This is the third time Leprous are featured here. And reading back to what I wrote about 2013 album Coal, (and yes, I did listen to The Congregation from 2015 as well, just never got around to write about it) it seems that I could state about the same thing here. But, to avoid that people think this is “just a repeat exercise”, that is not the way to go. Because then I would really be selling another magnificent prog metal album short.
Because make no mistake, the ingredients might be the same, but Leprous are just too damn good to write the same song twice. They still manage to deliver highly addictive melodies over intricate arrangements that have more twists and turns than your average Sicilian mountain trip. The rhythmic details in their music are still unpredictable. The album still rocks without sounding over the top heavy.
Maybe they have become even more focused on the song and thus manage to create an even bigger impact. And I do think there are some new experiments here and there. Yet I do not think that it is of much use to over analyse. My only criticism being that the beautiful booklet does not mention any contact info for the band itself…
For me another clear winner from an band that still manages to excite. A damn good prog metal album that needs to be heard by anyone serious about the genre. No looking back to the greats of the Seventies, but a band boldly moving forward. Love it!
