Liv Kristine – Amor Vincit Omnia
Release Date: 25th April 2025
Label: Metalville
Order/Stream
Genre: Gothic, Symphonic Metal, Doom, Dark Rock, Pop.
FFO: Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves Eyes, Sirenia, Elis, Stream of Passion, Tristiana, The Sins of Thy Beloved, Midnattsol.
Review By: Mark Waight
Liv Kristine is probably one of the most instantly recognisable metal vocalists of our generation with six solo albums already to her name along with five albums for Theatre of Tragedy (1995-2002), six albums for Leaves Eyes (2004-2015) and a solitary album for Midnattsol (2018). With her very versatile voice being revered by fans from right across the globe, “Amor Vincit Omnia” is Liv Kristine’s seventh solo outing in a dazzling career now spanning a jaw dropping thirty years.
Striving as always to connect with her followers “Amor Vincit Omnia” touches on the very essence life itself with Liv Kristine unashamedly bearing her soul on many subjects such as love (both broken and whole), the abusive behaviour of humans towards each other and the nature around us as well as other topics that are very close to her heart. The whole album is a tribute to a life untouched, where sometimes the unspoken word speaks volumes to the masses.
The harrowing and pulsating “Prelude” start’s things off nicely, before dark and haunting title track “Amor Vincit Omnia” with its gothic wails and growls plants a seed that will begin to stir your interest.
The heavy and subdued “Ode to Life Pristine” exposes us to Liv Kristine’s more vulnerable side with some endearingly emotional vocals that will have you sobbing into your brew with their subtle bluesy tilt. Sounding almost Kate Bush like, “12th February” is a dreamy fairytale of a song, the stunning vocals vs guitar theme will have you gripped and enthralled.
Lovely rock ballad “Angel in Disguise” is a stirring and engaging song that leads you lovingly and gently by the hand to next up, “Hold it with Your Life” a more partizan tune with a much sharper and harder edge to it.
“Sapphire Heaven” is a lighter, breezier, almost pop rock track with a velvety feel, whereas “Unzip My Love” takes you right back to the 80s with an exciting retro trip down memory lane and a very sweet on the ear’s guitar solo thrown in to boot.
The mesmerizing vocals of “Melange (when addiction calls)” are bleaker, darker and more intoxicatingly heavy than everything that has gone before. Folk rock fusion “Tangerines” echoes the acoustic protest songs of the past, albeit with a more contemporary flavour.
Final track “When Stillness Speaks” is a beautifully gothic and doomy curtain closer that rounds off “Amor Vincit Omnia” perfectly, highlighting that the album crosses genre-boundaries with relative ease, and therefore has plenty to pique interest from start to finish.
“Amor Vincit Omnia” is a very enjoyable album that is more than equally comparable to all those solo releases by Liv Kristine that have gone before. There are lots of different styles on show here in “Amor Vincit Onnia” which fully demonstrate what a great scope and depth of talent Liv Kristine has. Fans will absolutely lap this album up, and I am sure it will do very well for her. Recommended.
(3.5 / 5)
