Leaves’ Eyes: Fires in the North

The big news in the Leaves’ Eyes camp last year was the departure of vocalist Liv Kristine, who had been with the gothic/symphonic metal band from the very start. The band carried on with a new vocalist – one Elina Siirala – and gave fans a new EP just before hitting the road with Sonata Arctica for a series of US dates.

The new Leaves’ Eyes EP is titled Fires in the North, and as is fairly common for this kind of thing, it offers some new material as well as a handful of rerecordings so fans can hear what the older songs will sound like with Siirala on vocals. The EP kicks off with the title track, which is a brand new song. It’s a catchy, folky, melodic song that’s a good showcase for their new singer (as well as featuring some harsh vocals by Alexander Krull). An interesting but not essential acoustic version of “Fires in the North” follows. Then it’s a trio of rerecorded songs – “Edge of Steel,” “Sacred Vow” and “Swords in Rock” – that originally appeared on Leaves’ Eyes 2015 album King of Kings. Again, interesting but perhaps not essential. It does show that Siirala can handle those old songs without a problem.

Fires in the North probably isn’t an essential release, but it was a smart move for Leaves Eyes rather than waiting a year or two for a proper full-length. This EP is essentially the band saying “we’re still here and we can still be the Leaves’ Eyes you remember even without Liv Kristine.” And they’re right. If you’ve followed the band this far, nothing on this EP should make you question your support.