01. The Price 02. Third Law 03. Rewind 04. The Flood 05. Triumphant 06. Within My Fence 07. Red 08. Slave 09. Moon 10. Down 11. Lower 12. Pixel [Mediabook / LP bonus]
It would be unlike Leprous to exercise restraint to the point of diminishment and place limitations on fresh efforts. Nonetheless, The Congregation is a compromise.
Oh boy... If these guys pull this one off, they may just officially become my all-time favourite band. I mean, that would make 4 absolute top-level albums in a row, and I don't think there's another band out there which has really done that for me.
It's needless to say I'm rather hyped/nervous for this album, but I'm gonna still wait for it with a level head.
----
Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
Oh boy... If these guys pull this one off, they may just officially become my all-time favourite band. I mean, that would make 4 absolute top-level albums in a row, and I don't think there's another band out there which has really done that for me.
It's needless to say I'm rather hyped/nervous for this album, but I'm gonna still wait for it with a level head.
Damn, the second track they have revealed is a beast. Seems like it is going to be their most challanging album yet, and definitely something which is even more atypical than their previous records. Cant wait for this.
Damn, the second track they have revealed is a beast. Seems like it is going to be their most challanging album yet, and definitely something which is even more atypical than their previous records.
Yeah, "Rewind" is quite trippy, though I could immediately hear they're iterating just a couple of things through the entire track. Drumming is brilliant!
Yeah, "Rewind" is quite trippy, though I could immediately hear they're iterating just a couple of things through the entire track. Drumming is brilliant!
It's like two completely decoupled guitar lines are being played, and yet they fit perfectly to make a damn good song.
And yes, drummer seems to be dexterous enough, but again, the previous drummer also was prefect for the band.
(7.5/8.5/8.5: 8.1) I really love the guitar work and synths on this album a lot. Unfortunately, I really dislike the vocals. It is not so much his voice or the lack of harsh passages, rather his questionable choice of melodies throughout the album. There are times he proves his worth as with "Red" and chorus of "The Price," but more often than not he detracts from my overall experience.
Quote: I really love the guitar work and synths on this album a lot. Unfortunately, I really dislike the vocals. It is not so much his voice or the lack of harsh passages, rather his questionable choice of melodies throughout the album. There are times he proves his worth as with "Red" and chorus of "The Price," but more often than not he detracts from my overall experience.
Questionable choice of melodies?! Einar writes some of the most majestic vocal melodies I've ever heard, with impeccable consistency at that. Must just be a matter of melodic taste. Don't forget he wrote the rest of the music as well on this album
(7.5/8.5/8.5: 8.1) There are times he proves his worth as with "Red" and chorus of "The Price," but more often than not he detracts from my overall experience.
It's funny you mention that, because 'Red' was the only song I thought to be subpar here. And tbh, I really don't get the melodies criticism; they feel right at home for me.
----
Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
This album feels like an evolution of Coal. It feels like they've taken into account most of the major criticisms over Coal; the vocalisation moments are still there and plentiful, but none of them last too long without changing up in some way or another, so they aren't nearly as meandering. The overall energy is far higher than Coal's was, but they manage to still keep plenty of the emotion/atmosphere in tact within the high energy. Sometimes these melodies and textures even feel post-rock/shoegaze-esque at times. Synths also feel a bit more present in this one, as an added texture.
This helps give The Congregation its own flavour, and greatly distinguishes it from Coal, despite the two perhaps being the most "close" sounding albums in Leprous' discography.
Baard makes an absolute splash of a debut on this album. The drumming is absolutely jaw-dropping at times, yet not once does anyone in the band break into a solo to show off (which I'm glad they've kept with). It's a drummer's wet dream, but it all naturally falls in with the songwriting, which makes it even better in my books.
There are some definite "absolute classic" songs on this one for me, namely 'Rewind', 'The Flood', 'Slave' and 'Lower'.
As for the other side of the scale, there is only one song I can really consider sub-par, and that's 'Red', and even then I'm hesitant to even call it that, since it's definitely a wholly original track and the only thing that really bugs me about it is that it feels like it just lasts too long. If it was a minute or two shorter, I'd have little noteworthy issue with this album whatsoever.
So yeah, I think it's pretty obvious what I think of this album right now. This is yet another gem that Leprous has produced. Once again this band has created an entirely unique sound and shown the progressive metal scene that you CAN be original in songwriting and performance. I can't say how it holds up in comparison to their previous works (because Bilateral and Coal are two of my favourite albums of all time, and I'd need a LOT more time spent with this before I could possibly justify comparing it to them) but right now, I'm really liking what I'm hearing.
(Side note: I feel sorry for Einar's vocal chords when it comes to performing some of these tracks live)
(Side note #2: 'Triumphant' is fucking hilarious. Leprous goes full arena-rock and it's as glorious as you'd think)
----
Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
Questionable choice of melodies?! Einar writes some of the most majestic vocal melodies I've ever heard, with impeccable consistency at that. Must just be a matter of melodic taste. Don't forget he wrote the rest of the music as well on this album
May be a matter of taste. Like I said, I don't think he needs to be replaced or anything. I just don't find his singing to be very interesting. In fact, I find it boring and far from majestic. We were bound to disagree on something eventually
May be a matter of taste. Like I said, I don't think he needs to be replaced or anything. I just don't find his singing to be very interesting. In fact, I find it boring and far from majestic. We were bound to disagree on something eventually
Everything's a matter of taste when it comes to melody I think. I definitely find it odd that you consider his vocal style to be boring. He's among some of the most theatrical vocalists of all time
May be a matter of taste. Like I said, I don't think he needs to be replaced or anything. I just don't find his singing to be very interesting. In fact, I find it boring and far from majestic. We were bound to disagree on something eventually
Everything's a matter of taste when it comes to melody I think. I definitely find it odd that you consider his vocal style to be boring. He's among some of the most theatrical vocalists of all time
Don't worry. He has a really poor understanding of music, so don't take it personally. This is another gem from Leprous.
Don't worry. He has a really poor understanding of music, so don't take it personally. This is another gem from Leprous.
*quietly steps away from impending disaster*
*watches from a distance*
So you're willing to just let him say that there is a "questionable choice of melodies" with very little evidence? Be my guest. It's not a matter of opinion- he literally has to prove that some melodies in the album are "questionable" to begin with, and that's a pretty tall order
So you're willing to just let him say that there is a "questionable choice of melodies" with very little evidence? Be my guest. It's not a matter of opinion- he literally has to prove that some melodies in the album are "questionable" to begin with, and that's a pretty tall order
He could rewrite the melodies and have us listen to it...
Seriously though, I tend to write similar posts which may sound objective, but are entirely subjective. As much as I'd like to believe that my taste in melody is the "right" one, that's obviously implausible
He could rewrite the melodies and have us listen to it...
Seriously though, I tend to write similar posts which may sound objective, but are entirely subjective. As much as I'd like to believe that my taste in melody is the "right" one, that's obviously implausible
I don't disagree with you. I just don't think we should give up so easily here. I'd be interested to hear more about what he thinks are actually wrong with the melodies, because to my ears as well, they are very consistent. When Einar is said to detract "more often than not", you gotta provide evidence.
I don't disagree with you. I just don't think we should give up so easily here. I'd be interested to hear more about what he thinks are actually wrong with the melodies, because to my ears as well, they are very consistent. When Einar is said to detract "more often than not", you gotta provide evidence.
Ahh, I see what you mean now. Yeah, I suppose it would be interesting which melodies he disliked. In any case, I'm off to listen to this mind-blowing record for the 5th time today
Apparently I keep losing my invitation to the sewing circle. Clumsy me.
Haha, as someone who really likes Leprous' vocals and who will probably really enjoy this album, I'm still confused by why you're not allowed to simply not enjoy the vocal melodies and singing style. It's not even as if you made any bizarre band comparisons this time
Here is the pattern on each listen for every single friggin Leprous album so far:
hate (wtf iz dis shit) > hate (nope dis iz no go) > dislike (some songs are good but why not all?) > meh (it's not THAT bad, but come on, previous album was sooooo good) > intrigue (how did I listen to this album the first time.. it's not that bad) > like (it's almost as good as the rest of em, good job boys) > HAIL (OH SHITTINGZ SHENANIGANZ I CAN'T STOP LISTENING SOMEONE HIT THE STOP BUTTON I WANT TO HEAR OTHER ALBUMS TOO)
That's why I knew what to expect on he first listen, and looped the whole album couple times immediately