Since his departure from 'Leave's Eyes' and his last album 'King of Kings' with the band at 'Alexander Krull' in 2015, 'Liv Kristine' had yet to release an LP, the only releases being the EP 'Have Courage Dear Heart' from 2021 and the mini live 'Liv (E) In Nagold 2019' also from 2021. And yet , in 25 years, in addition to the 5 albums with 'Theatre of Tragedy' and of the 6 with 'Leaves' Eyes', the Norwegian has already to her credit 5 solo albums you can listen to on her spotify page. 'River of Diamonds' is therefore her 6th studio recording and all the singer's fans were impatiently awaiting this offering. These are therefore 12 compositions, some of which were already known through the latest EP or singles that are available to us for a short hour of listening.
At first, the catchy 'Our immortal Day' takes us on familiar ground with Liv's characteristic singing and a melody that can recall certain titles of 'Leave's Eyes', the former singer of 'Tristania', the duet "beauty and the beast" with 'Østen Bergøy' bringing a beautiful originality, then, the mid-tempo 'No Makeup' is quieter and shows the soft and pop side of the Norwegian on a new catchy melody. With 'Maligna', the atmosphere is close to the first track with a rhythmic composition that makes you want to move in time and accompany the singer by clapping her hands, then, the beautiful ballad 'Gravity' (see the video above) is the first single released in 2020 and which appeared on the 2021 EP. As for 'In You Blue Eyes' which was also the subject of a single (see the video here), we find the pop side of the 80s/90s with sounds flirting with artists like 'U2' or 'Simple Minds', then, the eponymous title of the already known album (see the video here), highlights the singer 'Fernando Ribeiro' of the group 'Moonspell' who intervenes in second voice and continues in this melodic pop/rock way. And when the lights dim, on-stage-and-on-life pair 'Liv Kristine'/'Michael Espenæs' take the emotional slider up several steps with this beautiful 'Jon Lord' track from the album of the same name released in 1998. Follows 'Shaolin Me' which unrolls a slow tempo on a very beautiful melody that gently rocks us, then the last single released at the end of March 2023 'Love Me High' (see the video here) returns to catchy pop and, this time, it's Liv's sister, 'Carmen Elise Espenæs', singer of 'Midnattsol' which accompanies it in forming a delicious new duo. In the same style as 'Love Me High', 'Serenity', slightly more muscular, offers us a new title whose melody is still tagged 'Leave's Eyes', then, the end of the album shows a calm face with, everything first, the very beautiful acoustic 'If I am Dreaming' in which two vocal recordings of Liv overlap remarkably, then, the magnificent cover 'True Colors' of 'Cindi Laupers' in which the piano/voice duo is simply sublime.
In summary, quite far from the symphonic metal of 'Leave's Eyes', 'Liv Kristine' shows the full extent of her talent in this very beautiful album and in a more pop style register and 'River Of Diamonds' should without any doubt will appeal, beyond the fans of the Norwegian who will certainly be conquered, to a large audience because all the compositions are very accessible and offer beautiful catchy melodic lines from the first listen... | |
