Vinland Saga is the second full-length album by the symphonic metal band Leaves' Eyes, released in 2005. It is a concept album that tells the story of the voyage of the Norse explorer Leif Erikson and his discovery of Vinland (a.k.a. Newfoundland). The main vocals are by the Norwegian singer Liv Kristine, but some harsh vocals performed by her husband and producer Alexander Krull can be heard on the songs "Solemn Sea", "The Thorn", and "New Found Land".

Vinland Saga
Cover design by Stefan Heilemann
Studio album by
Released30 May 2005 (2005-05-30)
RecordedMastersound Studio, Fellbach/Stuttgart, Germany, 2005
GenreSymphonic metal
Length45:43
LanguageEnglish, Norwegian
LabelNapalm
ProducerAlexander Krull
Leaves' Eyes chronology
Elegy
(2005)
Vinland Saga
(2005)
Legend Land
(2006)
Singles from Vinland Saga
  1. "Elegy"
    Released: 2 May 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
PopMatters[2]
Metal Hammer (GER)[3]
Exclaim!(favorable)[4]

A limited edition version of the album was released on 7 November 2006, which included two bonus tracks, a making-of video, an interview with Liv Kristine, as well as the music video produced for the single "Elegy" .

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Liv Kristine Espenæs; all music is composed by Alexander Krull, Thorsten Bauer, Mathias Röderer and Christopher Lukhaup

No.TitleLength
1."Vinland Saga"3:12
2."Farewell Proud Men"4:04
3."Elegy"5:07
4."Solemn Sea"3:44
5."Leaves' Eyes"3:59
6."The Thorn"4:05
7."Misseri (Turn Green Meadows Into Grey)"3:50
8."Amhrán (Song of the Winds)" (instrumental)2:48
9."New Found Land"3:28
10."Mourning Tree"4:03
11."Twilight Sun"3:22
12."Ankomst" ("The Arrival")3:55
Total length:45:43
Limited edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Heal"3:58
14."For Amelie" (new version)3:37
Total length:53:18
Multimedia disc
No.TitleLength
1."Elegy" (music video)4:32
2."Interview (directed by Robert Suß)"7:35
3."Making of a Saga (directed by Robert Suß)"4:03
Total length:16:10

Personnel

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Leaves' Eyes

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  • Liv Kristine Espenæs - lead vocals, keyboards
  • Alexander Krull - death grunts, keyboards, programming, samples
  • Thorsten Bauer - guitars, keyboards
  • Mathias Röderer - guitars, keyboards
  • Christopher Lukhaup - bass, keyboards
  • Moritz Neuner - drums, percussion, keyboards

Additional musicians

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  • Robert & Johannes Suß, Norman Sickinger, Christof Kutzers, Anders Oddsberg, Steven Willems, Simone Sacco, Gunnar Sauermann, Sascha Henneberger, Markus Bruder, Jochen Steinsdorfer, Ralf Oechsle - backing vocals on "New Found Land"
  • Timon Birkhofer - cello and piano on "Elegy", harp on "Amhran"
  • Jana Kallenberg - violin

Production

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  • Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Alexander Krull at Mastersound Studios
  • Assistant recording engineers: Mathias Röderer, Thorsten Bauer, Chris Lukhaup, Robert Suß

Charts

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Chart (2005) Peak
position
German Albums Chart[5] 62

References

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  1. ^ "Leaves' Eyes - Vinland Saga". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  2. ^ Begrand, Adrien (2 October 2005). "Leaves' Eyes: Vinland Saga". PopMatters. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Vinland Saga Suchergebnis". Metal Hammer. June 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  4. ^ Taylor, Laura (August 2005). "Leaves' Eyes - Vinland Saga". Exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Album – Leaves' Eyes, Vinland Saga". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 19 April 2014.[dead link]