“We could all use a little gothic decadence in our lives right now” – River of Diamonds by Liv Kristine reviewed

While soaking up this album it occurred to me exactly what it is about gothic metal that I love; it’s the decadence. Gothic metal at its best is seductive, lavish, sensuous and melodramatic, and River of Diamonds really is gothic metal at its best.

This is the sixth studio album from multi-talented Norwegian vocalist extraordinaire Liv Kristine. I will straight away fess up that as an LK fanboy, a new album from the Queen of Scandinavian Gothic Metal is always going to be an event for me, and RoD is everything I was looking forward to and more.

It begins magnificently with the double gothic whammy of Our Immortal Day and No Makeup, the former featuring atmospheric guest vocals from Østen Bergøy, which are almost whispered.

Track three, Maligna, features something I don’t think I’ve heard before in a Liv Kristine album; anger. Oh, and f-bombs. It bravely tackles the heavy, and all too real, subject of abuse, while still boasting an insanely catchy chorus. It’s a triumph.  

Gravity is a delicate and finely-balanced ballad which was previously showcased in the EP Have Courage Dear Heart, and is a personal fave. The following two cuts, In Your Blue Eyes and title track River of Diamonds (featuring Fernando Ribeiro), are a double-act of glorious and sumptuous songs sporting lush production and big, hooky choruses.

There then follows something far more tender and beguiling; a duet with Liv’s husband, Michael Espenæs. Now, as a fan of Norwegian Black Metal and German thrash it goes without saying that I’m not in general a huge lover of ballads. To work on me, a ballad has to be something truly special, and Pictured Within is. A few listens in and it absolutely seduced me. But that’s what gothic metal does, and that’s why I love it, as I stated earlier.

Shaolin Me begins tenderly and teases a far eastern flavour, as one might expect from a song with such a title, but it soon develops into an epic number, with rich instrumentation and another huge chorus.

Follow up track Love Me High has a hint of The Cure about it, which is no bad thing. It also has a fantastic 80s feel about it which I really digged, not to mention the irresistible melody. Serenity is another track previously showcased on Have Courage Dear Heart, and is a powerful, confident number.

The closing track, If I Am Dreaming, is like being tucked into bed at dawn after a long night of hanging around in a cemetery or a ruined abbey. It’s the perfect end to a perfect album.

Unless…

You pick up the digipak CD, that is, which features a gorgeous cover of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours. I would recommend that you do. In fact, why not buy the album on CD and stunning blue vinyl? That’s what I did.

There are a lot of people out there producing gothic rock and metal albums, but you can always on Liv Kristine’s efforts to be elevated, superior. The instrumentation is always lush, the melodies beguiling, the choruses irresistible and the vocals, of course, stellar. And this exceedingly high quality extends to the cover art too, which is never less than beautiful.

God knows, we could all use a little gothic decadence in our lives right now, and River of Diamonds revels in it. Pick it up today and let the orgy commence!

River of Diamonds by Liv Kristine is out now on Metalville Records. Visit livkristine.net.