Year: 2019
Total Time: 66:02
Label: Inside Out/Century Media
Einar Solberg, the lead singer and synth player for the band, tells us that the 6th and musically lightest album of LEPROUS, is really split in two parts: the most pop part of the album and the most progressive and experimental. And this is a fair assessment. Being progressive doesn’t necessarily mean “I’m trying to play like LED ZEPPELIN in 2019”. Progressive mostly means progress, experimentation with new ideas, new sound colors. This is what LEPROUS do, not caring if it’s a pure metal album. And to be honest, it’s not.
In “Pitfalls”, LEPROUS don’t completely change their face and sound, they just experiment. The heavy guitars are basically absent. The melodic choruses, trip-hop influences (last January, a cover of MASSIVE ATTACK’s “Angel” was released) are present, along with more pop influences. Easier to hear? Yes, but not in a bad sense. For example, in “Distant Bells”, we hear Einar singing on top of a melodic and beautiful piano, with no other instruments at all, at least not in the beginning and the vocal melody really sends some shivers down your spine. His voice is ethereal, a real tutorial for pop singers. We hear the violin, the drums and the guitar as the song gradually builds up going into an explosive momentum with a great chorus, which you just want playback again and again. LEPROUS’s inspiration at its best! In their most ‘classic’ track, “The Sky Is Red”, which is an 11-minute progressive rock / metal creation, we hear their more traditional sound. By traditional, we mean that one needs multiple hearings to understand that song. This creation is perfectly executed, showing us that the band is capable of doing many different things altogether. Finally, we should make a special mention to Baar Kolstad (ICS VORTEX, BORKNAGAR, live for IHSAHN and SOLEFALD) because the drumming on this disc is just outstanding!
Sometimes, when we listen to a band’s new record, especially those of us who like the most extreme sounds, and it turns out that the new material is lighter, we make hasty calls and speak about lack of quality, even a “betrayal”. But this could not be more far from the truth. This album is lighter, hardly guitar oriented to be honest, but the band’s inspiration and creativity, as well as the execution that the band achieves, are at such a high level that we simply cannot afford to miss it. As soon as one finishes the first hearings of “Pitfalls” what comes to his mind is this: “When a Metal Band does pop better than the rest pop band out there!”
Rating: 8/10
Editor: George Kourou
Related Link: LEPROUS – Official Page
