Posted in: The Interviews.	Tagged: Alex Krull, Leaves' Eyes, Liv Kristine, Theatre Of Tragedy, Thorsten Bauer, Vervain.
Although she rose to fame in the ’90s as the female vocalist for pioneering doom goth act Theatre Of Tragedy, Liv Kristine is best known these days as the singer for Leaves’ Eyes. During their ongoing 10+ year run she’s also nurtured a solo career – launched in 1998 but pursued in earnest as of 2006 – that lives apart from her band’s symphonic metal realm. Up to this point Liv’s solo records have embraced rock and pop influences with hints of metal, causing a certain amount of confusion and/or disappointment amongst some of her fans. Her fifth album, Vervain, is going to polarize her followers yet again, as it finds Liv returning to the music that made her famous. Unashamed and excited, she makes no secret of the fact that Vervain was written in the spirit of Theatre Of Tragedy’s glory days. A surprise for some given Liv was fired from ToT in 2003, but anyone who has been attended her live solo shows in recent years knows she still has love for the Theatre Of Tragedy classics. Call Vervain her tribute to a unique and influential past.
The Theatre Of Tragedy vibe on Vervain may not be readily apparent, but as the album plays out there are passages that echo the darkness and melancholy of the band’s first three albums. The title track, for example, speaks loudly as a tip of the hat to Theater’s biggest hit “Der Tanz der Schatten” from Velvet Darkness They Fear.
Liv’s back-to-the-roots focus may not come as a surprise, but the fact she’s dedicated a whole album to her Theatre past does.
To her credit from a Theatre Of Tragedy fan’s point of view, Liv and her Leaves’ Eyes cohorts Thorsten Bauer and Alex Krull have captured the essence of what made ToT untouchable back in the day. Many bands have tried to mimic the band’s sound – which spawned an entire genre of Beauty And The Beast-oriented goth bands – but none truly succeeded at the same level.
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Check out Liv’s new video for ‘Love Decay’ here. Check out Theatre Of Tragedy’s classic ‘A Hamlet For A Slothful Vassal’ can be heard at this location.