M.S: First of all, hi Liv & Alex, thanks a lot for this interview. It’s
a great honor for us to talk to you, how are you?
Both: We’re fine!!
Alex: It’s great to be here in Madrid
Liv: And have the chance to meet you again!!
M.S: I suppose this «Legend Land» is the continue of your second album,
though we can appreciatte some differences with «Vinland Saga»… when the third
Leaves’ Eyes album is released, will the album have lots of changes or will
it follow this same pattern?
Liv: Of course we developed musically as artists, we develop always, and
we also have our own studio so I think we always develop. The master of sound
is next to me so, there’s always something new, but we found the basic sound
and we’ll stick to that, what we did with Vinland Saga and Legend Land, we found
the way we want to walk and… the concept might change a bit although i’ll
let myself get inspired by the Nordic history, culture, misticism… it’s a
way of me to deal with my own homesickness
Alex: We found the magic of Leaves’ Eyes music, and we should we change
it? 
M.S: How do you consider «Legend Land»‘s release? As a preview for fans
to wait for the new album? As a whole new work? And moreover, how did u think
about the Guinness World Record signing of 5000 booklets?
Liv: Ok, first of all Legend Land is a continuation of the Vinland Saga,
a way for us to say more about the theme we introduced with the Vinland Saga.
It was about the discovery of America, and Legend Land goes more into details
about how life was for the vikings in America when they settled down, and how
they left after 2 or 3 generations. But i think the story is over and we’ll
find another theme, but still a historic one. Legend Land’s songs were written
months after the release of Vinland Saga, so the songs for Legend Land are completely
new and we decided to release the tracks to say thank you to our fans
Alex: Yeah! That’s why we did the signing thing (laughs)
M.S: Which are your inspirations when writing lyrics both for your solo
career & with the band? I suppose that having 2 voices in Leaves’ Eyes it makes
quite a difference, right? We also know you write the lyrics of the songs, but
do you also help when composing the music? Who’s in charge of this part?
Liv: The guys are all the time composing and I don’t have to, because they
have so many ideas and I’m a mother too!! So normally we collect all the ideas
we have, some come from the guitarrist, some come from Alex… from everybody
we collect everything. Each person gives, adds his influence into it. And then
when the music is finished or nearly finished, i sit down and write the lyrics,
because i let the music inspire me for the lyrics and for the manner or way
i use my voice. It’s not like i say «no, i want to sing like opera, please write
a song for this kind of voice, i want so sing about this or that» (laughs)
Alex: Actually, the concept sometimes it has lack… in the Lovelorn album
for example, there’s a story part, the lyrics were there because Liv had them
already… we were «ok, we’re getting into nature, history»… and then in this
album we had the right to write music
Liv: Is a mixture of inspiration, musical ideas and inspiration for the
theme itself.
M.S: It’s been a few months since Enter my Religion» was released. Now that
some time’s elapsed, how was the album received by the fans? And now that you’ve
had the opportunity to listen to it a few more times, is there any detail you
would have changed or are you happy with the work as a whole?
Liv: First of all, after 8 years of break it was very important for me
to release a solo album. There were many things in these 8 years that weren’t
so nice like court cases, a lot of problems with people i had worked with in
the past and i realized i don’t want to be a barbie doll with the dollar sign
on my forehead, i want to be part of everything: of the composing, i want to
write my own lyrics, i want to tell my own opinion. And i want people to see
who i am, who is the person behind the artist and not only «ok, that’s another
blond singer». So i found the people i want to work with, i found people i can
trust and people who respect me as a person and as an artist and it was very
comfortable to release Enter My Religion, was like releasing a book about things
that happened in my life, is an invitation to my personal world, welcome to
my world! I hope you liked it!!!
M.S: We know you want to release a dvd next year… apart from live footage,
what will the dvd have? Videos? Some new songs? Where will these live parts
of the dvd be from? Why not recording a whole concert? Is there any chance of
live audio material?
Liv: What we have been doing since approximately one year is that we record
all the concerts, and of course you will see fans and maybe you will see yourself!!
(laughs) And you see not only us in a live situation, and the audience in a
live situation, you also see us as private persons because we all are made of
flesh and bone and i think it’s ok to show that… not only when you’re on stage,
dressed up, there’s a big song, a big stage show, and everything’s bombastic…
when you finish with the show, you’re just yourself. So i think it’s nice to
show that.
Alex: It’s like a Leaves’ Eyes movie. There’s also a special show, with
a special stage, special effects, everything. We’ll have it only one time indoor,
and one oudoor. The problem is i cannot tell you now which outdoor will it be,
it’ll be a massive one. A big show on a big festival. But the indoor don’t even
know if we’re going to record it in Europe, it was planned in Germany but now
there’s another alternative, and maybe we’ll do it somewhere else, and the outdoor
show on the festival. So, it has like a movie about Leaves’ Eyes, the band,
the indoor show… and a massive live recording. We’ll see what happen. It’s
a really good idea!!! The indoor is going most likely to be in Europe and it’d
be cool of fans from all places could come!!!
M.S: What did you think when finnish media told u where the new Nightwish
singer? Have you seen yourself as the new vocalist of Nightwish anytime? 
Liv: No, not really. I’m good friends with Tuomas from Nightwish and good
friends with Tarja too.
Alex: And Marco!!! (laughs)
Liv: A couple of weeks before they splitted up, a did a duet with Marco
from Nightwish, and then i also i did a big story, an interview with Tuomas,
with questions like «would you like to work with each other» and we said «yes,
of course, we’re good friends»… and then people counted 1 and 2 and they were
like «oh!!! She’s the new singer!!!»… it’s a rumour Alex: They put it on the
frontpage of finnish media Liv: I just returned from America, from a tour, and
the finnish press was calling in the studio and i didn’t know anything about
it & then i saw my face on the biggest finnish magazine. And i thought «they
put a lot of work into this rumour!»
Alex: Actually, after somebody like Tarja’s leaving Nightwish people start
guessing «who could replace her». Liv was maybe the first person many people
thought about, many fans even and many journalists… there was this media interest
after Tarja was, in my opinion, sadly kicked out of the band. I don’t know what
happened really, i know from what everybody told!! But we spoke to some guys
and also to Tarja… it’s a sad situation. But people and journalist think about
a possible replacement, and there are not many stablished singers who they keep
in mind.
M.S: The next Monday DELAIN’s new album’s going to be released. How did
your collaboration came across? Are you happy with the result? I’ve heard «Seeme
in shadow» & i think your voice & Charlotte’s fit perfectly. As you have worked
with DELAIN, do you think they could have a part in the new Leaves’ Eyes album
such as your sister did in Lovelorn?
Liv: I think DELAIN’s a very good chance for me to work with a different
kind of music, also a way for me to work with Marco form NIGHTWISH because he’s
in there too. Working with a different kind of music gives me a lot of inspiration.
It’s a project, and it’s nice. For a live situation it would be nice to see
how it works. 
Alex: Martin is a very nice guy. We met in the studio together with his
friend, it was very cool the recordings…
M.S: Ok, we’ve come to the end. Thank you very much for your time, we wish
all the best to you and the rest of the band. Good luck!
Both: Thank you very much!!!
Leticia Ballester
Photos: Alberto Bravo /Leticia Ballester