_{“Sign of the Dragonhead” is the first Leave’s Eyes album to feature new vocalist Elina Siirala and it was released on 12th January via AFM Records.  This is the seventh release from the symphonic metallers since they formed in 2003 and like all the others, the album is focused on a specific story. “Sign of the Dragonhead” once again focuses on the Viking legends and the eleven great tracks on the album all tell specific stories. The track “Across The Sea” is included on the Friday NI Rocks Show this week.}

_{Leaves’ Eyes formed in 2003 when Norwegian singer Liv Kristine joined forces with German band Atrocity. That band had featured her husband Alexander Krull on vocals and he became the keyboard player and backing vocalist in Leaves Eyes. When these two divorced in 2016 there was a change in lead singer with Liv Kristine being replaced by Finnish vocalist Elina Siirala. In addition to Krull, the only other original member of the band is now Thorsten Bauer who plays guitar and bass. The remaining members of the band are Joris Nijenhuis on drums and Pete Streit on guitars.}

_{New singer Elina Siirala is classically trained and she made her recording debut with the band on the EP “Fires in the North” in October 2016. The album was produced by Krull and Bauer and in addition to some great vocals and guitars, there are choirs, pipes, fiddles and a variety of instruments that you don’t find on your run-of-the-mill metal album. I’ve always been a fan of tracks that focus on historical stories so this album is right up my street. Definitely one to take a listen to before catching up on the next episode of Vikings!}

_{http://www.leaveseyes.de/}

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_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}

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