After years of personal transformation, Norwegian vocalist Liv Kristine returns with “Amor Vincit Omnia”, Latin for ‘love conquers all’, an album that feels like both a homecoming and a revelation. Known for her ethereal voice and deeply introspective songwriting, Liv invites listeners into the most intimate chapter of her journey yet. Ahead of her return home to Norway, she reflects on survival, resilience, and the quiet power of self-love. “Amor Vincit Omnia” marks a bold step forward, with Liv’s solo work becoming the truest expression of herself – a powerful, soul-baring record that surpasses the bounds of her past band experiences. In our conversation, Liv opens up about the emotional landscapes that shaped her new record. And how, through it all, love remained the guiding force.
Your upcoming release “Amor Vincit Omnia” reminds me of the power of music to take us away from real life, even though your lyrics tend to engage in topics that we all experience as humans. But at the same time, the way you compose your music, the way you write the lyrics, it’s also very escapist. Was that your intention when the album was being produced?
“I’ve been writing myself out of the darkness. So, yes, it takes you to a different place. On “River Of Diamonds” (2023) there were lots of stories about being broken, but also about beauty. Sometimes life is broken, sometimes life is beauty. You see the stars only in the night sky, right? So it’s about hope. And that I definitely survived. It was a traumatic experience. I had to start digging really deep to find out why it had happened to me, why I had ended up in situations, which was not really my intention. It wasn’t even what I wanted, but I still did it. And why do you cross your own boundaries? Where was my resilience at that time? All these questions were asked on “River Of Diamonds”. “Amor Vincit Omnia” is actually the book that gives you the answers to everything. I’ve been on a journey and it has taken me home. You could put “River Of Diamonds” and “Amor Vincit Omnia” next to each other like books on a shelf. It’s about connecting to yourself before you connect to the rest of the world or to other people. It’s about finding resilience. It’s about self-love because you really have to learn to love yourself and take care of yourself before you look outside. You’re never dependent on anybody else loving you or telling you how gorgeous you are or how chic you are, whatever. That’s your part. You have to start within yourself and then you might meet your life partner, which I did in 2018, Michael. He’s my second husband. And yeah, the album is both an ode to life and an ode to love.”
Do you have a favourite song on the album?
“Every piece of music is special to me. Sascha (Dannenberger, Liv’s guitarist and composer) sent me the song which got the title “12th February”. And I was like: “Oh, this is mine. This is definitely mine”. I connected immediately. I went for a walk with my dog in the Swiss forests, and the whole thing – the melody lines and the lyrics – came to me, through me as a download from somewhere, maybe the universe, I have no clue. I recorded it and sent it to Sascha. It is a mantra, like a prayer every morning when I’m walking my dog. And it’s so me, it’s so authentic. It comes from the soul, or from another sacred space.”
It sounds like nature can be a source of inspiration for you. Since you’re moving back to Norway, do you think you’ll find new inspirations there?
“Well, there’s another thing. I will have more time because teachers for kids with special needs, or teachers in general, don’t work that many hours in Norway as teachers in Switzerland and Germany. So I’ll have more work-life balance. And that’s something that has become very important to me. And now being 48, 49, I’ve had a really busy life. I’ve been moving places
and, you know, traveling around the world for 30 years now. So it’s time to come home. And I’m sure I will be able to spend much more time in nature, to go for long walks. I think I should embrace it because that is how life is unfolding right now. It gives me this opportunity and I really want to manifest it. That’s beautiful. And that makes, I’m sure, both myself and many fans excited about what would be to come.”
So how do you feel about the different elements you’ve included on the album?
“My solo career has always been in the very background of my other bands, Theatre Of Tragedy and Leaves’ Eyes. But it has been going on since 1998. That was when my first solo album was released. The good thing is that when there is less money involved in the thing, you have more freedom to decide what you want to do. And I just let things happen. And there was nobody around saying: “You have to be more symphonic because you’re the vocalist of Leaves’ Eyes” or “You have to be more gothic and doom because you were the vocalist of Theatre Of Tragedy”. Nobody ever said that. So you guys have actually granted me this freedom to do what the heck I wanted to, at least on my solo albums. I will never force anything. And I embrace that freedom. Thank you, guys.”
How do you hope fans will react to “Amor Vincit Omnia”? What do you hope they’ll take away from it?
“I just hope I can take my listeners and followers to a very deep place where there is space for reflection, but also silence. I would wish for you all to to enjoy the album, but also enjoy it like when you’re not listening to music, just maybe thinking about it or feeling inspired about it.”
Are there any kind of future plans that you have for promoting the album or otherwise?
“We’re going to play in Germany and in the Netherlands, two release shows with a new set list. So I’m looking forward to that. And then we’re going to move to Norway. Oh, we’ll have one more gig in Germany before we start moving our stuff. I’m very excited what happens when we’re living up there. I also started vocal coaching to help people find their authentic voice, to find their authentic selves, and to discover who they really are. And that was a thing that I couldn’t have done if I wouldn’t have had enough time to do that. You can find me on www.karmasonic.net. So that was something that came out of those times, those horrible times. And it has stayed with me since then. So, yeah, I’m just very excited how things are going to change now from July and onwards!” ■
Angela Ambrose
