Liv Kristine
Enter My Religion


2.0
poor

Review

by Trey STAFF
June 27th, 2008 | 10 replies


Release Date: 2006 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Substandard pop rock smeared in sickenly cute melodies that do nothing other then display her limited vocal range.

Liv Kristine is both loved and hated within the genre of doom metal. People love her for her work on the first three Theatre of Tragedy albums which mixed her soothing soprano with death metal vocals, but people also hate her for turning the band away from doom and towards the electro-industrial of their following two albums. Since then she has left that band and made amends with fans by starting Leaves’ Eyes which is similar to Theatre of Tragedy but much more bombastic. Even her first solo album was appreciated by most of her fans despite the fact that it was a weird mix of goth, darkwave and pop, but unfortunately I can’t think of anyone that might find her second album appealing.

From the opening moments of the first track it is readily apparent that something is wrong, and by the time the final track ends the reasons are obvious. Liv Kristine’s second solo album is the most generic of pop rock albums with an abundance of overly simple melodies, unobtrusive backing music, repetitive choruses that make up the majority of each song, and Liv’s vocals which just aren’t strong enough to carry the dull music. I was surprised that her voice seemed so weak on this album, but I found that if you focus on Liv’s vocals on any album she has ever been on that they’re just not that strong to begin with. It turns out that Liv’s vocals just lack range and are really kind of thin, but the music was generally able to carry her through it and make her look better then she actually was, but not this time.

Anyone that is offended by me putting down her abilities need only listen to the opening track, “Over the Moon”, to hear her thin voice struggling to hit the right notes and even sounding out of key in places. For those that want to believe that the opening track was just an isolated incident, it only takes a few more songs to solidify the fact that she just doesn’t have the range to sing over any music where her voice is at the forefront. Each song becomes an exercise in repetition with her vocal melodies sounding similar in every song due to her limited range, although the overly syrupy melodies and exceedingly safe pop rock that serves as her backing music doesn’t help any either. I think that if she wanted to make a pop rock album she could have succeeded but she was going to require much more interesting music in order to do so, and instead the music she got was generic and subpar.

I count myself as a fan of Liv Kristine’s work due to the fact that until this point I’ve always enjoyed anything she has been a part of, but this is just bad. I can’t begin to understand how Liv could have thought that releasing an album that makes Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson look edgy could be a good idea. The distorted guitar has been processed to the point of merely being subtle background fuzz, the melodies are a constant barrage of generic mediocrity, the choruses are dull and repetitive, the beats are generally uninspired and simple, and Liv’s voice is simply too weak to do anything other then make it worse.



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Comments:Add a Comment 
Willie
Moderator
June 27th 2008


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

This was a hard album to review only because I didn't want to keep listening to it.

taylormemer
June 27th 2008


4964 Comments


Haha! I love that. I have felt the same before.
Very good review Willie, I'll keep clear of this.

BallsToTheWall
June 27th 2008


51592 Comments


I thought this lady was alright in Theatre and possibly Leave's Eyes but never really stood out to me in this genre. Well Vibeke is the clear choice winner for me. Liv Kristine has a younger sister in another folk/gothic metal band like Leaves Eyes called Midnattsol which I should have checked out by now. Nice review, i'll avoid this.

Willie
Moderator
June 27th 2008


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Liv Kristine has a younger sister in another folk/gothic metal band like Leaves Eyes called Midnattsol
I remember that now and wanted to check them out too... damn, thanks for reminding me.
I thought this lady was alright in Theatre and possibly Leave's Eyes but never really stood out to me in this genre.
She doesn't stand out really, and on this album she is even worse. Her first solo album isn't bad, it even has a duet with Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost.

rasputin
June 27th 2008


14968 Comments


Good review Willster, top notch as usual.

Epilogue
June 27th 2008


1823 Comments


Yo Willie, you seem to like industrial/electronic. Ever hear of a band called Wumpscut? What do you think of them?
Good review also, the track titles alone make me cringe.

Willie
Moderator
June 27th 2008


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Yeah, I've heard Wumpscut. I like them but there are better bands out there. A lot of industrial bands fall into this area where the music is very "samey" and the vocals are fairly monotone, and Wumpscut is guilty of that a lot.



The track that should make you cringe the most is "The Streets of Philidelphia" since she is from Norway it is kind of an odd title, I think.This Message Edited On 06.27.08

Dethtrasher
June 27th 2008


2211 Comments


I'm not a big fan of Liv's vocals, same goes for her sister.

TheGreatD17
June 27th 2008


1141 Comments


Can't say this is much of a surprise, I won't be checking this out. I do prefer her to her sister though, I don't like Midnattsol at all.

Willie
Moderator
June 28th 2008


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

I do prefer her to her sister though, I don't like Midnattsol at all.
I'll be checking out her sister's work just out of pure curiosity. Everyone keeps saying they're not surprised by the negative rating, but Liv's first solo album is actually good goth/darkwave with a few pop elements, and her work with Theatre of Tragedy and Leaves' Eyes is pretty good too, so this horrible album was a surprise to me.



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