As far as I know, Liv Kristine doesn’t often do solo tours and you can scroll down to check out the mini-interview I did with her to find out how the current tour materialised. To bring everyone up to speed, the Norwegian singer burst onto the music scene in grand style around 1993 with Theatre Of Tragedy, who were part of a handful of excellent atmospheric Gothic Metal bands. After her departure from TOT, she formed Leaves’ Eyes, with members of Atrocity, although Leaves’ Eyes sound much more ‘ethereal’ than the abrasive Atrocity.
The current tour sees Liv joined by ex-TOT bandmate Raymond Rohonyi who provides Death Metal vocals.
Valkyre are the only supporting act and when I met the band they told me they’re from Antwerp, Belgium. Truth be told, I’d never heard of them before but their moniker has connotations of all things epic and fantasy……
Unfortunately, tonight at least, Valkyre’s tightness did not convince me, something perhaps stemming from a lack of urgency from their part. The singing of Claudia Michelutti was effective in the subtler and more operatically-leaning parts but she seemed to struggle with the heavier and more aggressive music. As individuals, the rest of the band left a positive impression on me but, as hinted earlier, as a single unit there was a discernible lack of cohesiveness. Guitarist Erik Vanhauert impressed with a few solos of his that attested his technical agility.
Although the set had its good moments, the material was not strong enough for the band to stand out amongst a myriad of other bands following similar musical paths. Despite all my criticisms, I’m reluctant to write them off – the band is still quite young with time to fine-tune their potential and I sense a genuine passion for what they do…which of course always helps the general effort. The court of Odin will have to wait for another time.
Rating: 60/100
Liv’s interaction with Raymond was spread throughout the set and this meant that the male vocalist kept coming/going on/off the stage. This worked out much more smoothly than one might imagine. The Norwegian lass’ singing style is subtle rather than dramatic but incisive nevertheless. It’s a style she has a solid grasp of. Although I always liked the music she lends her voice to, I never thought of Liv Kristine as a virtuoso singer, albeit a very talented one. After tonight, however, I found myself having to upgrade that appraisal.
There was another thing I observed. Before tonight’s gig I always preferred TOT’s earlier Gothic material rather than the electronically-tinged songs of Liv’s latter albums with the band. And yet at ‘The Underworld’ I enjoyed all TOT renditions in equal amounts. All sounded great..
More about the set…..’Paris Paris’ from Liv’s 2002 solo album “Libertine”, was dedicated to the victims of the recent tragedy at the ‘Bataclan’ (although I don’t recall her mentioning the Parisian venue by name). Liv had kind words to say about her past performances in the French capital. From her recent “Vervain” solo album, she performed ‘Love Decay’, ‘My Wilderness’ and the album’s title-track, all ably delivered by her band.
I was a tad surprised by the crowd’s enthusiastic responds to Liv Kristine’s show and even the band seemed pleasantly struck by the audience’s warmth. Such a response, however, was well-deserved.
Rating: 85/100
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MY CHAT WITH LIV KRISTINE & RAYMOND ROHONYI
What made you decide to go on this tour?
Liv Kristine: I had got a few requests from Russia almost a year ago to do some solo shows because I had never played in Russia before. Secondly the Russian promoter asked me ‘Why don’t you bring along Ray [Raymond Rohonyi]?’ I felt it was a very interesting idea. So I got on the phone with Ray who said he’d love to do it. And here we are.
Are you still in contact with your ex-bandmates of Theatre Of Tragedy…apart from Ray?
L.K.: Not really, no. I don’t know [sighs]…they never asked me about a reunion. So I’d rather have Raymond as my special guest.
Tonight’s performance, in London, is the last date of the tour. Could you give me your own assessment of the tour and of how it all went?
L.K.: It’s been amazing. Russia went really well…the first show was in Yaroslavl. I had never played there before with any of my bands. And the turnout was really great…the venue was quite full. We never expected that. Moscow was the highlight with almost 500 people. That was absolutely amazing. Poland as well. Also Belgium and Germany. Nagold [in Germany] went pretty well. Over here [London] it looks like it will be good too.
Raymond, would you agree with Liv’s assessment?
Raymond Rohonyi: Yes, of course. We definitely had a great time. It felt really good to be back doing this shit. I’m happy to be back on stage with Liv.
So between Theatre Of Tragedy’s split and this tour, weren’t you musically active?
R.R.: No. I’ve been totally inactive. I’ve just been having a normal life, more or less, with no involvement with music whatsoever. Ever since we ended Theatre Of Tragedy.
I suppose you let the hunger for music grow inside you….
R.R.: I didn’t know it was growing in me but when Liv contacted me I said ‘yes’ at once because suddenly I realised that I had this yearning for music in me that just wanted to get out.
Liv, I haven’t yet heard Leaves’ Eyes’ “King Of Kings” album but could you tell me something about its lyrical content?
L.K.: Yes, Leaves’ Eyes is all about history, the Middle Ages, Viking mythology. “King Of Kings” is about the person who managed to get together parts of Norway for the first time. So you could say that he was the first king of Norway…although it wasn’t all of Norway.
R.R.: When Norway was founded in around 872….
L.K.: Yes, exactly. You know, it’s also about my birthplace, in the Norwegian fjords of Hafrsfjord, where this king fought an important battle long ago. So its a very special album for me personally.
We’re at the end of this year…..what do you have planned for 2016?
L.K.: Going back to the recording studio and composing new songs for my upcoming solo album. Ray might pop in for a couple of songs, I hope, right? [looks at Raymond]
R.R.: Yes, of course. If you ask me, I’ll be there.
L.K.: Which is great. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to that.
What about Leaves’ Eyes? What do you have planned?
L.K.: As soon as my solo production is finished, we’ll continue working together. We never work in parallel. We always finish one thing before working on another.
You’re playing in Israel in February…
L.K.: Yes, on my birthday, in Tel Aviv
Thank you very much. It was a pleasure speaking to you.
Gig review, interview and all live photos by Chris Galea.
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