EP REVIEW: Song of Darkness – Leaves’ Eyes
Alexander Krull has been captaining the good ship LEAVES’ EYES for over twenty years, releasing ten studio albums in that time and navigating his band’s own path through the worlds of symphonic and Viking metal. It’s not always been plain sailing – there have been a myriad of lineup changes, the most recent being drummer Joris Nijenhuis, who left last year after over a decade in the group. The voyage must go on, however, and with new sticksman Simon Škrlec on board comes the first studio effort with him, the band’s eighth EP Song of Darkness, released Friday March 6th via Reigning Phoenix Music.
The four songs on Song of Darkness highlight LEAVES’ EYES‘ ability on the symphonic end of their spectrum more than the Viking, the only deviance being the Valhalla-inspired Hall of the Brave which, ironically, is probably the strongest song of the quartet; Krull‘s unclean vocals provide a good foil for Elina Siirala‘s operatics, while the chug in the guitars hold their own well. The other three evoke NIGHTWISH during their Tarja era, particularly the opening title track, while the the ballad-esque Roots Eternal is a solid closer that features a decent guitar solo.
Yet, the EP growls without ever threatening to snarl – it’s pleasant but no more, which is a problem indicative of a lot of symphonic metal, not just LEAVES’ EYES. The bar has been set so high by the aforementioned NIGHTWISH over the years that even names like WITHIN TEMPTATION and DELAIN have struggled to reach those heights, and LEAVES’ EYES are no exception. Song of Darkness lacks that that all important edge to grab and hold your attention, meaning that if you’re not careful, it’ll pass you by before you know it, reduced to nothing more than background music for the pressures of life.
It should be said at this point that Song of Darkness isn’t inherently bad by any stretch; the band aren’t awful at what they do and if you’re a symphonic metal aficionado then you’re going to have a lovely time with what you hear over its sixteen minutes. When put next to some of the other efforts within the genre however, it sadly just doesn’t compare.
Rating: 5/10
Song Of Darkness is out now via Reigning Phoenix Music.
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