Meredead

Napalm

The fourth studio release from German/Norwegian symphonic metal band Leaves’ Eyes presents a clandestine tapestry of artistic intrigue, rich in texture with vocalist Liv Kristine’s beautifully enchanted talents. Meredead represents the band at their finest moment thus far delving deep into the culture and history of Kristine’s heritage. The thirteen tracks found herein encompass the spirit of a people and draw heavily from traditional instrumentation and even go so far as to present the majority of the CD’s songs with lyrics sung in Old English and traditional Norwegian with occasional bouts of modern English injected.

Although Meredead holds fast to the folk like traits of Liv Kristine’s homeland and steers away from the bands more gothic/symphonic elements of past offerings they are still very much a Metal band and provide enough punch to appeal to both the open minded fans of the hard and heavy as well as a more pristine clientele. Highlights found here include the title track which resides with an incandescent shine in its large scale choir attributes, the epic “Sigrlinn” which is a fast paced piece which at times boasts an almost prog like vibe and showcases the guttural blasts of vocalist Alexander Krull whose presence is felt far less this time around. “Velvet Heart” is probably the most commercially viable song amid the collective but remains a decisively memorable piece overall.

It is truly a breath of fresh air to hear the metamorphosis of the Metal genre unveil such beauty and poise with artistry such as this. It gives hope for the continued evolution of the genre and speaks ever more potently than much of the high end fluff that is so often passed off as music these days. Leaves’ Eyes  Meredead is an intellectually and emotionally charged masterpiece worthy of praise in the annals of music history; highly recommended to anyone with a taste for the finer things in life.

-Priest