16, and then later touring with my bands. Manchester and London is always packed. It\u2019s great; it\u2019s just great to go out and play for the UK audience. I\u2019ve really enjoyed it. We even had the chance to play in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2012 with Firewind (on September 16th at Limelight). That was really nice. I had never thought that I would be able to do a metal gig in Belfast, but it was really nice. I can\u2019t wait to be back in the UK. Unfortunately, we won\u2019t be visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland this time. That\u2019s probably up to the promoters, but the rest of the UK I hope will be able to come by.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A press release described Symphonies Of The Night<\/em> as \u2018the heaviest and most epic Leaves\u2019 Eyes experience to date,\u2019 meanwhile. \u201cYes, definitely,\u201d the singer verifies. \u201cAs I already mentioned, there\u2019s ten years of Leaves Eyes\u2019 experience. There\u2019s nothing lacking on this album. That\u2019s what I was told recently on the phone (laughs), which makes me very happy, yeah. It\u2019s a very nice statement, so it\u2019s very powerful and very heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Title cut \u2018Symphony Of The Night\u2019 was originally titled \u2018Carmilla\u2019. \u201cCarmilla is the main character in (Joseph) Sheridan Le Fanu\u2019s novel,\u201d Liv informs. \u201cI think it was written in 1871, and that\u2019s actually a lesbian vampire story. Carmilla is feeding on her girlfriend Laura, but then she falls in love with her. That\u2019s kind of tricky love, but we still needed a title for the album. That was actually a journalist asking me about my influences, to which I mentioned Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u2018Swan Lake Symphony\u2019 (written in 1875-76). Right, there you go. Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>. \u2018Carmilla\u2019 was then titled \u2018Symphony Of The Night\u2019, and the whole album Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hammer Productions\u2019 movie adaptation of Carmilla<\/em> arrived in 1970 under the moniker The Vampire Lovers<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019ve seen the Hammer Horror film as well,\u201d the composer recalls. \u201cI had some reactions when I just mentioned this track on our home page, and talked a little bit about the content of the song. The word \u2018lesbian\u2019 was then written. There\u2019s nothing special about that, but I got some reactions from some groups of people (laughs), telling me \u2018We won\u2019t have anything to do with you because of this lesbian thing.\u2019 That was funny. I won\u2019t tell you where it came from, but it\u2019s funny that people get upset about these things. I mean, Le Fanu\u2019s novel is well known. It\u2019s interesting to see how things like that just evoke feelings in people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional female characters lyrically surface on Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>. \u201c\u2018Ophelia\u2019 is of course Shakespeare\u2019s Ophelia from Hamlet<\/em> (written between 1599-1602), and since my studies in linguistics, I\u2019ve always been into Hamlet<\/em>,\u201d Liv enthuses. \u201cI just love Hamlet<\/em>, and also did during the times with Theatre Of Tragedy. So yes, there just had to be a Shakespearean female character on this album. Then we\u2019ve got \u2018Fading Earth\u2019, which is actually based on Sir Philip Sidney\u2019s poem \u2018The Nightingale\u2019. There is one line there, which I think goes \u2018Thine earth now springs, mine fadeth.\u2019 It\u2019s actually a female character being a main character, and it\u2019s this kind of unhappy, grotesque love again. We\u2019ve got \u2018Saint Cecelia\u2019, who\u2019s also a female character. Actually, she\u2019s a heroine who turned into a ghost. She was beheaded three times but didn\u2019t die, so she\u2019s a ghost. It\u2019s a legend, actually. \u2018Hymn To The Lone Sands\u2019 is the only track based on Norwegian characters \u2013 it\u2019s about a married Viking couple. He\u2019s kind of forced to leave a cold, dark Norway, and travels with the rest of his Viking team. Their direction, the Arabian world. \u2018\u00c9l\u00e9onore de Provence\u2019 is about a true story. \u00c9l\u00e9onore was a queen married to an English king, but she didn\u2019t make herself very popular. <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Nightshade\u2019 is probably my baby on the album, because it was recorded within 48 hours. It just happened during my morning cup of coffee. I just ran to the studio, and recorded it. The only things we had to do were record a classical orchestra and folk instruments, but \u2018Nightshade\u2019 is actually dedicated to a barbarian woman being forced to choose between family, love, and being a warrior in the Middle Ages. What else, what else… Did we forget any? \u2018Maid Of Lorraine\u2019, of course \u2013 Joan Of Arc. I don\u2019t think I have to say anything more, other than Joan Of Arc. \u2018Hell To The Heavens\u2019 is about Hecate, who\u2019s the original witch of all witches. We have witches, we have vampires, we have female warriors, heroines, barbarians, ghosts. \u2018Angel And The Ghost\u2019 is also a track which is dedicated to all of the ghosts out there, to all of the female characters or tragic historical female figures dying at the hands of a man, because of men\u2019s abuse of power. Yes, 11 female characters. That\u2019s what we have on this album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaves\u2019 Eyes platters feature lyrics spoken in several languages. \u201cOn Njord<\/em>, I think that was eight languages,\u201d the vocalist remembers. \u201cMeredead<\/em>, seven I think. On Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>, we have five. We have English, Shakespearean English, we have Norwegian, and then there\u2019s a little bit of French and a little bit of Irish, so there are five. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love singing in different languages. I\u2019ve always been into linguistics, phonetics, phonology, intonation, so why not? My mother tongue is Norwegian, but in Norway we are lucky to start learning English in the first grade. We kind of grow up with English, and there are no subtitles on television. Every movie has an English title, so it\u2019s a good way to learn a foreign language. When I then moved to Germany when I was 19, I learnt German. On a daily basis, I speak three languages here in my home. It comes natural. My son has two mother tongues. He\u2019s bilingual, so he speaks fluent Norwegian and German. Since he\u2019s been touring with us since he was two-and-a-half years old \u2013 he\u2019s nine now \u2013 he speaks fluent English as well, so he already speaks three different languages (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Partnering musically alongside your husband theoretically causes further complications. \u201cWorking together means that we often need to have time apart from each other, which is very important,\u201d Liv divulges. \u201cWe\u2019re a very good team, though. We fulfil each other, we really compliment each other. I\u2019m very good at planning, so that\u2019s my thing (laughs). I take care of all of the daily planning, like the family \u2013 everything which concerns the family. Alex is also good at planning, but he does the planning for the band. He is the manager, as well as also being the producer of my solo band, Atrocity, and Leaves\u2019 Eyes. We compliment each other, but I would be lying if I told you that we never, ever argue about things when it comes to band stuff. Of course we do (laughs), and that\u2019s important. Everything else would be boring otherwise, I guess. We\u2019re quite different. We\u2019re two quite different characters when it comes to personality. <\/p>\n

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\u201cStill though, it\u2019s wonderful being his wife, and it\u2019s wonderful working with him and also standing on the same stage as him, performing with him. I do believe that he thinks the same \u2013 he just told me this morning (laughs). So yes, it\u2019s good, it\u2019s good. We have our own studio, and we have our son. The balance is there. It feels like a privilege being able to combine music and family. Of course family comes first, but having both things is really dear to me. Since I entered this planet, I\u2019ve always wanted to sing and become a musician and to have my own children. So yes, I consider myself to be quite a lucky person.\u201d<\/p>\n

When musical disagreements surface, there has to be a concerted effort to prevent them from becoming of a personal nature. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to leave all personal matters out of the picture when you have a discussion in the band, although we\u2019re a family here at Mastersound Studio,\u201d the frontwoman reckons. \u201cWith Leaves\u2019 Eyes, Atrocity, and my solo band, some of the people are members of all three bands. Alex, Thorsten, and myself, we\u2019ve been working together for 20 years. I think we know very well where the line is, the delicate line where you have to stop because it\u2019s getting personal. Thorsten is also mine and Alex\u2019s best friend. He\u2019s definitely a part of the family. Some members have left the band and new members have come into the band, but the three of us, we\u2019re the core of Leaves\u2019 Eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>\u2019s respective tracks, the required production time varied. \u201cFor some of the songs we needed almost two years, like \u2018Eileen\u2019s Ardency\u2019 and \u2018Saint Cecelia\u2019,\u201d Liv discloses. \u201cFor tracks like \u2018Ophelia\u2019, \u2018Nightshade\u2019, and \u2018Hell To The Heavens\u2019, meanwhile, we needed a week or a couple of weeks. The whole production went smoothly, but we had gigs and tours in-between. There\u2019s always interruption, but playing live is just as important as being in the studio. Thank God we have our own studio. That\u2019s the only way to finish an album, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with past efforts, production duties fell to Alexander. \u201cAlex, who\u2019s the producer of all three bands, is the mastermind,\u201d the lyricist compliments. \u201cHe\u2019s amazing. He\u2019s also a tester for special recording devices for certain companies in Europe, providing studios with equipment. That\u2019s great, because then Alex is always able to try out new things, gain new experiences, and maximise the sound. He\u2019s a perfectionist, so you can always expect the maximum if you leave a production with Alex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Symphonies Of The Night<\/em> is bookended by bonus track \u2018One Caress\u2019, a Depeche Mode cover interpretation, the original rendition included on March 1993\u2019s Songs Of Faith And Devotion<\/em>. \u201cThat was actually an offer from a German music magazine,\u201d Liv reveals. \u201cWe just got the offer, and was asked if the song would be suitable for Leaves\u2019 Eyes. \u2018One Caress\u2019 is one of my definite favourites of Depeche Mode, so it was an honour. I\u2019m glad for doing it, yeah. This song is on a tribute to Depeche Mode, but I think it\u2019s only available here in Germany. We got the allowance to put it on our own album though, so I guess it\u2019s a very interesting musical piece (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Cover artwork duties were overseen by Stefan Heilemann, meanwhile. \u201cHe\u2019s the artist we\u2019ve worked with for the last three to four albums, and he\u2019s just amazing,\u201d the singer raves. \u201cHe had this idea with the forest, the old trees having faces, and the bird. It was Stefan Heilemann in co-operation with my husband Alexander. They just got this brilliant idea of how they would imagine somebody walking through the forest, and being in the middle of a symphony during the night. So yeah, I\u2019m very happy about the artwork, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liv lends guest vocals to the cut \u2018Born With A Broken Heart\u2019, included on forthcoming outing Delivering The Black<\/em>. Due for January 2014 issue, it will be the tenth overall from German heavy metal outfit Primal Fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a request I got one Saturday morning,\u201d she notes. \u201cRalf (Scheepers) lives not that far away from our place, so he came to the studio. I fell in love with the track at once, and that\u2019s the only reason if I choose to do a duet or not. If I like the song itself, that\u2019s first priority. Not the money, or whoever sings on it \u2013 any famous names. That\u2019s just not important. The most important thing is if I like the musical piece itself, and the other voice I\u2019m singing together with. Ralf is an amazing singer, and the song is great. It\u2019s a metal ballad. It\u2019s a very rough, raw metal ballad, but still you have the contrast of the female vocals in the song. It turned out really well, and Ralf is also a great guy \u2013 a very, very nice, humble guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2018The Lay Of Our Love\u2019 additionally features Liv\u2019s vocals, the track surfacing on September 2013 T\u00fdr full-length Valkyrja<\/em>. \u201cHeri the singer of T\u00fdr helped us out,\u201d she enlightens. \u201cWhen Leaves\u2019 Eyes headlined Wacken Open Air in Germany during 2012, I needed a male guest singer for one of our songs on the setlist. That was \u2018Solemn Sea\u2019, and Heri helped me out there. I told him \u2018If you ever need a female duet partner, I\u2019ll be there. It\u2019s payback time.\u2019 Heri and T\u00fdr had this amazing ballad finished, and he asked me to join him. I just think it\u2019s amazing, yes. I really like it. We\u2019re gonna shoot a video for it, very soon. They will fly me in to the video shoot. I\u2019m really looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, no further guest appearances are on the horizon. \u201cI had quite a few very interesting requests for duets in 2013, but we really have to go out there and tour now, and do lots of promotion for Symphonies Of The Night<\/em>,\u201d the songwriter reminds. \u201cWe\u2019ll just try to stay away from the studio for at least a couple of weeks, or a couple of months (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

A fourth solo full-length album is in the pipeline. \u201cI will start working on another solo album as soon as we\u2019ve finished Asia \u2013 China, Taiwan, and Thailand \u2013 and Russia,\u201d Liv tells. \u201cAfter that, I will probably start composing again. I just need to focus on the live situation right now. As I already mentioned, it\u2019s good to switch off for a little bit, and be away from the studio (laughs). I have a couple of ideas, but so far I\u2019ve been busy with Leaves\u2019 Eyes and I don\u2019t like mixing things up. I always concentrate on one production. My solo album will probably be out the end of 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n

Symphonies Of The Night<\/em> was released on November 13th, 2013 in Spain, Sweden, and Norway, on the 15th in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, and Benelux, on the 18th in the United Kingdom as well as the rest of Europe, and on the 26th in North America, all via Napalm Records. <\/p>\n

Interview published in November 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LEAVES\u2019 EYES – Siren Of The Night Anthony Morgan November 2013 Leaves\u2019 Eyes (l-r): Felix Born, Sander van der Meer, Liv Kristine, Thorsten Bauer and Alexander Krull German-Norwegian symphonic metal group Leaves\u2019 Eyes issued fourth studio full-length album Meredead in April 2011 via Napalm Records. Of the 15 compositions to pool from, 13 were ultimately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,827],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-leaves-eyes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18039"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18776,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions\/18776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}