Leaves' Eyes (basically, the German band Atrocity plus former Theatre of Tragedy vocalist Liv Kristine) took four years between their second album,Vinland Saga, and this one.
In between, they've released two EPs with almost a full album's worth of B-sides between them, and a live disc, but still, the pressure must have been on to come up with a major statement, and they've done so.
Njord is a sweeping, epic album that exemplifies the band's Gothic/Viking metal sound, with the clean, clear vocals of Liv Kristine contrasted against the guttural death growls of her husband, Atrocity founder Alexander Krull, atop a combination of crunching guitar riffs, mechanistic drums, melodic keyboards, and the occasional folk instrument or wash of strings.
The sound of waves lapping the Northern European coastline takes several songs in and out.
There's only one real misstep here, which is the power ballad treatment of the folk song "Scarborough Fair." Otherwise, Njord is guaranteed to please fans of bands like Lacuna Coil, Eyes of Eden, Nightwish, et al.
There aren't many super-aggressive songs here; Cannibal Corpse fans should stay away.
But there's a real operatic flair to tracks like "The Holy Bond" and "Ragnarok" that marks Leaves' Eyes as a major band within their chosen subgenre, and the eight-minute album closer, "Froya's Theme," is a genuine epic, possibly their greatest achievement to date.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NjordThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 06:14 | 14 MB | 45 MB |
| 2 | My DestinyThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Emerald IslandThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| 4 | Take the Devil in MeThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | Scarborough FairThorsten Bauer, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | Through Our VeinsThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | Irish RainThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | NorthboundThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 9 | RagnarokThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 38 MB |
| 10 | The Holy BondThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | Frøya's ThemeThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 08:22 | 19 MB | 59 MB |
| 12 | Landscape of the DeadThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 13 | Les Champs de LavandeThorsten Bauer, Liv Kristine, Alexander Krull | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 14 | Morgenland (The Morning Land) | Leaves' Eyes | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 63 mins | 145 MB | |||||
| 63 mins | 463 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seven Antonopoulos | Drums, Percussion |
| 2 | Thorsten Bauer | Bass, Composer, Guitar |
| 3 | Alla Fedynitch | Bass |
| 4 | Liv Kristine | Composer, Lyricist, Vocals |
| 5 | Alexander Krull | Composer, Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Programming, Sampling, Vocals |
| 6 | Leaves' Eyes | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |