I think that - although this level of atmosphere and superb vocal performance can be found in other prog rock albums - this album is still worthy of praise. The background details such as those heard on Distant Bells is what makes this so fun to listen to, not boring in my opinion. I actually think this type of sound fits the overall tone/themes of Leprous better than the more abrasive/chaotic sounds of Bilateral.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 26.10.2019 at 00:36

I find with non-metal albums by metal bands, they're either grossly overrated or underappreciated, but rarely judged with a level head. Curious to check this out just to see why it's causing such a stir.

It's a little "tame" for a Leprous album. Non-metal can be wild or adventurous, but I don't think this is either. Since that doesn't fit Leprous' MO I think that rattled the fans. Not a bad album by any means, but it's a little...monotonous for lack of a better word. Slightly anticlimactic if dare say so.

Written by LeKiwi on 26.10.2019 at 05:43

It's a little "tame" for a Leprous album. Non-metal can be wild or adventurous, but I don't think this is either. Since that doesn't fit Leprous' MO I think that rattled the fans. Not a bad album by any means, but it's a little...monotonous for lack of a better word. Slightly anticlimactic if dare say so.

Maybe it's time I give their discography a listen then. My taste in music is pretty split down the middle when it comes to metal v non-metal so in theory I shouldn't hate this.

Written by [user id=124004] on 25.10.2019 at 07:42

This is even worse than Malina. A sad day indeed. I mean, progressive "metal" bands are notorious for this kind of thing but Leprous has taken it to a whole other level. What a fucking shame...

Although I enjoyed this more than I remember their previous efforts, I have to agree with the sentiment here. So much of the "progressive metal" nowadays sounds so plastic/generic that I'm not surprised about the turnout here, but I think these guys went a little beyond (in some parts) beyond the Opeth_clones/progmelodeath or the generic, bad produced progressive metal of nowadays

I was super hyped about the album when I heard Below and Alleviate even though they've strayed further away from metal. Unfortunately none of the other songs hit the level of the first two imo, sadly. It's an ok album, but absolutely their weakest.

Written by Daniell on 27.08.2019 at 09:35

Malina is their best, I really hope they outdo themselves again.

Have you had a chance to listen to it yet?

Written by Nicko's Nose on 29.10.2019 at 18:56

Written by Daniell on 27.08.2019 at 09:35

Malina is their best, I really hope they outdo themselves again.

Have you had a chance to listen to it yet?

I did, 3 times. The album seems to be a step down from Malina. Songs 2, 3, and 4 don't really grip my attention. Perhaps that will improve with more listens, but for now I'm slightly disappointed.

Please bear in mind, that, unlike some "metal fans" (inverted commas definitely intended), I don't judge this band by the can't-be-good-cause-not-metal criteria. I loved Malina because it was 100% solid, attention-gripping songs that stayed in my head for a long time. Their genre didn't concern me. Neither does the genre of the new album. I don't care how anyone will pigeonhole this music.

All that said, I'll do my next 3-4 runs with this album on constant replay. If my opinion changes, I'll get back to you.

Seems that I end up approaching Leprous albums quite opposite the way people do; the singles were loved, I detested Below for recycling some tunes and ignored the others to grasp the album concept as a whole (since each Leprous albums is like parallel universes that demand you to live there to get adjusted to their respective atmosphere equivalents), couldn't get into Malina (max 30 spins) and started by detesting Coal and ended up worshipping it, and so on..

Pitfalls is like the end for the sentence that Malina initiated and halted with a comma; it was a transition to less bombastic, more catchy song structure with a sprinkle of experimentation, one that had a lot to say, yet felt muted by the ridiculous cacophony of trying to merge ambiance with Leprous-style funkiness. It was a transition, which lended Pitfalls as a result.

Contrary to the repellent effect of Coal (the initial reaction of "oh God why do they repeat and microtune verses over and over again that melded into "Oh I see what they are doing here, and oh dang I'm loving it), Pitfalls has a weird encapsulating ambience that drags you in and deserves to linger. It has the 'straight-to-feelings' approach of Coal merged with 'yeah I have things to say but first let me compress them into clusters of ideas' attempt of first-half Malina that makes it more daring, heartfelt and relatable, instead of the Leprous-y tingling of go batshit crazy inside but translate to minor head bobs.

Finally Leprous has made an album that feels like a fortress of cushions gently smothering you instead of a sanctuary to shed loose your burdens, and frankly I'm loving it. I do recommend that you try to listen to the album on an open-back headphone and let Einar ghastly seep in!

Anyone else giggle at how goofy the vocals are? It's like Hozier but even more over-enunciated and corny.

Written by Boxcar Willy on 31.10.2019 at 01:44

Anyone else giggle at how goofy the vocals are? It's like Hozier but even more over-enunciated and corny.

What are you on about.

Written by Daniell on 31.10.2019 at 09:42

What are you on about.

Just sounds like he's breaking every word down syllable by syllable. Probably due to being bilingual unlike my unsophisticated ass.

Written by Boxcar Willy on 31.10.2019 at 16:49

Written by Daniell on 31.10.2019 at 09:42

What are you on about.

Just sounds like he's breaking every word down syllable by syllable. Probably due to being bilingual unlike my unsophisticated ass.

That's proper singing there my friend

Fuck it, it's a 10.

Jesus, one would think that people in here have never heard Muse - Absolution, because this is literally that album....chuck in a dose of Silverchair - Diorama and you end up with this. Hardly a progressive marvel. At least a few years ago it wasn't as easy to list bands that sounded just like Leprous....maybe 15 years ago Pitfalls would have been good.

I got to know about Leprous from The Congregation and then listened to Malina and now Pitfalls. I didn't like Malina that much but I absolutely loved The Congregation and Pitfalls. While I would keep The Congregation a slightly higher notch than Pitfalls this album is extremely entertaining to me. Below, Observe the train, At the Bottom, The Sky is Red and Angels sealed the deal for me. There are a few filler songs but the awsomeness of the above mentioned songs clearly biased my mindset towards a more favourable opinion for the album.

Love it. I hope they go back to doing a balance of the heavy and the dreamy stuff. But this album is great too.

I don't like this album. Aside for Below, Distant Bells and The sky is red no other track really catches my attention. Some of the tracks like 2,3,4 are pure shit. Can;t rate an album more than 6 for just 3 good tracks.

For me it's a 10
I have to agree, they switched into POP music, but i prefere this style instead of previous metal progressive

I just went back to this album tonight to give it a re-listen. Maybe I missed something. I didn't. It's painful. Yes, I get the fact that dude has a great voice, but if the whole album is just listening to him yodel (which it is), then there are many other options. Also, there is nothing remotely metal about this album. I repeat., it's painful....and that's coming from someone who enjoys listening to hours of instrumental post metal. Sorry. I've liked their other work, but thumbs down. Barf.

Written by Rage10000 on 11.01.2020 at 07:38
Also, there is nothing remotely metal about this album.

The fact that you had to mention that pretty much makes your opinion null and void.

All this pigeon-holing... people just clinging onto their expectations so hard. I used to it too. Probably still, occasionally. It's bad.

Here I am blasting The Sky Is Red for like the 10th time in a row, that 11/4 is so groovy.

They have been on downhill since bilateral. This is even worse than their previous record. I dislike the vocal prominence in leprous.

Seeing some songs off the recent Leprous albums played live really convinced me that Leprous is more of a live band than a studio band. I saw them first in 2012 when they only played for 20 minutes at Graspop and those were some of the most energetic 20 minutes I've ever seen. They did not lose much of that live energy through 11 years, a bigger audience, and a few line-up changes.

I only went to this recent show because they were playing Coal in its entirety, but the second part where they played some newer tracks really rekindled my interest in Leprous.

Written by Zap on 07.11.2023 at 11:38

Seeing some songs off the recent Leprous albums played live really convinced me that Leprous is more of a live band than a studio band. I saw them first in 2012 when they only played for 20 minutes at Graspop and those were some of the most energetic 20 minutes I've ever seen. They did not lose much of that live energy through 11 years, a bigger audience, and a few line-up changes.

I only went to this recent show because they were playing Coal in its entirety, but the second part where they played some newer tracks really rekindled my interest in Leprous.

Coal live was phenomenal - it's their best album and translated excellently live, particularly the first half. I did also enjoy their set a lot earlier this year, which was mostly geared towards Aphelion, and again it was a great show, although I do like Aphelion quite a bit. There was one some from Pitfalls that I felt gained something live (I Lose Hope), while The Sky Is Red has always been a great song and Below remains meh to me. What I enjoy a lot about their more recent songs live is seeing how fluid the band is moving between instruments - so many of them swapping out between guitar/bass/(cello when they have the Musk Ox guy) and keyboards, it's impressive to watch

Written by musclassia on 07.11.2023 at 12:08


Coal live was phenomenal - it's their best album and translated excellently live, particularly the first half.

Agreed, though I would have said particularly the second half, but the album and performance are/were so consistent it doesn't matter much.

It's funny though, my favourites from Coal used to be Chronic, The Cloak, and Foe. All songs from the first half. Leading up to the concert I listened to the album a lot and now my favourites have shifted to The Valley, Echo, and Contaminate Me, so all songs from the second half.

Quote:

I did also enjoy their set a lot earlier this year, which was mostly geared towards Aphelion, and again it was a great show, although I do like Aphelion quite a bit. There was one some from Pitfalls that I felt gained something live (I Lose Hope), while The Sky Is Red has always been a great song and Below remains meh to me. What I enjoy a lot about their more recent songs live is seeing how fluid the band is moving between instruments - so many of them swapping out between guitar/bass/(cello when they have the Musk Ox guy) and keyboards, it's impressive to watch

I don't think I have even listened to Aphelion in full, but what they played from it sounded pretty good live, I might give the album a spin. Agreed on the Pitfalls songs, Below was probably the only low point in the entire set. The Sky Is Red was fantastic though. Glad I stuck around because they played it as a second, unplanned encore because no one was leaving hahaha.

Written by Zap on 08.11.2023 at 17:39


It's funny though, my favourites from Coal used to be Chronic, The Cloak, and Foe. All songs from the first half. Leading up to the concert I listened to the album a lot and now my favourites have shifted to The Valley, Echo, and Contaminate Me, so all songs from the second half.

Echo's been my favourite from that album for a long time, I was delighted to finally see it live, that and The Valley too (and Foe.. and Contaminate Me); I think perhaps more I felt that those heavy songs (Coal, Chronic) gained a bit from the live experience compared to my feelings towards them on album, where I perhaps overlook them a bit in comparison. Really though, the only song off the album that I'm slightly indifferent towards is Salt, and that one also kinda passed by without making as much of an impact live too

Written by musclassia on 08.11.2023 at 18:03


Echo's been my favourite from that album for a long time, I was delighted to finally see it live, that and The Valley too (and Foe.. and Contaminate Me); I think perhaps more I felt that those heavy songs (Coal, Chronic) gained a bit from the live experience compared to my feelings towards them on album, where I perhaps overlook them a bit in comparison. Really though, the only song off the album that I'm slightly indifferent towards is Salt, and that one also kinda passed by without making as much of an impact live too

I do really like Salt but I can see why one would be more indifferent towards it than towards the other tracks.