Leave's Eyes
Vinland Saga

LA RECENSIONE

Second studio effort for Liv (the great former member of Theatre Of Tragedy) and her band, returning after the beautiful debut album “Lovelorn,” which, as the title suggests, is mainly focused on the history of the peoples of her Norway. While listening, I must admit that Lacuna Coil, along with Within Temptation, have set the standard in this type of metal.
No offense to fans, but the album is heavily influenced by the latest effort from the Dutch sextet “The Silent Force.” It must also be admitted that the market is so saturated with these bands that they copy each other, and in a genre like this dominated by very important bands such as Nightwish, Epica, Within Temptation, and Lacuna Coil, it's difficult to navigate among the various After Forever, the same Leave’s Eyes, Edenbridge, etc. Now, I don't want to say that this album is entirely to be discarded, but it surely does not present anything original compared to what has already been offered by the aforementioned groups.

The album opens immediately with the very epic title track, and after showcasing her vocal talents, Liv makes us hope for the best, but then what happens??? She throws herself headlong into vocalizations à la Sharon Den Adel, as in “Elegy” or “Solemn Sea”. Occasionally, you hear the growl singing (it sounds more like someone with a sore throat), a typical hallmark of dozens of bands working in this genre. Even the ballads aren't that great, they're a mix between Within and Nightwish, and sometimes they end up being boring. At the end of the listening experience, there's not much left, just a handful of songs, precisely 12, very commercial, nice to listen to but nothing more. Let's hope for better in the future. The score below is for the production, obviously centered on the beautiful Liv and for the album cover.
Meanwhile, I'm back to listening to “The Silent Force”...