MELODIES OF ATONEMENT

After Leprous vocalist Einar Solberg dropped his solo debut last year, I was hooked. Having come to his music from his collaborations with Ihsahn and Esa Holopainen, I was already in love with his acrobatic vocal antics. Being, of course, a longtime lover of prog rock and metal, I went into a "pop" Solberg album a questionable proposition, but I found Scandinavian melancholy pop to be a medium in which he worked surprisingly well, and I rated "16" as one of my favourite albums of 2023. So when I heard about the new album from his main band, Leprous, I knew I had to check it out.

Was I ever let down.

The album kicks off with "Silently Walking Alone", a decent opener that boasts some bouncing, grooving riffs and a bombastic singalong chorus. It's probably the high point of the album, though I note it sits closer to the Euro-pop- metal style of Amaranthe than it does to any progressive metal tradition. That's not a crime, but it's not exactly my preference. The album nosedives sharply after that opener, turning into an amorphous blob of Sad Pretty Boy brooding. Half-mumbled vocals sit atop bland electronics, a drawn-out slither through dull, lifeless, and unimpressive melodies set to limp bass drum samples and sub-bass drones. Is Einar Solberg almost always a treat to listen to? Yes. Is his seemingly half-hearted attempt at his usual vocal stunts enough to save this from being a boring slog? Not at all.

If you like progressive metal, you can skip this. If you like Imagine Dragons, consider giving this a shot.

Track Rating: Silently Walking Alone (6), Atonement (5), My Specter (4), I Hear the Sirens (5), Like a Sunken Ship (6), Limbo (6), Faceless (5), Starlight (6), Self-Satisfied Lullaby (5), Unfree My Soul (5).

Overall Rating: 5.3/10, or, 2 Stars, rounded down.