I started listening to leprous when they released pitfalls. Loved pitfalls and think Apelion is their best work. Loved that they did a live album of this. I have listened to the other live album, coal, and bilateral off and on and no doubt amazing. I have listened to this album 3 or 4 times thus far. Sunken ship is amazing, so dark and powerful and I find myself enjoying the other tracks. I think this is a harsh review but understand how one could feel connected to the more metallic side if this is where you started. Like all the great prog records, MOA will need at least a dozen more listens to set in.
I can't understand why people is so upset with the song structure, that's a pretty common formula in music that allows contrast and a sense of movement and journey, I know they had done different structures, but sticking to this is not a bad point at all, is just a neutral thing. Some of their beloved songs like The cloak or Slave follow exactly the same formula and I don't see people complaining about it. And I don't get the Aphelion comparisons, this albums feels like the opposite. The softer parts here are at least 3x times more intense and vivid than the softer parts of the last two albums. The singing is restrained, avoiding the easy hooks, darker, less in the front and more integrated with the instrumentals like they used to do in Coal era, basically what people demanded, but now fans are pissed off because the melodies are less pop and radio friendly and lack the passion they hated in the recent albums. It seems that people only remember the anthemic singles of the old albums but forgot about the more muted vibe in the rest of the songs.
I actually like this album (initial reaction), but then again... don't go back and listen to, say, Bilateral 'cause there's a shocking chasm of difference! 😮 But I guess I can enjoy "both bands". 🤷♂️
It's funny that so many of us feel about the same: really fans of the the band till The Congregation (brilliant album), a bit sceptical with Malina and dissapointed with Pitfalls and Aphellion. I have to say that I feel moderatly optimistic with Melodies of Atonement. It sounds like a second Malina, and Malina is not a bad record. And I do think this one is even better than Malina in some aspects. There's 3 or 4 songs I would delete enterily, from the album (My Specter, Limbo and Self-Satisfied Lullaby are not good. I hear the sirens is a bit meh) but the rest are quite enjoyable. Subscribing because I love your background display. Not only the albums you're showcasing, but the board games. Discworld fan, as well.
I kind of agree. It sounded fantastic on the first couple of listens, but now I'm finding it a little meh. I forgave them for the direction of Pitfalls and Aphelion because I still really like those albums, but MoA sounds...formless. Einar Solberg's solo album is much better, imho. Great review mate.
Thank you! I felt similarly on first listen, I thought it was great! But with each subsequent spin I heard and felt the cracks, and ultimately I just don't want to return to listening to this one any time soon
So sad what Leprous has devolved into. I was hoping Einar's solo project would be enough to satisfy his ego and that they could start producing good music again but I was so wrong. Huge disappointment. 😵💫 Amazing board game collection and taste in music you got there! We would make good friends. 😊
As someone who likes newer Leprous stuff (although Aphelion was already kind of a letdown for me), I agree with a lot of what's said here. It's still enjoyable, just too formulaic for me unfortunately :( I do feel like it's getting towards a little bit of a heavier direction than on the album that came before it, soooo maybe we'll get heavier Leprous next time? (I'm not coping, noooo absolutely not haha)
@@RhymeSignatures I heard good things about that record, but haven't checked it out yet! Wasn't the biggest fan of The Persistence when it released, but I guess now is the time to give Kingcrow another shot!
I was so excited by the title track but the rest of the album just didn't maintain the boisterous energy of that track. It's a boring listen. Few good songs but I miss their style and heaviness from Malina and before.
I follow them since Bilateral and my fav album is APHELION 🤷🏻♀️ it has everything I love about their sound. My stakes were high for MoA but I dunno this one feels like a 7.5/10 for me. Sunken Ship and Faceless are 10++ tho 👌🏻
My experience and opinions about Leprous seem to echo very closely to yours. Leprous started to go downhill with Malina for me. My initial thought about Melodies of Atonement is that if I had never heard any other Leprous albums, I’d think Melodies of Atonement was a really good album. But in comparison to Leprous’s best albums, Melodies of Atonement doesn’t hold up.
For me Malina was their highpoint and this feels like Aphellion leftovers. As for the earlier albums, I didn’t like them at all. For me they came alive with Congregation - The Price and Third Law are simply stunning. My CD copy arrives tomorrow so I’ll give it a deeper listen then!
I like all of Leprous albums but besides the single tracks alot of the tracks just weren't up to par. And yea every song was just a slow buildup to a good song and then cut short.
It's an opinion, it's clearly not to your taste. Leprous are a truly progressive band, that means they change and they may not change in the way you like, though. That's what progressive means, all these so called progressive bands that don't change their style are therefore, not progressive. You may not like what they change into but I'm sure at some point they will produce something you do like. Just because you don't like the change doesn't mean it's still not great stuff, just not to your personal liking. Personally, I'm bored with the prog metal that now is a style and not progressive at all. I'd have any of their recent albums over the earlier ones as much as I like them also. It's not their best, no band can continue to improve indefinitely but it's still good stuff and different enough from their others to keep me interested.
For a band that has arguably one of the best singers of our generation- the songs just didn't click with me. Guess I'll go listen to that new Wintersun some more! 🤘
My skip recommendation mostly comes from my feelings that every record before this does what this does, but better It's a perfectly "fine" album, and certainly not a bad record, I'd just rather spend my 50 minutes listening to literally any other Leprous album 😬
my least favorite leprous album tbh. Sucks because i wholeheartedly love the band (my favorite band after opeth) and they are the best concert ive been to. But thats to be expected from a band who experiments with their sound a lot. Atonement, Faceless and Like a sunken ship were pretty good nevertheless.
Yeah, I forced myself to get to the end of the album. Seriously, it's so uninspiring, so dull. And I also noticed this repeating structure of the songs halfway through my first listen and it ruined it for me. I am sad to say it, but "Melodies of Atonement" feels forced, like they have nothing new to say. I will not go back to it I'm afraid... :(
For all we know this one might have been a "last in contract" record, I'll still be keeping an eye on what happens next, but my confidence in the band has been severely knocked
La-la-la…Boring as hell! Malina is still listenable, but from there on, they went waaaaay out of my taste. I don’t see myself listening to this thing for a second time. But this is my opinion, which can be different than other people preferences…
This is worst alblum they done since 2019. Leprous like opeth changed there sound. Now they think they know what fans want again. Did exactly what opeth are doing there new alblum going back metal with growls. Guess what there both are shit I heard promos for both😂 go growls go broke 😂
I started listening to leprous when they released pitfalls. Loved pitfalls and think Apelion is their best work. Loved that they did a live album of this. I have listened to the other live album, coal, and bilateral off and on and no doubt amazing. I have listened to this album 3 or 4 times thus far. Sunken ship is amazing, so dark and powerful and I find myself enjoying the other tracks. I think this is a harsh review but understand how one could feel connected to the more metallic side if this is where you started. Like all the great prog records, MOA will need at least a dozen more listens to set in.
Leprous as a band never really gripped me personally. I cherry pick a few songs of theirs that I like, but that's mostly been it for me.
I'm still a huge fan of Bilateral and will always point it out as the album to start with!
I 100% get it if people don't click with the band though :)
I can't understand why people is so upset with the song structure, that's a pretty common formula in music that allows contrast and a sense of movement and journey, I know they had done different structures, but sticking to this is not a bad point at all, is just a neutral thing. Some of their beloved songs like The cloak or Slave follow exactly the same formula and I don't see people complaining about it.
And I don't get the Aphelion comparisons, this albums feels like the opposite. The softer parts here are at least 3x times more intense and vivid than the softer parts of the last two albums. The singing is restrained, avoiding the easy hooks, darker, less in the front and more integrated with the instrumentals like they used to do in Coal era, basically what people demanded, but now fans are pissed off because the melodies are less pop and radio friendly and lack the passion they hated in the recent albums. It seems that people only remember the anthemic singles of the old albums but forgot about the more muted vibe in the rest of the songs.
Like your BG collection
I actually like this album (initial reaction), but then again... don't go back and listen to, say, Bilateral 'cause there's a shocking chasm of difference! 😮
But I guess I can enjoy "both bands". 🤷♂️
I feel like it had a pretty strong three song stretch near the middle, but I still have Thoughts™ on the album.
Yeah there's some good moments, and some songs I genuinely like, but as an overall experience I just find this extremely lacking
It's funny that so many of us feel about the same: really fans of the the band till The Congregation (brilliant album), a bit sceptical with Malina and dissapointed with Pitfalls and Aphellion.
I have to say that I feel moderatly optimistic with Melodies of Atonement. It sounds like a second Malina, and Malina is not a bad record. And I do think this one is even better than Malina in some aspects. There's 3 or 4 songs I would delete enterily, from the album (My Specter, Limbo and Self-Satisfied Lullaby are not good. I hear the sirens is a bit meh) but the rest are quite enjoyable.
Subscribing because I love your background display. Not only the albums you're showcasing, but the board games. Discworld fan, as well.
I kind of agree. It sounded fantastic on the first couple of listens, but now I'm finding it a little meh. I forgave them for the direction of Pitfalls and Aphelion because I still really like those albums, but MoA sounds...formless. Einar Solberg's solo album is much better, imho.
Great review mate.
Thank you! I felt similarly on first listen, I thought it was great! But with each subsequent spin I heard and felt the cracks, and ultimately I just don't want to return to listening to this one any time soon
So sad what Leprous has devolved into. I was hoping Einar's solo project would be enough to satisfy his ego and that they could start producing good music again but I was so wrong. Huge disappointment. 😵💫
Amazing board game collection and taste in music you got there! We would make good friends. 😊
Ayyyy thank you! I pride myself on the quality of my hobbies ;)
As someone who likes newer Leprous stuff (although Aphelion was already kind of a letdown for me), I agree with a lot of what's said here. It's still enjoyable, just too formulaic for me unfortunately :(
I do feel like it's getting towards a little bit of a heavier direction than on the album that came before it, soooo maybe we'll get heavier Leprous next time? (I'm not coping, noooo absolutely not haha)
All I can say is thank goodness for Kingcrow and Hopium, which is every bit the Leprous album I wish this was!
@@RhymeSignatures I heard good things about that record, but haven't checked it out yet! Wasn't the biggest fan of The Persistence when it released, but I guess now is the time to give Kingcrow another shot!
Not a huge Leprous fan but there was several songs I thought had solid quality, I liked it better than the last two.
Also this band is here in a couple weeks so think I will check them out for the first time.
They're a great time live! I've seen them on stage about 8 times now :)
I was so excited by the title track but the rest of the album just didn't maintain the boisterous energy of that track. It's a boring listen. Few good songs but I miss their style and heaviness from Malina and before.
I keep hoping that one day we'll get a new album more like Bilateral, but it's a pipe dream :(
I follow them since Bilateral and my fav album is APHELION 🤷🏻♀️ it has everything I love about their sound. My stakes were high for MoA but I dunno this one feels like a 7.5/10 for me. Sunken Ship and Faceless are 10++ tho 👌🏻
My experience and opinions about Leprous seem to echo very closely to yours. Leprous started to go downhill with Malina for me. My initial thought about Melodies of Atonement is that if I had never heard any other Leprous albums, I’d think Melodies of Atonement was a really good album. But in comparison to Leprous’s best albums, Melodies of Atonement doesn’t hold up.
For me Malina was their highpoint and this feels like Aphellion leftovers.
As for the earlier albums, I didn’t like them at all. For me they came alive with Congregation - The Price and Third Law are simply stunning.
My CD copy arrives tomorrow so I’ll give it a deeper listen then!
I am curious, is there anything in particular that didn't vibe for you with TPS and Bilateral?
I like all of Leprous albums but besides the single tracks alot of the tracks just weren't up to par.
And yea every song was just a slow buildup to a good song and then cut short.
It's an opinion, it's clearly not to your taste. Leprous are a truly progressive band, that means they change and they may not change in the way you like, though. That's what progressive means, all these so called progressive bands that don't change their style are therefore, not progressive.
You may not like what they change into but I'm sure at some point they will produce something you do like. Just because you don't like the change doesn't mean it's still not great stuff, just not to your personal liking.
Personally, I'm bored with the prog metal that now is a style and not progressive at all. I'd have any of their recent albums over the earlier ones as much as I like them also.
It's not their best, no band can continue to improve indefinitely but it's still good stuff and different enough from their others to keep me interested.
For a band that has arguably one of the best singers of our generation- the songs just didn't click with me.
Guess I'll go listen to that new Wintersun some more! 🤘
If you want a good new Leprous album, check out Kingcrow's new one, Hopium! It's what I wanted this album to be, worth a listen :)
@@RhymeSignatures sweet, thanks for the rec
There is too much Einar and not enough leprous in this album; moreover, 4 of the 10 tracks are significantly lower quality than the rest.
Preach!! He's got a solo album out, but still feels the need to dominate the runtime of the main band, it's incredibly frustrating
It's not their best, but it's still a great album, don't skip it.
My skip recommendation mostly comes from my feelings that every record before this does what this does, but better
It's a perfectly "fine" album, and certainly not a bad record, I'd just rather spend my 50 minutes listening to literally any other Leprous album 😬
@@RhymeSignatures Fair enough, I still think the album has some grat moments.
this one is a snoozer I agree. Maybe like a producer or something. Its just depressing to listen to.
my least favorite leprous album tbh. Sucks because i wholeheartedly love the band (my favorite band after opeth) and they are the best concert ive been to.
But thats to be expected from a band who experiments with their sound a lot.
Atonement, Faceless and Like a sunken ship were pretty good nevertheless.
Yeah, I forced myself to get to the end of the album. Seriously, it's so uninspiring, so dull.
And I also noticed this repeating structure of the songs halfway through my first listen and it ruined it for me. I am sad to say it, but "Melodies of Atonement" feels forced, like they have nothing new to say. I will not go back to it I'm afraid... :(
For all we know this one might have been a "last in contract" record, I'll still be keeping an eye on what happens next, but my confidence in the band has been severely knocked
La-la-la…Boring as hell! Malina is still listenable, but from there on, they went waaaaay out of my taste. I don’t see myself listening to this thing for a second time. But this is my opinion, which can be different than other people preferences…
This is worst alblum they done since 2019. Leprous like opeth changed there sound. Now they think they know what fans want again. Did exactly what opeth are doing there new alblum going back metal with growls.
Guess what there both are shit I heard promos for both😂 go growls go broke 😂
Intriguing! I've not heard the new Opeth yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic... we shall see soon enough though!