Leaves' Eyes is a German Symphonic Metal band originating in Ludwigsburg, with some additional members from Stavanger, Norway. Former singer of Theatre of Tragedy, Liv Kristine, founded the band in 2003 with former members of Atrocity. They are characterized by the beauty of their music coupled with Soprano and Gravel vocals.
In April 2016, on the eve of a world tour, the band posted to their Facebook page that they had parted ways with Liv for "personal reasons" and that she would be replaced by Finnish vocalist Elina Siirala. Fans were outraged, as they perceived the initial announcement to be very disrespectful to Liv, who was one of the band's founding members. Around the same time, it was announced that Liv Kristine and Alexander Krull had separated after 13 years of marriage. While the band initially insisted the split was mutual, Liv would later imply that she had been forced out
. Things got even thornier later on when the band's guitarist claimed Liv's therapist (and fiance at the time)note had been meddling in the band's affairs, and that he was the cause of her sudden departure.
It remains unclear as to exactly what happened, but the band has continued on and released a new album with their new singer, while Liv has joined her sister's band Midnattsol and said there is "still a lot for [her] to do as a musician on this planet".
Leaves Eyes contains the following tropes:
- The Band Minus the Face: Post-Liv Kristine. Sounds familiar...
- Danger — Thin Ice: "Halvdan the Black" describes the death of the eponymous King of Norway by making an ill-advised trek across a frozen lake (adapting a story that appears in several of The Icelandic Sagas).
- Excessive Evil Eyeshadow / Uncanny Valley Makeup: Elina is wearing way too much eyeliner in this video. Thankfully, she did not maintain the image for very long.
- Horny Vikings: Their lyrics mostly consist of this or something fantasy-themed.
- Soprano and Gravel: The band's Signature Style is Liv's (and later Elina's) angelic voices contrasting with Krull's incredibly deep, raspy one. Liv
helped popularize the style, in fact — she named it the "Beauty and the Beast" approach. - Symphonic Metal: Oh so much. Sometimes their music sounds downright angelic.
- Rated M for Manly: Just because your band stars female vocalists with clear, symphonic voices doesn't mean it isn't this trope.
- Revolving Door Band: Take a look at their page on The Other Wiki. The list of former members absolutely dwarfs the list of present ones.
