{"id":230309,"date":"2024-08-26T18:28:43","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T18:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/26\/album-review-leprous-melodies-of-atonement\/"},"modified":"2024-08-26T18:28:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T18:28:43","slug":"album-review-leprous-melodies-of-atonement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/26\/album-review-leprous-melodies-of-atonement\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: LEPROUS Melodies of Atonement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Norway\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/tag\/leprous\">Leprous<\/a> <\/strong>have conjured up several exceptionally morose yet symphonic and impassioned progressive metal odysseys over the past few years (including 2019\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/reviews\/leprous-pitfalls\">Pitfalls<\/a><\/em> and 2021\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/reviews\/leprous-aphelion\">Aphelion<\/a><\/em>). Led by frontman <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/tag\/einar-solberg\">Einar Solberg<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s operatic singing and gloomy sentiments, the quintet never fails to deliver lusciously evocative and temperamental compositions fueled by intoxicating introspections.<\/p>\n<p>Their latest sequence, <em>Memories of Atonement<\/em>, certainly earns its place within their esteemed catalog, but compared to its predecessors, it\u2019s at least <em>a bit<\/em> less memorable and impactful. Even so, it\u2019s far from a disappointment since it still packs the hefty emotional and musical punches that\u2019ve been captivating fans since <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/tag\/leprous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leprous<\/a><\/strong> first broke onto the scene with 2009\u2019s <em>Tall Poppy Syndrome<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/leprous.net\/leprous-announce-new-studio-album-melodies-of-atonement\/\">According to <strong>Solberg<\/strong><\/a>, the album began gestating in March 2023, and a major goal was \u201cto remove all the orchestral elements and focus everything more around the actual members of the band.\u201d He adds:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>It\u2019s a change of path in Leprous for sure. The goal was to be more straight to the point and more pure, in a way, to emphasise our qualities more by adding less. . . . It\u2019s kind of heavier [than <em>Aphelion<\/em>] in its own way, and it\u2019s very modern sounding and not retro at all. It has a lot of electronic elements. It\u2019s heavy, it\u2019s catchy, and there are a lot of songs that could potentially work as singles. I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s very prog . . . maybe a little here and there, but in general, not a lot of odd time signatures on this one. It\u2019s more heavy than proggy, but not in that standard heavy way.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe title=\"LEPROUS - Silently Walking Alone (OFFICIAL VIDEO)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wsLXRWIN640?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>To his point, <em>Memories of Atonement<\/em> is consistently direct and abrasive, but with the tenderness and succulence <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/tag\/leprous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leprous<\/a><\/strong> are known for. \u201cSilently Walking Alone\u201d immediately establishes the brooding tone of the record with its electronic foundation, subtle strings, piercing instrumentation, thunderous bellows, and defiant declarations (\u201cRunning up the slope to fight \/ With flashbacks from the night \/ To where I was born in guilt \/ Where every brick was built\u201d). It\u2019s not quite the melodic powerhouse that prior openers such as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QKmaG5f9Zsg\">Running Low<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4nPwBSaJmgI\">Below<\/a>\u201d were, but it\u2019s a damn strong way to start all the same.<\/p>\n<p>That blunt aggression carries over to most of the subsequent pieces. In classic fashion, <strong>Solberg<\/strong>\u2019s multilayered falsetto outcries help pacify the otherwise confrontational and hectic \u201cAtonement,\u201d whereas \u201cLimbo\u201d is toweringly gruff but also faintly playful, danceable, and funky. Admittedly, \u201cFaceless\u201d and closer \u201cStarlight\u201d are blander by comparison, but their sheer ferocity keeps them engaging and commendable.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, the band scatter a lot of softer passages into their hostile hodgepodges, and it\u2019s always to great effect. In particular, \u201cMy Specter\u201d unfolds like a bittersweet jigsaw puzzle comprised of cathartic admissions (\u201cI don\u2019t have to atone \/ For the sins you have grown \/ Tonight, solution is in sight\u201d) alongside an eerily plaintive and quiet arrangement. Afterward, \u201cLike a Sunken Ship\u201d juxtaposes that same sort of wonderfully cold meditative tranquility with djent-like outbursts and denseness, and as its name suggests, the penultimate \u201cSelf-Satisfied Lullaby\u201d is mostly a poignant and soothing dip into heavenly harmonies and haunting ambience. It\u2019s a brilliantly sophisticated composition that holds you in its grip until the very end.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe title=\"LEPROUS - Like A Sunken Ship (OFFICIAL VIDEO)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fAFPje41KtY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>That <em>Memories of Atonement<\/em> falls marginally short of \u2013 at the very least \u2013 <em>Pitfalls<\/em> and <em>Aphelion<\/em> is more of a testament to their greatness than it is a knock against <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/tag\/leprous\">Leprous<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 latest LP. On its own, <em>Memories of Atonement<\/em> is quite moving and dynamic, and it houses just about everything that\u2019s made the group virtually unrivalled at what they do. It\u2019s just that all those elements yielded slightly stronger results in the past. Nevertheless, <em>Memories of Atonement<\/em> will undoubtedly satisfy <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/tag\/leprous\">Leprous<\/a><\/strong> fans and be regarded as another superb collection that further solidifies the quintet\u2019s stylistic hegemony.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/reviews\/album-review-leprous-melodies-of-atonement\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Norway\u2019s Leprous have conjured up several exceptionally morose yet symphonic and impassioned progressive metal odysseys over the past few years (including 2019\u2019s Pitfalls and 2021\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}