Pop music is what I expected; pop music is what I actually got. LIV KRISTINE, former Theatre Of Tragedy-singer and now Leaves' Eyes-frontwoman, returns with her second solo-effort, pitched expectations high - and fails desperately. It's not that I dislike commercial music nor that I don't like LIV's voice but Enter My Religion is a disappointing hotchpotch of b-side-songs without own identity or character.
Over The Moon, a less than average opening for 45 minutes of (almost) bubblegum-pop, already gives an idea of how the rest of the songs will sound - cheesy and soulless. The single-output Fake A Smile then is the only real highlight of this release with great songwriting, some sad atmosphere and a good chorus. If all of the songs would be in the vein of this track, Enter My Religion would actually be great. But as soon as I get to hear All The Time In The World, all positive thoughts vanish. This is Schlager-music with a Christmas-Carol-atmosphere, nothing more to say. Songs like Coming Home or the title track aren't even worth to be mentioned, while the worst track of Enter My Religion has been pushed back almost to the end: You Take Me Higher with its second-class techno-chorus and Justin-Timberlake-beats combined with folklore-feeling can be nothing but a bad joke. On the other hand, I have to admit that besides the Fake A Smile-single there is still some tracks that have turned out quite well... My Revelation with its (newer) Theatre Of Tragedy-atmosphere is a good goth-pop-song, while Blue Emptiness has become a solid ballad going into the more mellow Leaves' Eyes-direction. The ending track For A Moment finally is a fantastic ambient song that really lets me want to wish for more.
Enter My Religion turns out to be an unsure release missing some sort of red thread. Especially the cheesy folk elements and the sitar-parts do not suit the style of the songs but ruin them while the rock-songs are almost too heavy for this album. And yes, I still like LIV KRISTINE’s vocals but miss the right feeling in them. Finally I will never condone the completely cold and emotionless cover-version of Streets Of Philadelphia. Sorry but this is one of the worst cover-songs I have heard in a long time! Actually I had expected much more from this album…