Written by:	Ivor
Published:	September 30, 2013
Event:	Leprous: European Coal Tour 2013 - Part 1 (Website)
Location:	Tapper, Tallinn, Estonia
Galleries:	Vulture Industries, Leprous - Tapper, Tallinn, Estonia, 23.09.2013 by Ivor (36)

"Good news, everyone!" That's exactly what I thought when Leprous were announcing their European tour day by day, and finally Tallinn came up. Moreover, good news was that Ørkenkjøtt were to be a support band, until, suddenly, they weren't a support band any longer and avantgarde Vulture Industries had to step in at a later time. A good change? A damned brilliant one, even if I didn't think that way at the time.





There were a couple of knowing people around here who claimed that Vulture Industries are not just a great live band, but a superb one at that. Even if you were to trust such an opinion, it's only fair that a far reaching claim like that needs verification - you believe when you experience it, so to say. In short, such claims need proof, and I was going to let the band prove that they know their business better than I expect them to. I mean, how else do you define superb? It's just got to be better than you expect.

What happened was quite unbelievable, or rather, what happened was not too dissimilar to what happened two years ago when Leprous came here supporting Amorphis. Back then Leprous delivered a performance that good that I was ready to leave the venue before Amorphis so I wouldn't spoil my evening. This time, it happened again. Only Vulture Industries were Leprous and Leprous were Amorphis, if you know what I mean.





So yes, the avantgarde Vulture Industries totally lived up to the claim other people made about them. The somewhat theatrical delivery of their music could totally create an impression of watching a theatre performance. I mean, I could picture them doing metal Shakespeare or something - Hamlet for instance. They were driven, if not outright possessed. And the music! Damn, that music! Some of the stuff is so beautiful and intense that I wonder how it's possible it has passed me by so far.

Moreover, Vulture Industries ignited. The crowd were sparse. There were far less people here than at the Riverside gig nay two weeks ago - and that's not much to begin with. I make an assumption that most didn't know the band, but damn if they weren't into the performance that left the singer gasping for breath between the songs. Vulture Industries even managed to break, what I refer to as, the Estonian semi-circle of respect - i.e. the totally empty space before the stage. It's the first time I've seen everyone go much closer to the stage when called by the band, that's some mighty achievement there.





Vulture Industries set list:
1. Lost Among Liars (The Tower)
2. The Tower (The Tower)
3. The Bolted Door (The Malefactor's Bloody Register)
4. The Hound (The Tower)
5. This Cursed Flesh (The Malefactor's Bloody Register)
6. Blood Don't Eliogabalus (The Tower)
7. A Path Of Infamy (The Dystopia Journals)

Naturally, after the first part of the show, I was contemplating again (jokingly) whether to leave the venue or not. The foundation laid by Vulture Industries was a mighty one. But having had the experience with Amorphis when they delivered after Leprous, I wasn't too inclined on skipping the second part. It happened once, it could very well happen again. In some ways, I regret it. It's not that Leprous weren't good, or good enough, but something wasn't quite right for the first part of their set.





If I were to say I know what was wrong, I probably wouldn't be telling the truth. While Leprous started their set strongly with "Foe" and "The Valley" - and what a brilliant song that one is - it didn't sound consistent to my ears. Since I was taking pictures, I was going around the venue and each time I found a new spot, Leprous sounded totally different and not quite wrong, but not entirely right either.

You might say it's natural for the venue to sound different in different corners, however, it's not just that, the sound picture was changing. I could go back to a spot I was at before, and it sounded different. It felt like they were (more than) fine-tuning the sound during the beginning of their performance. While you could hear all the instruments and vocals all the time, their balance was in a flux. It was lacking consistency, I think. All in all however, it's not entirely surprising as the bands arrived at the venue 15 minutes before the doors opened. Hence, the set up was somewhat rushed, which didn't help the matter. Maybe Vulture Industries also didn't sound right, but not knowing their material worked in my favour.





Luckily, it got better eventually, or maybe I just got used to the sound, or found a spot I liked enough. Wish I could say when exactly, but at some point I got a feeling of satisfaction, a feeling that says "now we're talking business!" Somewhere down the set I found myself happy with the sound, the band, the music, and the performance. At that point, Leprous were on top of their game and the intricacies of the music stopped coming across as little annoyances, and started being part of the complex whole. Suddenly, the playful music started speaking to me, not just at me.

Leprous set list:
1. Foe (Coal)
2. The Valley (Coal)
3. Chronic (Coal)
4. The Cloak (Coal)
5. Restless (Bilateral)
6. Dare You (Tall Poppy Syndrome)
7. Thorn (Bilateral)
8. Forced Entry (Bilateral)
9. Coal (Coal)
10. Acquired Taste (Bilateral)
11. Echo (Coal)
12. Contaminate Me (Coal)





So yes, this time around Leprous took quite some time for me to get into. And while they did a good show, Vulture Industries were stepping on their heels (or maybe toes, given the order they played in), if only for the sheer surprise and novelty of the experience. I mean, I kind of knew what to expect from Leprous, and this much they at least fulfilled. However, I can only say that Vulture Industries have raised the bar high, and Leprous have to be able to keep ahead. This pair is a close, quite evenly matched pair.