Hi ! It would be great to begin this interview with a history of your new group : Leaves' Eyes?
All of us had had this idea in our minds for quite a while. I had written a concept about a year ago and asked the guys to compose the music for it and at the same time Chris and Tosso had already recorded 2-3 songs. The Atrocity members are among my best friends and the most brilliant musicians I know. They were my first choice. When Theatre of Tragedy decided to throw me out of the band all of a sudden, I realised how much time I had left in my time schedule and decided to put all my effort and emotions into my new band Leaves' Eyes.

Eventually several months ago Theatre Of Tragedy chose not to work with you anymore. Did it come to you by surprise ?
-Yes, it definitely came as a surprise. I had recorded 8-10 songs for our next demo and I was just waiting for the others to work on it. The male vocals were missing and the songs didn’t have their final structure, yet. After ten years of friendship and cooperation I think this way of excluding me from the band was a bit unfair and strange. Nobody talked to me about their decision neither before nor after I read the news on the internet. I just have to accept their decision and close the ToT chapter and go on with my artistic life.

Theatre of Tragedy were a pioneer in the so-called "Beauty and the Beast" genre. How did you come to sing in a dark metal band? Back in 1995 it was pretty unusual to find female members in such bands...
-I grew up with Black Sabbath through my father and in this way I got used to my own vocals together with metal. Later, I became a fan of Third and the Mortal, Anathema and Paradise Lost, which inspired me to get together with the guys and start ToT.

What do you think about the current Gothic Metal scene ? Are there any bands that interested you last year ?
-The current Gothic Metal scene is growing in size and becoming more open to different variations of Gotic Metal. Many bands mix Gothic Metal elements with other elements from different genres, just like ToT did with “Musique” going into a more electronic direction. IR

17;ve always felt at home in Gothic Metal. In the last months, I’ve just been looking forward to the new Nightwish album (“Once”) to appear on the market.

On your first solo album Deus ex Machina there\'s a duet between you and Nick Holmes from Paradise Lost. How made you this happen?
I’ve been a great fan of Paradise Lost since their first record. The record label gave him a call. He was on tour at that point of time and we decided to pick him up from the tour and drive together to the studio. It was an honour for me to work with him.

Please tell us about your new album's conception. Tell us about the new songs & its recording process.
It took about 6 months to compose and produce the album. It's the first time I was able to take part in the whole process. I also wrote the concept, the lyrics and my vocal lines. I recorded the last tone for “Lovelorn” only two hours before our son Leon Alexander was born (perfect timing, I would call it!), so I felt that I had two children in one night; our baby and the record! The pregnancy influenced my voice and breathing technique in a positive way because I was able to sing in different manners, as e.g. classical singing, and my voice became fuller, stronger and more mature.

Could you explain to us the concept of the album ?
The music on “Lovelorn” is composed to express the emotions in the concept. Behind it there is a love story divided into ten chapters. On the one hand the concept centres around my personal life and childhood, and my love towards my homeland, Norway, and on the other hand we meet three characters involved in a love story.

Do you have a favourite track on the cd?
Yes, it is “For Amelie”/Chapter VII and “Norwegian Lovesong”, Chapter I.

How would you describe your music?
It is a mixture of melodic and metal elements, like acoustic guitars, female vocals, classical instruments, wonderful lyrics and a dreamy, romantic atmosphere on the one hand, and on the other you've got the fuzz guitars, a bit of male growl vocals and a double bass drum. I would describe our music a

s melodic metal or gothic metal, although many songs of the album clearly has other influences as well.

Do you have plans for touring Europe these coming months? What bands would you like to share the stage with ? Do you appreciate some French ones ?
We will be touring in October /November this year, and we are doing special shows in Greece and Turkey. I'm sharing the stage with Atrocity this time. Some day I would love to do a special show with Vanessa Paradis, she's great !

Other projects now ?
A second solo-album will be out as soon as I have found the right label with whom I would like to work with. 8 songs are already recorded. Apart from that I joined Hortus Animae for the tribute to Dead Can Dance on “Summoning of the Muse”, I recorded vocals for Infinity part II and the rock musical/opera Genius II. I'm always interested in doing projects because I can develop musically by doing this.

A track is titled “Norwegian Lovesong”... Would you like to live back in Norway, or are you definitively installed in Germany ?
I've been living in Germany for 8 years now, and because our son was born here we will stay here, but perhaps when Alex and I are getting older maybe we will consider to move back to Norway to find total peace there. “Norwegian Lovesong” describes my deep and endless love for my home country. It's a song that goes very deep into my childhood.

How are things going with your new label Napalm Records till now?
Napalm Records is a fantastic label, we feel very well working with them. So far everything has been only positive and we hope to release many albums on this label.

And, to finish, could you explain to us, your vision about the “spirit of metal”?
I felt the spirit of metal when I was already a little girl as I grew up with Black Sabbath through my father. I thank him for giving me this input. This is the reason for the existence of Theatre of Tragedy and Leaves' Eyes.
Thanx for your precious time, last words are yours.
Thank you very much! Hope to see you on tour in October/November!

Love,

Liv