leaves' eyes njord

Released: 31 August 2009 Label: Napalm Records

Leaves’ Eyes’ third studio album sees the Norwegian and German female fronted goth rock band continue in the same vein as previous albums and their continuing love affair with Nordic mythology and symphonic gothic metal. Njord is the anglicised aversion of Njörðr who is father of the deities Freyr and Freyja and is associated with sea, seafaring, wind, fishing, wealth, and crop fertility.

Liv Kristine, the stunning siren who fronts the band, sings her semi-opera style vocals emotionally in no less than eight languages on this album. Male vocalist Alexander Krull adds a different dimension by adding growls and power and together they go by the self-titled “beauty and the beast”.

The album is rocky and metal, but beautifully intricate at the same time. It mixes rock with classical in equal measures. Catchy melodies in the likes of Take the Devil in Me show the band at their harmonious and commercial best. But the use of choirs and orchestras reveal the majesty of the songs and show off stunning compositions. The final track, an epically long Frøyas Theme weighs in at over eight minutes, sucks you in and is mesmerising.

Njord sees Leaves’ Eyes demonstrate very ably why they were one of the first bands doing this style of female fronted symphonic rock, and this album shows that they’re still one of the best in the genre of Viking metal. The special editions even come with a model Viking boat with the band’s logo emblazoned on its sail.

by Lynn Wyeth