 Welcome to the metal voice today on the show Alan Oh, yes, Elina Ciavella Perfect. All right. Hey, if I'm leaving his eyes, you see what I did there. I handed it off to him Nice touch Yeah, first time on the metal voice welcome Yes, thank you very much for having me my pleasure So on March 22nd on AFM records myths of fate is going to be released very exciting So let Alan start it off. Yeah. Yeah, it's very cool. Yeah, I mean, I can't stop listening to it It's another great album by leaves eyes and You know, I've been listening to you guys since we came from from the northern winds and you know that had a making-of movie the concert movie where there was a Viking boat built and Of course the DVD and CDs. What are we looking at different this time around? on tour is it we're gonna build a castle or Yeah, I never know with us, you know and what can Alex almost burn his hair once more Who knows what happens this time, but you know with the club shows you're always a little bit restricted So I'm unfortunately no boat this time You're good. Have you ever got like hit by a sword or by mistake or some sort of? Yes, I think but it wasn't Alex. It was a actually it was in in us. I can't remember exactly where but We have some Vikings there and they were going on stage a little bit too slowly So I had to rush and this the girls swung the sword and it hit me. Oh, no Luckily not in the eye, but it was fine. But yeah So, but I mean you guys are such going sorry. You're just such a great multimedia band, right? I mean you're doing these fantastic well-crafted videos Beautiful scenery beautiful costumes. How much do you enjoy making those? Yeah, well, I mean now as maybe you know Alex has taken over the videos as well So he's actually filming and editing and everything so it's really a lot of work and he's doing a great job I think it was all looking absolutely credible and it's always fun. I mean now. We did five videos It was really a lot of work, of course, but also got to go to great places meet some great people and freeze my hands Holding that apple with the blood on it that must have been Right Suffering but you know, it looks really great and and of course It's all about bringing these songs to live also in visual way. So it's it's really great You know, I saw one of the videos I'm turn remember which one where you're on a cliff and I'm assuming that's a real cliff where the water is at The bottom. It doesn't seem like a green screen. Is that a real cliff? I'm just that's what I want to know Yeah, it's a nice Did you use a sort of like a drone to do that shot? Is that what it was? Okay? Yeah, it was a really interesting place It had like a kind of bridge where I'm standing. I think that's what I mean Yeah, maybe two meters. So yeah, it was a bit like whoa And not so it's so secure, but yeah, it looks really awesome and they go sing sing sing Okay But you said Alexander's, you know, not as he's producing he's writing he's now he's directing What's he like as a person and then you can explain maybe what he's like as a lyricist as well well, I mean he as you can maybe tell he's like a multi talent who is Very much perfectionist and likes to do be involved in every way, of course Music channel now also in the videos and everything. I mean he was before but now is literally doing everything himself So he is a little bit of a workaholic. We have to kind of keeping in check sometimes, you know Take some time as well and don't kill yourself, you know but Yeah, the results are of course great Right if they come from that You know, we always joke the sabotage like a history lesson in every every one of their songs But I mean you guys you've got the Norse God and myths Market cornered, right? So the lyrics from all your albums going way back is always focused on that that aspect of Medieval times or the Norse legends and God so Yes, I mean this album is a little bit more towards this mystical and magical objects and people and places as You know our previous album for example the last Viking was a little bit more focused on the historical Side of things and it was a concept album of battles and everything So this is a little bit away from that topic, which was also I think a nice refreshment You know for for us to do a little bit something different. I don't mean of course I know Leeds Eyes has done that before but you can still always find New topics and also write from a different angle even about the same topic. So, you know, it's it's a lot of things to Take inspiration from So it's not a concept album altogether. It's just different different Norse stories, right a collection, right? Yeah, exactly. It's not a concept album, but of course midst of fate It's it's you know, it builds around these magical and mystical topics But no, it's not per se a concept album. No, okay Yeah, I mean you got a lot of songs what I call the beauty and the beast vocals, right? You got your beautiful ethereal sound and then Alex comes in with almost a growl vocals There's quite a few on here But one track that really stood out for me that I thought was different for Leeds Eyes this go This time around was in eternity and I take it that you wrote that song Yes, um, yeah, I was uh back in 2022 Maybe maybe you read the story already, but it was a little bit sad one as I came home in January from Alex's mom's funeral where I was also singing and Yeah, I wasn't the great feeling of course coming back home and Um, then I wrote this film. It just came came from that feeling and um a lot of mixed feelings Um, and I wrote like a kind of synth Vocal demo, uh, which I usually do when I write I don't play drums. I can do like really basic stuff But you know, I leave the brother the for the people who know better and Uh, so then the guys worked on the song and made the you know, we made together the full band version and I really love how it turned out Um, and I yeah, it's kind of like a very personal song, but also fits in the album very well I think the whole topic of Life death has always been Fascinating to to people and it's kind of this tribute for our ancestors and for their lives and and and The legacy and everything and of course to to alex's mom mom And the the gang vocals at the end. That's really something different. I mean, you know, you might hear that on accept album But I didn't expect that on leaves eyes album. So Uh, which part do you mean? Don't get me to sing that's Let's hear it Yeah, that was um, yeah, I know it was I wanted to be quite In general, I wanted to the song to be raw. Let's say simple in a good way. Um, I wanted to be Yeah, pure and also with the video. I think it's all just fits together very well um, and and that was kind of like this almost A valuable feeling of it, you know, like a trance or some like a ritual or something that you're singing, you know, it's That's how I just I think that was almost The second part I came up with after the chorus line Let me ask you this after after now you've been in the band what six years now. Is that it? Is it been 16? Yeah, so Like you had you had like Ozzy and he go and then Ronnie James deal goes into black Sabbath Do you still are all the are all the fans now convinced that you are, you know You fit well and the band is going on great and or was there or are there still some fans? You see some sign saying, you know, we want to live back or The greatest singers get that because people are accustomed to you know a voice Have you been accepted very well by the fans today? I guess that's the question Well, for me, I mean you have to ask ask them. I mean, I'm sure there's always people You know that think differently, but for me personally, um, I felt very accepted from the beginning I mean for me, it was very clear that I needed to come to the band as myself I'm a different completely different boys different kind of performer So for me, it was, you know, taking the time and trying to do my best in the situation back then And of course then now many years later. We have, you know, three albums and whatnot We've been touring all the world and uh, it's a different different position now for me as well, but I never really thought about it like that for me when we played live, which was like two weeks after I joined the band It was always great. Uh, and I never had any Any really negative things Yeah, because I that's why I give you the analogy of Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio two great singers, right? Yeah, but but even Ronnie James Dio, he felt a little heat from the very hardcore fans, right? As great as he was, right? Because there's a transition, right? Yeah, yeah, and you know, I think that's natural. I think always in these situations And it's also fine and it's normal, you know, as long as its opinions and and matters Very subjective, you know, uh, I have my own opinions as well about music and singers and everything So, you know, it's nothing wrong with that. It's just like As you say if people would be somehow rude or something then of course it's okay But I I never really had that so so Ozzy or Ronnie James Dio, which do you like better? In black Sabbath Oh Well, that's that's oh That's almost impossible. It's so different. How can you and that's a perfect example, isn't it? But saying that, you know, I listen to goddess of the night, which really I find shows your vocal range And how do you explain that how your voice differs from lives? Ah, okay, uh, that's actually also really interesting, uh, how people Listen to your voice because the range is actually not the biggest in that song at all But the thing is that because it's a ballad and my voice is maybe a little bit more more in the in the front Then it comes like shows of oh wow That's just for me very interesting um, uh, I mean I can only speak again from my side how I see it, but uh, I would say that I'm probably My voice is a bit stronger in the sense of of My forte is not singing with a very light and heady voice head voicey stuff. That's not my forte Uh, and of course I have a classical, uh Education in in you know in the past And even though I don't want to be classified as only one thing or another thing Uh, and even on this album, I think I'm showing that I'm you know Versatility using my voice Uh, but that yeah certain things will never be my forte and then I think you know the whole timbre of the voice is different Uh, it's it's just sounds different. It's not the same kind Yeah timbre is the word I would I would use That's what I was telling Jim before the interview sounds like you have uh more of a bottom end that compared to a live in the past What like you said it had that higher higher voice. It seems to be a better better a more fuller fuller sound like you But I also but but if you look at her sing you you lean a sing like your mouth doesn't move them out So, you know, what's all coming from down here, right? It's very operatic and Right, they are usually the operatic sort of singers the mouth doesn't move that much and it just the power just comes out If you look at the way or look at the pictures You know what I'm saying, but you know what I'm saying like usually when people are singing like really powerful from the diaphragm There's less here and there's more It's a combination combination of style as well if you look at for example Nora from battle beast She's also using the power, but she's still opening the mouth a lot But uh, yeah, it's interesting observations all of this So so the albums come out on march 22nd, but the tour dates start on the 14th You're gonna have like six or seven Towards dates under your belt before the album is released. How come it's that happened? Uh, I think it's a combination of a lot of things But for for us, it's actually not such a Problem, or let's say because we have a lot of singles out. We have so many videos And there's still one more coming so Oh, wow people already heard very nice overview of the album and they They can make already their minds If they want to buy it, I think and I hope they will and I hope they will love it also a lot And I think that's the age we're in where people are bands are releasing more videos to to to pump up the album before it's released Right. Mm-hmm. Yes Yeah, yeah. Um, tell me about uh, the the sons of tragalve. Is it tragalve? Is that pronounced properly? Triglav Tell me tell me about that concept Uh, well, yeah, that that would be the best question to our friends, uh in in uh in poland You know, uh ego or alex would tell you uh one hour of of that song, but it's basically High level high level. It's we it's reheaded uh god, uh Triglav that was worshiped by these people and I was told that even much later on it was Basically hidden so they wouldn't be destroyed. So it was a very sacred thing To these people. No, it's okay. It's good. People could look it up and they could understand the story Yeah, absolutely. Yeah And who did the artwork again all your all your album covers are always so well done and beautiful Who who did the artwork this time? Yeah, it's uh the same, uh, um stevan heileman. So so he Uh, alex had the concept idea for the for the cover. We wanted to use the three norms the weavers of the fate And uh, then he told me oh, yeah, by the way, you're gonna be the three norm dog. Oh, okay So then I was yeah painted all white and it was it was also really interesting photo shoot and and yeah Hello all already made all always makes really really great, uh artworks So it was just you know, you give him the the idea what we look for and and he he really makes it great You know, you're on the bridge you're modeling you're singing like what else can you do? Yeah, exactly But next Sail with the dead you just want to tell me about that song a little bit Yeah, um, that is that's like one of my favorite ones. I thought it was a great song. Yeah. Yeah, it's an interesting track for sure. It has a little uh the You know, I speak Finnish English in German and sometimes I can't speak any language. I can't think of the word But uh, it's the odd time signature. That's uh, makes it quite interesting track as well It's about basically this um Giant who is riding uh a boat that's made of the nails of the dead Yeah, that's cool. I like that. Yeah, and he's following the the trail of the serpent who is to do with the ragnarok. So Uh, yeah, it's a it's a great story as well. And I think this song Just brings out the story extremely well I think that's what I like about the album is all these little stories And you could further pursue them and just really get into them, you know, yeah Yeah, absolutely Yeah, there's just a video for realm of the dark waves. I mean, that's a great video tells a little story and another one and Yeah, it's it's nice. I have these little vignettes. I guess Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean all the under underwater footage with the mermaid and everything it's it's just visually very striking Of course iceland as well. I mean, it's it's just incredible Is there is there anything you want to promote? Uh, you know before we let you go Well, and on top of this, I don't think so. I mean, you know celebrating 20 years of leaf size and I've been in the band almost half of it and it's it's just a great celebration to bring this album now out Going on tour finally being, you know releasing new music and and meeting people finally playing live So I just really hope people love the album as much as I do and I hope to see everyone on the road Yeah, the production the guitar sounds everything your voice. It's it's just it's it's everything we expect from leaves eyes Let's just say that Awesome. Nice to hear Any chance of a north american date? That's what I was gonna say Yeah, this game everybody keeps asking this No, I think now is the time that we really have to come back. I mean it's been too long And uh, we had plans and then the pandemic came So now let's really hope we can make it happen finally and and would be great All right on that note march the 22nd afm records myths of fate pick it up I know allen really loves it and I do like it too. I love everything you guys do. Yeah And our guest elina Thank you for being on a pleasure and wish you all the success. Thank you my pleasure