Bands:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liv Kristine, Valkyre<\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
As far as I know, Liv Kristine doesn\u2019t often do solo tours and you can scroll down to check out the mini-interview I did with her<\/strong> 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\u00a0of excellent atmospheric Gothic Metal bands. After her departure from TOT, she formed Leaves\u2019 Eyes, with members of Atrocity, although Leaves\u2019 Eyes sound\u00a0much more \u2018ethereal\u2019 than the abrasive Atrocity.<\/p>\n
The current tour sees Liv joined by ex-TOT bandmate Raymond Rohonyi who provides Death Metal vocals.<\/p>\n
Valkyre are the only supporting act and when I met the band they told me they\u2019re from Antwerp, Belgium. \u00a0Truth be told, I\u2019d never heard of them before but their moniker has connotations of all things epic and fantasy……<\/p>\n
Valkyre<\/strong><\/div>\n
…..which turns out to be pretty accurate conjecture. Indeed Valkyre\u2019s music came across as a generic Gothic Metal with some Folk Metal affections and with the band giving diligent care to their image and stage presentation.<\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
Unfortunately, tonight at least, Valkyre\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019m reluctant to write them off \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
Valkyre was:<\/em><\/div>\n
Claudia Michelutti<\/strong> – vocals<\/div>\n
Kris Scheerlinck<\/strong>\u00a0 – guitars<\/div>\n
Erik Vanhauwaert<\/strong> – guitars<\/div>\n
Wouter Verheyen<\/strong> – bass<\/div>\n
Peter Van Sweevelt<\/strong> – drums<\/div>\n
Set-list:<\/em><\/div>\n
Stories<\/div>\n
Mother<\/div>\n
A Good Day To Die<\/div>\n
Consolamentum<\/div>\n
Wide Awake<\/div>\n
Don\u2019t Be Sad<\/div>\n
Whispering Thoughts<\/div>\n
Call Of The Valkyrie<\/div>\n
Rating:<\/strong> 60\/100<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"12-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-VALKYRE-7s\"$ $\"13-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-VALKYRE-8\"$ $\"15-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-VALKYRE-10\"$ <\/p>\n
$\"17-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-VALKYRE-12s\"$ <\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Liv Kristine<\/strong><\/div>\n
Liv Kristine\u2019s set consisted of a mix of songs from her solo albums together with material she had recorded with Theatre Of Tragedy. I definitely enjoyed all of her band\u2019s performance but I have to say that each time she did the Theatre Of Tragedy songs with Raymond, sparks truly flew and a tenebrous magic filled \u2018The Underworld\u2019.\u00a0 Perhaps this makes a Theatre Of Tragedy reunion an all the more relevant proposal. But I digress…..<\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
Liv\u2019s 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\u2019 singing style is subtle rather than dramatic but incisive nevertheless. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
There was another thing I observed. Before tonight\u2019s gig I always preferred TOT\u2019s earlier Gothic material rather than the electronically-tinged songs of Liv\u2019s latter albums with the band. And yet at \u2018The Underworld\u2019 I enjoyed all TOT renditions in equal amounts. All sounded great..<\/p>\n
More about the set…..\u2019Paris Paris\u2019 from Liv\u2019s 2002 solo album \u201cLibertine\u201d, was dedicated to the victims of the recent tragedy at the \u2018Bataclan\u2019 (although I don\u2019t 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 \u201cVervain\u201d solo album, she performed \u2018Love Decay\u2019, \u2018My Wilderness\u2019 and the album\u2019s title-track, all ably delivered by her band.<\/p>\n
I was a tad surprised by the crowd\u2019s enthusiastic responds to Liv Kristine\u2019s show and even the band seemed pleasantly struck by the audience\u2019s warmth. Such a response, however, was well-deserved.<\/p>\n
Liv Kristine was:<\/em><\/div>\n
Liv Kristine<\/strong> \u2013 vocals<\/div>\n
Raymond Rohonyi<\/strong> – vocals<\/div>\n
Gijs Coolen<\/strong> – guitar<\/div>\n
Micki Richter<\/strong> – guitar<\/div>\n
Ferry Duijsens<\/strong> \u2013 bass<\/div>\n
Jochem van Rooijen<\/strong> – drums<\/div>\n
Set-list:<\/em><\/div>\n
Vervain<\/div>\n
Venus (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
A Hamlet For A Slothful Vassal (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
My Wilderness<\/div>\n
Paris Paris<\/div>\n
Cassandra (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
On Whom The Moon Doth Shine (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
Image<\/div>\n
Panic<\/div>\n
Let You Down<\/div>\n
Siren (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
Machine (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
Black As The Devil Painteth (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
Commute (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
Love Decay<\/div>\n
Der Tanz Der Schatten (with Raymond)<\/em><\/div>\n
Rating: 85\/100<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"19-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-LIVKRISTINE-1\"$ <\/p>\n
$\"20-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-LIVKRISTINE-2s\"$ <\/p>\n
$\"24-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-LIVKRISTINE-6\"$ $\"27-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-LIVKRISTINE-9\"$ $\"23-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-LIVKRISTINE-5s\"$ <\/p>\n
$\"29-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-LIVKRISTINE-11\"$ <\/p>\n
————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n
MY CHAT WITH LIV KRISTINE & RAYMOND ROHONYI $\"04-20Dec2015-TheUnderworldLondon-WithLivAndRaymond-2\"$ <\/p>\n
What made you decide to go on this tour?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Liv Kristine<\/strong>: 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 \u2018Why don\u2019t you bring along Ray [Raymond Rohonyi]<\/em>?\u2019 I felt it was a very interesting idea. So I got on the phone with Ray who said he\u2019d love to do it. And here we are.<\/p>\n
Are you still in contact with your ex-bandmates of Theatre Of Tragedy…apart from Ray?<\/strong><\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: Not really, no. \u00a0I don\u2019t know [sighs]<\/em>…they never asked me about a reunion. So I\u2019d rather have Raymond as my special guest.<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: It\u2019s 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]<\/em> went pretty well. Over here [London] it looks like it will be good too.<\/p>\n
Raymond, would you agree with Liv\u2019s assessment?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Raymond Rohonyi<\/strong>: Yes, of course. We definitely had a great time. It felt really good to be back doing this shit. I\u2019m happy to be back on stage with Liv.<\/p>\n
So between Theatre Of Tragedy\u2019s split and this tour, weren\u2019t you musically active?<\/strong><\/p>\n
R.R.<\/strong>: No. I\u2019ve been totally inactive. I\u2019ve just been having a normal life, more or less, with no involvement with music whatsoever. Ever since we ended Theatre Of Tragedy.<\/p>\n
I suppose you let the hunger for music grow inside you….<\/strong><\/p>\n
R.R.<\/strong>: I didn\u2019t know it was growing in me but when Liv contacted me I said \u2018yes\u2019 at once because suddenly I realised that I had this yearning for music in me that just wanted to get out.<\/p>\n
Liv, I haven\u2019t yet heard Leaves\u2019 Eyes\u2019 \u201cKing Of Kings\u201d album but could you tell me something about its lyrical content?<\/strong><\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: Yes, Leaves\u2019 Eyes is all about history, the Middle Ages, Viking mythology. \u201cKing Of Kings\u201d 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\u2019t all<\/em> of Norway.<\/p>\n
R.R.<\/strong>: When Norway was founded in around 872….<\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: Yes, exactly. You know, it\u2019s also about my birthplace, in the Norwegian fjords of Hafrsfjord, where this king fought an important battle long\u00a0ago. So its a very special album for me personally.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re at the end of this year…..what do you have planned for 2016?<\/strong><\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: 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]<\/em><\/p>\n
R.R.<\/strong>: Yes, of course. If you ask me, I\u2019ll be there.<\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: Which is great. So yeah, I\u2019m really looking forward to that.<\/p>\n
What about Leaves\u2019 Eyes? What do you have planned?<\/strong><\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: As soon as my solo production is finished, we\u2019ll continue working together. We never work in parallel. We always finish one thing before working on another.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re playing in Israel in February…<\/strong><\/p>\n
L.K.<\/strong>: Yes, on my birthday, in Tel Aviv<\/p>\n
Thank you very much. It was a pleasure speaking to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Gig review, interview and all live photos by Chris Galea.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Location:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018The Underworld\u2019, London (England) Date:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th December, 2015 Bands:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liv Kristine, Valkyre . As far as I know, Liv Kristine doesn\u2019t often do solo tours and you can scroll down to check out the [Read \u00bb]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":4918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-live-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4882"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4915,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4882\/revisions\/4915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}