Leprous is a Progressive Rock/Progressive Metal band from Norway, originally known for many of its members being part of the backing band to Ihsahn (Leprous lead singer Einar is Ihsahn's brother-in-law) before becoming a part of a highly acclaimed prog band of their own. The band was formed in 2001, and have released two demos, seven studio albums, and one live album.
Musically, their brand of Prog features rather extensive use of keyboards and prominent drum polyrhythms, particularly after Baard Kolstad joined the band. Lyrically, many of their songs focus on personal themes such as loneliness, depression, and anger. Their album Bilateral is often heralded as one of the premier pieces of Progressive Metal of the 2010s. Though they have had many lineup changes, Einar Solberg and Tor Oddmund Suhrke have kept the band going for nearly two decades, despite starting the band in their teenage years.
- Einar Solberg - Vocals, Keyboards
- Tor Oddmund Suhrke - Guitars, Backing Vocals
- Baard Kolstad - Drums
- Simen Daniel Børven - Bass
- Robin Ognedal - Guitars
Past members:
- Stian Lonar - Bass (2001-2002)
- Truls Vennman - Drums (2001-2005)
- Esben Meyer Kristensen - Guitars (2001-2003)
- Halvor Strand - Bass (2002-2010)
- Kenneth Solberg - Guitars (2002-2003, 2003-2004)
- Øystein Landsverk - Guitars, Vocals (backing)(2004-2017)
- Tor Stian Borhaug - Drums (2005-2007)
- Tobias Ørnes Andersen - Drums (2007-2014)
- Rein T. Blomquist - Bass, Vocals (backing)(2011-2013)
- Martin Skrebergene - Bass (2013-2015)
- Tall Poppy Syndrome (2009)
- Bilateral (2011)
- Coal (2013)
- The Congregation (2015)
- Malina (2017)
- Pitfalls (2019)
- Aphelion (2021)
- Melodies of Atonement (2024)
All of our tropes are below...
- All Drummers Are Animals: It's a joke among fans that it's rare to see Baard actually wearing a shirt. One video of him performing a Leprous song features him breaking at least three sticks during that one song.
- Audience Participation: "Nighttime Disguise" was written by polling fans on what they wanted to hear in a Leprous song, then analyzing the results and basing the writing around them. Einar has stated that while it was a cool experiment, it was also troublesome enough for the band to not want to try it again.
- Epic Rocking: Several, their longest being "The Sky Is Red" at 11:22 and "White" at 11:31.
- Large Ham: Einar. Go to the comments section for just about any track off Pitfalls and count the number of comments containing "AAAAA" or "EEEEEE" in reference to the notes Einar sings.
- Lead Drummer: Baard Kolstad is probably the most famous member of the current iteration of the band along with Einar, and many of the tracks are very much driven by the drums rather than the guitar. He was also known well before he joined Leprous or Borknagar, as he was a well-known street performer in Oslo back in high school.
- Lighter and Softer: Played With. While musically the tracks on later albums are typically a lot lighter, the lyrics are still focused on heavy subjects like depression and fear.
- Longest Song Goes Last: "White" off Tall Poppy Syndrome, "The Last Milestone" off Malina, "The Sky is Red" off Pitfalls.
- Metal Scream: Einar on several songs, as well as Ihsahn on "Contaminate Me". Used much less frequently on later albums.
- One-Steve Limit: Briefly averted for a short time when they had two members named Tor between 2005-2007, played straight since.
- Precision F-Strike: The only song of theirs which features a major curseword is "Mediocrity Wins" off Bilateral, which uses the word "shitload" in its intro.
- Progressive Metal/Progressive Rock: They've generally eased towards Prog Rock over the years, with Pitfalls being barely even rock on some tracks.
- Self-Backing Vocalist: Einar, especially on more recent releases.
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Self-Imposed Challenge: As per Einar, "Running Low" was the result of him making himself write a song on his phone while hiking a mountain during quarantine. - Signature Style: Repetitive, often stuttering and rhythmic musical motifs with atmospheric synths that gradually build to large crescendos, as well as soaring and theatrical vocals that carry the melody.
- Soprano and Gravel: Einar can hit incredibly high falsetto notes, but also lets out some screams as well on tracks like "Passing" and "Rewind". Also done with Ihsahn's vocal part on "Contaminate Me".
- Title Track: The first three albums each have one, as does "Malina".
- Uncommon Time: Frequently. For example, "Triumphant" is entirely 9/4, "The Sky Is Red" is largely in 11/4, "From the Flame" features verses played in 13/8, among many others.
