Pitfalls is going to be a divisive album. There had been statements from Leprous beforehand that this was an experimental album and that is most certainly true though if you have been listening to Leprous from the beginning they are a band that has never sat still always pushing their sound in different directions from album to album and certainly earning their label as a progressive band. Previous albums have always had a strong progressive metal influence though they started straying away from this on previous album Melina and Pitfalls is where the progressive metal influences are definitely left behind.
This album is very much driven by keyboards and vocals with the rest of the band apart from singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg and drummer Baard Kolstad taking a back seat for the majority of the record though the moments where the band all do come together are utterly glorious. Leprous have drawn on a multitude of different influences for this album with the two advance singles from the album Below and Alleviate showing a far more streamlined and dare I say it more accessible sound. I Lose Hope sees the band straying into almost pop music territory and By My Throne has a clear trip hop and electronica influence though there are some harks back to familiar Leprous territory with the fantastic At The Bottom and the lengthy prog heavy closer The Sky Is Red. There is a heavy use of string instruments such as cello and violin throughout the album which adds gravitas to the more emotional moments and the vocals of Einar Solberg whilst always the strongest aspect of the Leprous sound reach new levels of godliness on this album.
Leprous have taken a bit of a gamble with Pitfalls. A good chunk of their fanbase are gonna find the experimental nature and different influences alienating but whilst this is a very different album for Leprous it still essentially sounds like the same band to me. My only criticism would be that with so many different influences coming to the fore that Pitfalls does sound a bit inconsistent at times but when it reaches its glorious heights it’s impossible not to be impressed with Alleviate and At The Bottom standing head and shoulder alongside some of their best songs. This is progressive music and is meant to have little or no boundaries so I welcome this change of direction for Leprous. Whether this is a one off experimentation or what the band will be sticking with from here on in remains to be seen. 8/10
GosT: Valediction (Century Media) [Lee Burgess]
OK folks, it’s Darkwave synth time with GosT, so cosy up and prepare to embrace your inner goth. First off, I love this, like totally love it. It’s full on Depeche Mode meets Gary Numan retro synth with added blackened grind. It’s weird, it’s electro, it’s dark as hell. I haven’t heard metal fusion like this since the all too brief days of Ted Maul. I really love it when an outfit takes a risk and boy is this risky, and the risk pays off because the two or more genres are mixed and moulded together with such art that listening becomes effortless. This slides from Synth to BM to grind and all the way back again in mind-bending style. At some points you could be mistaken for thinking you’re listening to Tangerine Dream but then, without warning we’re in the land of the nastiest of nasty Napalm Death-infused blasting metal. Add to this a touch of John Carpenter style anthemic electro creepiness and you’ll have some idea of what the bloody Nora you’re in for.
I have so much respect for music like this. The vocals are haunting, the electronic melodic hooks are just so on point and the digital beats mixed with metal blasts are both punchy and retro. To my mind there is nothing not to like here. Just as I think things are getting a bit corny, along comes a little something to bring a little welcome confusion. I really hope the festival circuit takes note here because we really need something different in a climate where genre and labels sell records, because, well good fucking luck with this one boys and girls. This kicks serious non-conformist butt. 9/10
Vision Divine: When All The Heroes Are Dead (Scarlet Records) [Rich Oliver]
When All The Heroes Are Dead is the new album from Italian progressive power metallers Vision Divine. They are one of a countless number of similarly styled bands from Europe and were originally formed as a side project for Labÿrinth guitarist Olaf Thörsen. With seven previous albums under their belt and ex-members including Fabio Lione (of Rhapsody fame) album number eight When All The Heroes Are Dead is their first release since 2012 and the first to feature new singer Ivan Giannini who joined the band back in 2018. What we have here is a dramatic and melodic style of power metal with progressive tendencies and a generally darker feel than much of the power metal out there with similarities to bands such as Kamelot, Serenity, DGM and Secret Sphere amongst others.
The songs are epic and bombastic but restrained enough not to veer over the top with pleasant and catchy melodic lines, symphonic leanings and suitably impressive vocals from Ivan Giannini. The playing throughout is top notch with impressive performances from all musicians involved and the songwriting is nicely varied from faster power metal numbers such as The King Of The Sky and Now That All The Heroes Are Dead to more progressively leaning songs such as 3 Men Walk On The Moon and On The Ides Of March. When All The Heroes Are Dead is a very solid enjoyable album but on the whole it is not wholly memorable and nothing much stands out to differentiate from similar bands in the genre. If you love your progressive power metal then this is well worth a listen but it’s not an essential album. 7/10
Waingro: III (Sludgelord Records) [Lee Burgess]
Waingro are a no frills, straight forward bulldozer when it comes to their brand of Sludge. It starts, then, well it carries on. You’d be forgiven for saying that if you’ve heard one song, you’ve heard them all when it comes to this collection of heavy, gritty, sludgy um, sludge. However, in this case, it’s quite fun. It’s a quick, violent and hard-hitting affair which slams into gear and doesn’t fuck about. If post-metal means 15-minute epic journeys, sludge is the complete opposite. This is metal, but it teeters on the edge of becoming Hardcore in its groovy delivery of surprisingly catchy tunes which rattle along with a gravelly vocal and pounding music in a neat little package that needs to extras or anything to make it sound clever or technical.
In a nutshell, this is a ten-ton truck of a record, giving us a pummelling as soon as we press play. There is much to be said for shiny production and Disturbed-style catchy melody, but this stretches far beyond that in bringing us a more simplistic, yet deepened sound, full of heavy and pacey music that races by quicker than perhaps we would like. This is good old-fashioned extreme music that has nothing in the way of bells and whistles (or cow bell). It never relies on tricks or gimmicks, because it needs none of these things. It does exactly what it needs to and then shuts the hell up. Nothing really original or inventive here, but nothing bad either. A good, if slightly predictable album. 7/10
Leprous have taken a bit of a gamble with Pitfalls. A good chunk of their fanbase are gonna find the experimental nature and different influences alienating but whilst this is a very different album for Leprous it still essentially sounds like the same band to me. My only criticism would be that with so many different influences coming to the fore that Pitfalls does sound a bit inconsistent at times but when it reaches its glorious heights it’s impossible not to be impressed with Alleviate and At The Bottom standing head and shoulder alongside some of their best songs. This is progressive music and is meant to have little or no boundaries so I welcome this change of direction for Leprous. Whether this is a one off experimentation or what the band will be sticking with from here on in remains to be seen. 8/10
GosT: Valediction (Century Media) [Lee Burgess]
OK folks, it’s Darkwave synth time with GosT, so cosy up and prepare to embrace your inner goth. First off, I love this, like totally love it. It’s full on Depeche Mode meets Gary Numan retro synth with added blackened grind. It’s weird, it’s electro, it’s dark as hell. I haven’t heard metal fusion like this since the all too brief days of Ted Maul. I really love it when an outfit takes a risk and boy is this risky, and the risk pays off because the two or more genres are mixed and moulded together with such art that listening becomes effortless. This slides from Synth to BM to grind and all the way back again in mind-bending style. At some points you could be mistaken for thinking you’re listening to Tangerine Dream but then, without warning we’re in the land of the nastiest of nasty Napalm Death-infused blasting metal. Add to this a touch of John Carpenter style anthemic electro creepiness and you’ll have some idea of what the bloody Nora you’re in for.
I have so much respect for music like this. The vocals are haunting, the electronic melodic hooks are just so on point and the digital beats mixed with metal blasts are both punchy and retro. To my mind there is nothing not to like here. Just as I think things are getting a bit corny, along comes a little something to bring a little welcome confusion. I really hope the festival circuit takes note here because we really need something different in a climate where genre and labels sell records, because, well good fucking luck with this one boys and girls. This kicks serious non-conformist butt. 9/10
Vision Divine: When All The Heroes Are Dead (Scarlet Records) [Rich Oliver]
When All The Heroes Are Dead is the new album from Italian progressive power metallers Vision Divine. They are one of a countless number of similarly styled bands from Europe and were originally formed as a side project for Labÿrinth guitarist Olaf Thörsen. With seven previous albums under their belt and ex-members including Fabio Lione (of Rhapsody fame) album number eight When All The Heroes Are Dead is their first release since 2012 and the first to feature new singer Ivan Giannini who joined the band back in 2018. What we have here is a dramatic and melodic style of power metal with progressive tendencies and a generally darker feel than much of the power metal out there with similarities to bands such as Kamelot, Serenity, DGM and Secret Sphere amongst others.
The songs are epic and bombastic but restrained enough not to veer over the top with pleasant and catchy melodic lines, symphonic leanings and suitably impressive vocals from Ivan Giannini. The playing throughout is top notch with impressive performances from all musicians involved and the songwriting is nicely varied from faster power metal numbers such as The King Of The Sky and Now That All The Heroes Are Dead to more progressively leaning songs such as 3 Men Walk On The Moon and On The Ides Of March. When All The Heroes Are Dead is a very solid enjoyable album but on the whole it is not wholly memorable and nothing much stands out to differentiate from similar bands in the genre. If you love your progressive power metal then this is well worth a listen but it’s not an essential album. 7/10
Waingro: III (Sludgelord Records) [Lee Burgess]
Waingro are a no frills, straight forward bulldozer when it comes to their brand of Sludge. It starts, then, well it carries on. You’d be forgiven for saying that if you’ve heard one song, you’ve heard them all when it comes to this collection of heavy, gritty, sludgy um, sludge. However, in this case, it’s quite fun. It’s a quick, violent and hard-hitting affair which slams into gear and doesn’t fuck about. If post-metal means 15-minute epic journeys, sludge is the complete opposite. This is metal, but it teeters on the edge of becoming Hardcore in its groovy delivery of surprisingly catchy tunes which rattle along with a gravelly vocal and pounding music in a neat little package that needs to extras or anything to make it sound clever or technical.
In a nutshell, this is a ten-ton truck of a record, giving us a pummelling as soon as we press play. There is much to be said for shiny production and Disturbed-style catchy melody, but this stretches far beyond that in bringing us a more simplistic, yet deepened sound, full of heavy and pacey music that races by quicker than perhaps we would like. This is good old-fashioned extreme music that has nothing in the way of bells and whistles (or cow bell). It never relies on tricks or gimmicks, because it needs none of these things. It does exactly what it needs to and then shuts the hell up. Nothing really original or inventive here, but nothing bad either. A good, if slightly predictable album. 7/10
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