Year: 2020
Total Time: 01:03:48 
Label: AFM Records

The main feature, if we can call it as such, of LEAVES ‘EYES, was, if nothing else, Liv Kristin herself, whose name became the pun of the band’s own name. So when this feature disappears, what about the band itself?

We saw the first samples of the new line-up of the band in 2018, with Elina Siirala behind the microphone, when they released the good, but leaving very mixed reviews behind it, “Sign Of The Dragonhead”, where the comparisons were inevitable. Two years later, LEAVES’ EYES return to the scene, releasing “The Last Viking”, staying on this Viking period based thematology.

With the dust of Liv Kristin’s departure now gone and the band already having four years in this form, “The Last Viking” comes to show the fruits given of these years. And the fruits are rather delicious! The single “Dark Love Empress” of the new album is perhaps a bit subdued compared to the rest. The whole new album, however, is dynamic! Heavier, very melodic, with many symphonic elements, reminiscent in parts of the band’s older works. And Elina Siirala, more liberated than in their previous work, shows her potentials and the range of her voice, with operatic -and not only- style, bringing to mind another great of the genre, Tarja Turunen and essentially coming out of the shadow of her predecessor.

Overall, we have a very nice release, superior to the first with Elina Siirala on vocals, quite close to the roots of the band, which definitely shows that the shock of Liv Kristin’s departure is left behind, showing an upward trend once again for the band and leaving promises for an even better sequel!

Rating: 7,5/10
Editor: Fanouris Exintavelonis
Related Link: LEAVES’ EYES – Official Page