Anyone who listens to female fronted Metal bands of any style, or even Metal in general, knows who Leaves' Eyes are, as well as the history of the group, as in how the band had formed. Suffice it to say, this is a group that doesn't need an introduction. There have only been three full-length recordings since the group's debut full-length, Lovelorn, back in 2004, and the group's fourth release, Meredead has been one of the most anticipated from Leaves' Eyes given how much momentum the band has built up over the years, and how consistent they have been to their sound while continuing to grow in a rather epic Folk direction. Once again, we are greeted with more of the same on Meredead, but pushed to a sound that feels like it could very well be the band's entry into a whole new ballgame.
As stated, with every album, the music Leaves' Eyes releases becomes more epic, and Meredead is no exception. However, some tracks have that vibe to them, while others take on more of a traditional Folk Metal vibe to them, or just completely mix the two together into quite a mixed state of musical expression. "Spirit's Masquerade" welcomes the listener into this latest chapter through epic symphonic organizations that often breaks into traditional, slower paced Folk passages. While this is impressive, the constant jumping between the more epic elements to an abrupt shift that incorporates a slow genuine Folk Rock vibe can wear thin quickly. This track also shows one of the most dramatic changes to the band as well, and that would be a change in the vocals, perhaps due to the overall quality of the recording itself. The vocals don't quite seem as soothing or passionate as usual, though still rather soft and come still rather beautiful either way, still suiting the music. The best way to put it is that sometimes the vocals sound physically weak at times, like with the aforementioned "Spirit's Masquerade", especially given the stronger performances given on previous releases, though they are not completely missing and do appear on some songs, such as "Velvet Heart" and "To France", both songs really showing off what makes Leaves' Eyes such a powerful, catchy, and beautiful musical act.
Accompanying the band on this release is a number of additional vocalists. Maite Itoiz of Elfenthal appears on "Etain" and "Maredead", as well as performed baroque guitar for "Tell-Tale Eyes", which is a surprising addition that really adds some extra flair to the album. However, if you did not know who it was specifically, you'd swear that Tarja (former Nightwish vocalist) was involved in this project, which would have honestly been a phenomenal treat, but one that is not given on this release, though this is an exceptional substitute to that. John Kelly of Elfenthal also appears on "Tell-Tale Eyes", as well as Carmen Elise Espenaes of Midnattsol (Liv's sister), joins in the choirs for "Sigrlinn". Additional guest vocals on practically every other song are performed by a woman named Anette Guldbransen, and no, it's not the Anette that replaced Tarja. In addition, there are a few other guests handling other duties, such as Christina Roch handling pipes, Jenn Kirchof on fiddle, and Thorsten Bauer on mandoline, all really adding to that overall epic atmosphere of many of the songs, like "Sigrlinn", "Meredead", and "Tell-Tale Eyes" and plenty more. Obviously, a lot has gone into this recording as far as the guest performances go, but the only real complaint behind all this is that the guest vocals can feel a little too much, such as Maite Itoiz performance on "Etain" that are much higher in volume and literally drown out Liv's vocals, though it's clearly meant to be a duet with both singers performing at the same time.
Despite Meredead getting off to a rocky start and the laundry list of who's who in female fronted metal for the guest list, this album does pick up gradually, and seems to take a different direction when it comes to lyrical compositions. Whereas some of the previous Leaves' Eyes began to feel conceptual in a story told through Liv Kristine and Alexander Krull, it feels like this release is portraying the songs in a conceptual manner and allowing the guest vocalists to take on roles instead of sticking to a two member narration. Many songs greatly benefit from this, such as "To France", which becomes a very catchy and rather soothing track that shows some epic tendencies here and there, utilizing a passionate and powerful duet between the softer singing and operatic guest vocals to really push a glorious atmosphere to the song. Then the title track "Meredead" also becomes a more operatic song in general with the music, though not quite as catchy, and becomes heavily geared towards Folk instruments that set a successful atmosphere. But perhaps one of the most important elements of this recording lies with Alexander Krull, who, as mentioned, has contributed vocals on previous albums, and over time just became an annoyance. However, with Meredead, his gutterals and deep, thick, and rich, making them a welcome addition to the song, as well as offer up some great variety to "Sigrlinn", a near nine minute epic that is nothing fans of the band have truly heard before, showing perhaps the heaviest the band has ever been in their career, or at least close to it, and it becomes a welcome move from the group.
While "Velvet Heart" is perhaps the catchiest track off the recording, and "To France" is a powerful glorious track, these tracks, and all the other great songs on here, are really no match for the slower tracks on here that easily play on the listener's emotions. "Mine Tåror er ei Grimme" is a ballad that finds Liv's vocals at their best, and the music atmosphere from the musicians to be the strongest, setting up a tear-jerking Folk track that is as beautiful as it is saddening from it's slower pace and atmosphere. Then there's "Empty Horizon", another slower track, but one that utilizes some of the stronger, more developed epic musical compositions to it's advantage, allowing for a duet between male and female vocals, both clean, choir vocals in the background, and emotional, passionate music from start to end that never really builds up pace, but does pick up in overall power for the chorus.
What it all boils down to is what are the right levels of epic, genuine Folk, as well as performance. The album seems to jump about a bit between those three categories, but they do seem to eventually even out on Meredead. The album does start off rocky, and there are some tracks on here that feel well composed and with a good amount of energy into them, such as "Nystev" and "Krakevisa", but just don't really feel that enjoyable due to the music just sounding a little over the top, or at times a little generic. The fact that Leaves' Eyes doesn't necessarily bring much new to the mix, but does enhance what is already there is a good move, but at this point, it's starting to lead to the band becoming a little repetitive with their sound, leaving listeners to kind of know what's coming before they even played the album. But, that said, Meredead sitll has a decent number of tracks, a bit of a new take on the music that, if the band works on it more, will seem to put this album forward as a blueprint to a much stronger conceptual and operatic effort. Fans of the band will definitely not be let down by this effort, though a handful of songs won't really live up to the quality one might expect, making this another solid effort from Leaves' Eyes that's worth the time to check out when you happen to have some to give it.
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