MELODIES OF ATONEMENT

Norwegian prog forerunners Leprous are now deep into their catalogue, expanding it with their eighth studio album 'Melodies of Atonement', enthusiastically striding towards the consolidation of their modern iteration that sees them playing with synths, deconstructing their songs, and presenting their inventive blend of vocal-forward compositions that approach the intensity of their first albums. In typical Leprous fashion, 'Melodies' is cerebrally melodic, hauntingly dramatic, and sonically intense, continuing their exploration of "quiet storm builds" in ever more inventive ways. The album seems to be a tad bit more diverse than its predecessor 'Aphelion' and a little more reliant upon the vocals' utilization as a key element of the songwriting, which ultimately seems to render some of the songs less rewarding in comparison to other heavyweights of the progressive metal scene.

Leprous even dare to explore the domain of the anthemic with the opening track, and to emphasize it even more on the choral section of 'Faceless', something that they are not so well-known for, and through the expansion of their musical vocabulary, show a great tendency for synth pomp, extremely overblown on the challenging 'Self-Satisfied Lullaby'. Even if creatively bold musical passages are present all throughout, the record mainly lacks in songwriting, with the drums standing a little more at the back, and even if there are quite a few technically intriguing moments, like the endings of 'I Hear the Sirens' or 'Like a Sunken Ship,' what becomes evident from 'Melodies of Atonement' is that Leprous are still stronger in the heavier and more intense moments, which they have occasionally been able to successfully mesh with playful, minimal and atmospheric instrumental build-ups; a strategy that generally tends to be a double-edged sword.

'Melodies' is nevertheless a good album that showcases the stylistic diversity of the band as well as their ability to create innovatively minimal and emotional progressive rock, incorporating a semi-art-pop approach towards the composition of heavy music.