PITFALLS

Delicious Crossover Prog and the one of the best Prog Metal Epics of All Time

A decade ago when I was a PA regular, I reviewed two of Leprous' early albums and in both I said that the band was vastly talented but yet to find their sound. By "Pitfalls," they had found it. Einar Solberg's voice had moved from very strong to mind-blowing, and whether you liked it or not, the band was using that asset to full effect. By this album, Solberg is able to pull off the full range of pop / R&B acrobatics along with his metal angst, and the band uses both. Many dislike the pop / crossover approach of the early parts of the album, but to me it feels like a band that is embracing evolution. None of the songs here feel like "selling out," they feel like a band that is truly combining multiple genres to write great songs. The pop sensibilities make the melodies and songwriting take center stage, as it should.

The prog is not gone. On some songs like "Observe the Train," the song is straight pop ballad, but the prog roots come through as ear candy. On others like the opener "Below," the band alternates between prog metal rhythms and melodicism, creating a modern take on prog that foreshadows the currently blowing up sound of Sleep Token who rightfully cites Leprous as a major influence. There is a bit of a dark trippy-ness everywhere on the album, which I imagine makes Leprous a force live now.

And so we have a very solid, inventive, truly modern crossover prog album. But then at last comes "The Sky is Red." I consider this the best prog metal song of the last 5 years and one of the best ever. It has complex rhythms, heavy guitars that allude to djentiness without falling into the cookbook, and hypercomplex drumming. But over the top Einar is simultaneously virtuosic and so emotive. And just when you feel like the album ended on a colossal fire burst, we get the odd time bursts that evolve slowly, methodically to a brutal breakdown unlike anything I've heard elsewhere. The first time I heard the isolated keys begin the riff, it seemed like the band was completely in free time. But as band slowly enters, the rhythm make more and more sense, and pummels you until it seems like you've known the vibe your whole life. It took several listens before my ear could impose the rhythm on the riff initially, and now that it does I yearn a little bit for the sense of surprise and discovery that I got on those early listens. This section may the only time in recent years I listened to music and thought "What just happened?" in delight.

Part of the pop / modern / crossover move is the incorporation of electronic even including some programmed drums. This might seem a little strange considering the immense talent of the players, but this is where music is at now. These are the sounds of today. It makes this album feel new, forward thinking, rather than retro or stuck in the past.

Congratulations on a band that already had some success and talent choosing to continue to up their game and evolve.