LEPROUS - Apelion

Artist:  Leprous
Album: Aphelion
Year:  2021
Genre:  Progressive Rock / Metal / Pop

I’m enjoying writing these instantaneous, off-the-cuff reviews of new releases.  My first stab was with the latest Helloween record and my next might just be the new Carcass or Cannibal Corpse.  This process is taking me back to being a much younger person and buying albums sight unseen.  Well, sight unheard, I guess.  Although I know the Leprous catalog well, I had not heard a single note off this record before the needle hit the first groove on my turntable.  I intentionally avoided any streaming of the album so I could take it in like I used to with new music in the 80s and 90s.  I am a Leprous fan.  With that said, I find myself constantly waiting for the floor to drop out with the band.  Their level of innovation generates anxiety for me with every release, which is also the same reason I love them.  It’s quite the turbulent relationship.  The Leprous brand of progressive rock is damn unique and they are intentionally unwilling to conform to any preconceived expectations based upon past works or the typical mainframes of the genre.  Their last album, Pitfalls, was testament to this as they dove deep into their Scandinavian pop influences.  Pitfalls was an interesting and unnerving adventure into new territory, which leaves people like me wondering where the hell are they going next?

First off, there is zero way I’m going to be able to discuss what I listened to in any detailed capacity.  This is prog rock; the genre known for complexity that takes even the most experienced fan years to take in certain album.  Listening to Leprous is no different than throwing on albums by Yes, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Genesis, Haken, King Crimson or Isahn, meaning there is no chance of remembering much without multiple listening sessions. My first impression is this a vocal-centric outing.  Let’s face it, Einar Solberg is an incredible talent with a brilliant voice.  I noticed an abundance of the previously mentioned pop qualities are prominent in almost every song with a ton of backing melodies and harmonies happening all over the place.  Solberg ramps up the vocal drama with many more subdued, almost peaceful, verses before he fervently hits a vibrant chorus.  The instrumentation and writing in Leprous is always complicated and overwhelming, yet, I found myself paying attention to the vocals much more on this record than the music, which is something that I’m sure will change with subsequent listens.  I know all the complicated musicianship is there, it just wasn’t my focus during the first listen.  While the album is just as moody and powerful as past excursions, the lack of harsher passages is noticeable as they travel further down the prog tunnel using rhythmic dynamics and electronic fusion more and more.

As much as I am concerned Leprous will take me to an untraveled and extreme musical path that makes my interest wane, they haven’t let me down yet.  This album is actually a little easier to follow than the curveball of Pitfalls, but it will still take a ton more listening and studying to let everything they are offering on Aphelion settle in my brain.  They are a pretty incredible band that keeps releasing pretty incredible albums.

Listen to "The Silent Revelation" here.