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Review: Leaves' Eyes - Sign of the Dragonhead
Leaves' Eyes
www.leaveseyes.de
Sign of the Dragonhead

Label: AFM Records
Year released: 2018
Duration: 47:07
Tracks: 11
Genre: Symphonic Metal

Rating:
3/5


Review online: June 11, 2018
Reviewed by: MetalMike
Readers' Rating
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Rated 2.83/5 (56.67%) (6 Votes)
Review

Sign of the Dragonhead is the seventh full-length for Leaves' Eyes and the first without founding vocalist Liv Kristine. New singer Elina Siirala has a lovely voice and Leaves' Eyes haven't skipped a beat on that front, but I find this album pretty bland by symphonic metal standards. Ostensibly about Vikings, the music is very smooth and polished but also rather tame. There's no bite to the guitars or the harsh vocals, and far too many songs that overuse folk instrumentation and end up sounding like knockoffs of Nightwish's "The Islander." There are a couple of decent tracks like "Shadows in the Night" with its catchy riff and chorus, and "Riders on the Wind," even though this is really just a pop song that wouldn't have been out of place on Slade's Get Your Hands Off My Power Supply album.

Sign of the Dragonhead sounds good as the production and playing are top-notch, but the songwriting is derivative and the performances too low key. Symphonic metal needs to go over the top at least once in a while. Leaves' Eyes have come up with an album that can best be described as "inoffensive" which makes it hardly worth seeking out.

More about Leaves' Eyes...
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