Just what in the F was that?

Not bad, not bad at all.

The pitchy vocals were annoying. I guess the Leprous of old is dead, and I don't think I'll enjoy the new Leprous going forward.

The 'miracle, miracle' bit didn't quite work for me (and felt like a slight anticlimax to that really cool section between 4:23 and 5:24), but I prefer this to the large majority of what appeared on pitfalls, even if I'm not overly eager to relisten

Oh wow!!

Ok, ok, I can dig that (no pun intended).
The contrast between the dissonances and minimalistic parts and the full-on-almost-claustrophobic band and ensemble is just to die for (again, no pun intended). I can see where some people might not be too keen on embracing Einar's vocals, but damn, these guys know how to turn a wake into party (I swear I'm not doing this on purpose).

Quite "pitfalls"-y IMO...
The first listen is hard to the ears but I bet this will be a grower, fingers crossed....

I really enjoyed it. The first run of "miracle miracle " was kind of jarring admittedly but it fit when the whole song is taken in context.

Pop song

Castaway Angels was probably my favorite song of 2020 so I'm very excited for this new album.

Written by Khold Baroness on 25.06.2021 at 20:30

Pop song

Interesting. Care to share what pop artists write songs that sound like this?

Written by Doge of Venice on 25.06.2021 at 23:15

Written by Khold Baroness on 25.06.2021 at 20:30

Pop song

Interesting. Care to share what pop artists write songs that sound like this?

I was wondering that myself.

Small bits here and there remind me of Congregation, so I think not all hope is lost. The song is ok...definitely better than most of Pitfalls.

Really interesting song. I feel like the band is working together a bit more than they did on Pitfalls. I'm excited for the new album.

Clearly, they've killed their connection to metal. Hey, whatever makes you happy, but this is where I jump off.

Written by musclassia on 25.06.2021 at 18:42

really cool section between 4:23 and 5:24

probably the only part I enjoyed

Written by musclassia on 25.06.2021 at 18:42

I prefer this to the large majority of what appeared on pitfalls, even if I'm not overly eager to relisten

what a mess that had been then

Dunno man. Kinda feel they are stuck between two worlds with this direction. Doesn't give me the great emotional highs and lows if you ruin an otherwise solid buildup with vocals that don't fit. I guess they wanted to convey a sense of urgency in the chorus with that repetition, but the music was still quite chill. Even though the execution is great and you can tell they wrote it very nicely, in the end it just doesn't add up for me. It's "pop-safe". Back in the early records they were committed to an idea even if it meant going into a batshit crazy breakdown, like in "Forced Entry". Even on Pitfalls, we had "The Sky Is Red".

Written by Lanthros on 26.06.2021 at 00:28

Written by Doge of Venice on 25.06.2021 at 23:15

Written by Khold Baroness on 25.06.2021 at 20:30

Pop song

Interesting. Care to share what pop artists write songs that sound like this?

I was wondering that myself.

Stop being weird, It's clearly a pop song and you know it. I don't want to guess why you're being so contentious with metalheads not liking pop music. That's the real head-scratcher for me. But I can tell you that we wouldn't even know who leprous was, If they didn't start as a metal band.

Written by BCI on 26.06.2021 at 18:44
But I can tell you that we wouldn't even know who leprous was, If they didn't start as a metal band.

I listen to a lot of similar music, I'd probably find out about them anyway.

Written by RaduP on 26.06.2021 at 19:32

Written by BCI on 26.06.2021 at 18:44
But I can tell you that we wouldn't even know who leprous was, If they didn't start as a metal band.

I listen to a lot of similar music, I'd probably find out about them anyway.

Good for you, mate. That's why I wrote that we wouldn't know.

Written by BCI on 26.06.2021 at 21:06

Good for you, mate. That's why I wrote that we wouldn't know.

Ah fair, thought you were making a more general point

Written by BCI on 26.06.2021 at 18:44

Stop being weird, It's clearly a pop song and you know it. I don't want to guess why you're being so contentious with metalheads not liking pop music. That's the real head-scratcher for me. But I can tell you that we wouldn't even know who leprous was, If they didn't start as a metal band.

I don't think you know what pop is. And you certainly have a VERY warped sense of what metal is and what metalheads listen to. Go sit down in the corner with the other stereotypes.

This had very little metal in it, but it's not pop; alternative rock maybe ?
I mean who cares about the genre ? it could be metal and be bad, and it could be pop and be good.

Written by RaduP on 26.06.2021 at 19:32

I listen to a lot of similar music, I'd probably find out about them anyway.

Out of curiosity: Could you name some similar bands? I love the direction Leprous took and struggle to find artists with a similar approach.

After Pitfalls and Castaway Angels, the direction they took should have been clear. As far as I know, the band themselves say quite often that they will not do another record like Tall Poppy Syndrom or Bilateral. Those were great albums, for the time they were recorded. About this song, I think it's awesome. Einar and Baard are top notch as always.

Pretty tame and straightforward song but that miracle miracle section had me feeling some secondhand embarrassment for sure.

Written by Lanthros on 27.06.2021 at 00:42

I don't think you know what pop is. And you certainly have a VERY warped sense of what metal is and what metalheads listen to. Go sit down in the corner with the other stereotypes.

That's a little pretentious and very condescending thing to say to someone you know nothing about. I am not going to sit here and lecture you on pop culture. You are clearly not worth it. Now STFU

Written by BCI on 28.06.2021 at 11:17

Written by Lanthros on 27.06.2021 at 00:42

I don't think you know what pop is. And you certainly have a VERY warped sense of what metal is and what metalheads listen to. Go sit down in the corner with the other stereotypes.

That's a little pretentious and very condescending thing to say to someone you know nothing about. I am not going to sit here and lecture you on pop culture. You are clearly not worth it. Now STFU

Not to jump in here and correct me if I'm wrong but I think when MorbidAngel13 said "pop song" what they meant was "their recent direction is extremely different than their outstanding back catalog and appears to be potentially motivated towards enhancing their popularity outside of the metal scene." It seems that they and I listen to a lot of the same stuff, tech and black, so I have to say compared to my usually tastes that this song does sound like "pop"/popular music to me too (ie music that is relatively universally palatable to the masses). A more nuanced explanation below

Leprous is one of my absolute favorite bands (top 20 of all time I'd say), well old Leprous that is. I for one would not know about them at all if they didn't start out as a metal band but I pretty much listen only to metal. Their new stuff is OK I guess, but nothing I would ever listen to more than once and I think at best we could call some of the elements "metal adjacent" if we want to stretch it. It sounds to me like there are popularity/financial/selling out reasons for their change in sound, however, I could be totally wrong. Maybe they just evolved as artists and don't like metal anymore, that is totally within their rights. They have been steadily distancing of themselves from the metal genre, and I've liked their work even as it drifted away from metal so maybe it is true that they simply evolved. However, imo they have drifted way too far for my taste. I honestly think this song is fucking awful and the miracle part makes me cringe. Nonetheless, I wish them all the best, the metal scene is not one most bands get compensated well for so I'm not really judging them even if they did "sell out."

Written by chomskeet on 28.06.2021 at 21:11

Not to jump in here and correct me if I'm wrong...

That was very well said, mate. I don't mind bands "selling out", I think it's a silly argument and we all have to make a living one way or the other. Especially when we can make a buck doing what we love.
My initial point was more of a counter to the notion that fans HAVE to like whatever their favourite artist does, or says, otherwise they're automatically labelled closed minded.
I don't think that you can chose to like this or that. Taste isn't a choice, you either like something or you don't.
Sometimes it seems like fans are more thin skinned than the artists.

Written by SchrödingersDog on 27.06.2021 at 11:48

Written by RaduP on 26.06.2021 at 19:32

I listen to a lot of similar music, I'd probably find out about them anyway.

Out of curiosity: Could you name some similar bands? I love the direction Leprous took and struggle to find artists with a similar approach.

Not sure exactly how similar I can each of these are, and whether or not they would scratch the itch you're looking for, but the ones that come to mind the most is Radiohead's latest album or Steven Wilson's latest album. Other than that, there's bits of Perfume Genius, Kings Kaleidoscope, Feu! Chatterton, Moulettes, Bent Knee, alt-J, Moonface, Moses Sumney, Everything Everything, Elbow, Ghost Poet and Kalandra.

This song made me feel good about myself for not checking them in the last few years much. The vocals have been their shitties part for a long time and that did not change here.

Written by BCI on 28.06.2021 at 22:55

Written by chomskeet on 28.06.2021 at 21:11

Not to jump in here and correct me if I'm wrong...

That was very well said, mate. I don't mind bands "selling out", I think it's a silly argument and we all have to make a living one way or the other. Especially when we can make a buck doing what we love.
My initial point was more of a counter to the notion that fans HAVE to like whatever their favourite artist does, or says, otherwise they're automatically labelled closed minded.
I don't think that you can chose to like this or that. Taste isn't a choice, you either like something or you don't.
Sometimes it seems like fans are more thin skinned than the artists.

Yeah, I definitely hear you. I mean, I love Leprous and I really really wanted to like their new sound, especially since it took a little bit for me to get into their less metal (yet still amazing imo) sound. It really took a long time, I actually disliked Coal at first, however, that eventually became my favorite album of theirs, it just took time to grow on me. Therefore, I really wanted to give their new sound a shot. Alas, it's just so fundamentally removed from metal that I can't get into it aside from his amazing voice and some tight jazzy parts. That's not enough to keep me coming back..... I do agree that many people in general, as well as on this site, really get invested in their favorite bands. This has even gotten to the point of potentially compromising one of the coolest parts of this site, the review system, by sandbagging (giving low scores like 3) their favorite band's competitors in the top rated albums of the year. You will notice an average score on this site that has substantially trended downwards over the years and I believe unbridled fandom leading to sandbagging to be at least partially responsible. I also thought it quizzical that so many users were giving what I saw as an undo amount of props to the new Leprous not so metal sound. However, it may just be that you and I aren't really prog/lighter music listeners, I don't see much in your favorites, and I dislike most prog sans a few standouts, and therefore the lighter the sound gets the less palatable for us? If I want "soft" I'll listen to some atmoblack like Aquilus lol