Leprous

Aphelion

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Genre: Progressive Metal.
Released: 27/08/2021
Via InsideOutMusic

Album Review: Leprous – Aphelion

Progressive metal outfit Leprous returns with their new album ‘Aphelion’. The Norwegian band will be hoping to continue their momentum off the back of their critically acclaimed album ‘Pitfalls’ that dropped back in 2019 and saw the band reach new heights. With the release of each single, fans have been vocal about their excitement for the band’s new album which has only helped to build up hype. Here is my review of Leprous’ ‘Aphelion’.

When it comes to intricate melodies and unique sounding passages, Leprous always manage to pull through and that is made apparent from the get-go as tracks such as ‘Running Low’, ‘Silhouette’ and ‘All the Moments’ showcase the band’s ability to make each and every song sound like its own style of music. Combining empowering vocals with a mix of technical beats and riffs, Leprous kick their album off in an emphatic way that grips the listener and makes them want to continue down the journey of the record.

‘Out of Here’ and ‘Have You Ever’ take a more mellow tone approach that adds an extra level of depth to the record. Utilising a much more unusual mix of technical styles, the tracks sound completely different from anything you’d expect from a progressive metal outfit yet they seem to capture the band’s character and charm in such a beautiful way. These aren’t songs that will have the masses banging their heads for hours on end however, I reckon those who are interested in playing rock and metal music will appreciate just how unique these tracks are.

Returning to a bit of normality with ‘The Silent Revelation’, this song just has something about it that doesn’t quite sit right with me. The constant changing of tones mixed with quite an uneventful instrumental leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe this track just isn’t for me but I have to say it is by far the weakest song on the entire record in my opinion. If I had to choose a song to skip, it would be this one.

Following that is ‘The Shadow Side’ which brings the album back on track with its interesting progression and decent all-around instrumental. The song is a good entry into the band’s discography which is followed on by the polarising track ‘On Hold’. I feel as though this song will have fans divided on whether or not the song works in the grand scheme of things. I personally think it’s a bit too dull to feature so late on in the album and it creates a lull in the flow of the record as a whole.

‘Castaway Angels’ has already won the hearts of the bands existing fanbase but does it do the job of winning over new fans? I’d say it does! The song is probably the tamest song on the entire record and it does an amazing job of showing off the bands intricate style and ability. The longer the song goes on, the more it builds up which keeps the listener engaged throughout. The final track on the album is ‘Nighttime Disguise’. This song brings back the more metal approach with distortion being used as a muse to break the calm. It’s a very different style to the majority of the album however I feel it works well for what it’s trying to achieve.

Overall, I think the album is a decent listen that could use a bit of fine-tuning. Leprous fans will more than likely adore what is on display here however I feel that this album will struggle to draw many new fans in. It’s an acquired taste, to say the least, and I think only the most diehard prog fans will really get behind this. I would definitely keep an eye on the band though as they show great potential for future releases.