Leprous

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Not to be confused with leprosy.
Leprous
Origin Notodden, Norway
Genres Progressive metal, progressive rock, avant-garde metal
Years active 2001 - present
Labels InsideOut/Century Media
Associated acts Emperor, Ihsahn
Website leprous.net
Members Einar Solberg
Tor Oddmund Suhrke
Øystein Landsverk
Martin Skrebergene
Tobias Ørnes Andersen

Leprous is a Norwegian progressive metal band formed in 2001 in Notodden, Norway. The band gained notoriety as the backing band for former Emperor frontman Ihsahn's studio albums. Ihsahn has, in turn, contributed to several Leprous albums as a vocalist (on "Thorn" from Bilateral and "Contaminate Me" from Coal) and as a co-producer for Coal.[1]

Biography

After releasing several demos with relatively unstable lineups, the band's roster solidified by the time that they recorded their debut album, Tall Poppy Syndrome in August 2008. American label Sensory Records signed the band and released the album in May 2009. Alex Henderson of Allmusic praised the band's debut for moving past the "staunchly pre-90s mentality" of contemporary progressive metal by blending the influence of Pink Floyd and King Crimson with alternative metal bands such as Tool.[2]

The album received positive reviews[3][4] while the band gained attention as the live band for Emperor's former frontman, Ihsahn, whose wife is the sister to Leprous vocalist Einar Solberg.[5] In 2010, Leprous appeared at ProgPower USA[6] and ProgPower Europe, and later supported Therion on their European tour. After the tour with Therion, the band announced that they had split with bassist Halvor Strand, who was replaced by Rein Blomquist.[7]

At the end of February 2011 the band announced that they had signed with InsideOut, with worldwide distribution through Century Media.[8] The band's debut for InsideOut Records, Bilateral, was released on 24 August 2011[9] and featured artwork by American surrealist Jeff Jordan and the Spanish designer Ritxi Ostariz.[7] The album featured a guest vocal appearance by Ihsahn and trumpets by Vegard Sandbukt.

On 20 May 2013, Leprous released Coal. Vocalist Einar Solberg described the album as "a more melancholic and darker album than the more playful Bilateral. By darker, I don't mean more aggressive, but more severe. There is still a big range in the dynamics, but no jumping between different moods within a song."[10]

Band members

Current

  • Einar Solberg - lead vocals, keyboards (2001-present)
  • Tor Oddmund Suhrke - vocals, guitar (2001-present)
  • Øystein Landsverk - guitar, backing vocals (2004-present)
  • Tobias Ørnes Andersen - drums (2007-present)
  • Martin Skrebergene - bass (2013-present)

Former

  • Stian Lonar - bass (2001-2002)
  • Esben Meyer Khristensen - guitar (2001-2003)
  • Kenneth Solberg - Guitar (2001-2003, 2003-2004)
  • Truls Vennman - drums (2001-2005)
  • Halvor Strand - bass (2002-2010)
  • Tor Stian Borhaug - drums (2005-2007)
  • Rein Blomquist - bass (2010-2013)

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Chris. "Leprous Tap Ihsahn, Wife To Produce New Disc". Gun Shy Assassin. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  2. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Leprous: Tall Poppy Syndrome". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  3. ↑ Dan Marsicano. "Leprous Tall Poppy Syndrome review". heavymetal.about.com. 
  4. ↑ The T. "Leprous Tall Poppy Syndrome musicreview". progarchives.com. 
  5. ↑ Arthur, Ty. "Einar Solberg Of Leprous Talks New Album Bilateral, Working With Ihsahn, And More". Metal Underground. Retrieved 16 June 2013. "StarOfAsh (Heidi) is my sister, so I would definitely say that we are rather close. The reason why Ihsahn choose us as his backing band was because we’re already a rehearsed band which he knew he could trust. It was a win-win situation for both him and us. He can just meet up on rehearsals to an already rehearsed band that actually manage to play his music, while we get to play with one of the greatest artists in the metal genre." 
  6. ↑ unknown. "Teaser interview with Einar Solberg at ProgPower USA". progpowerusa.com. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Leprous. "Band news". leprous.net. 
  8. ↑ Blabbermouth. "Blabbermouth news". roadrunnerrecords.net. 
  9. ↑ "Bilateral release date". insideoutmusic.com. 
  10. ↑ "Band Biography". Leprous.net. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  11. ↑ Leprous - New Album Complete, Title Announced

External links

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