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Review: Leprous/Monuments/Kalandra, SWX
In common with many of the bands taking part in the latest Viking (musical) invasion of the UK, Norway’s Kalandra look as though they’re on loan from 1973. For their very first show in Bristol, they find themselves at the bottom of a three-band bill and obliged to commence their 30 minute set at 6:30pm because of an early curfew. Hardly ideal conditions then. But plenty of people have queued round the block amid the Saturday afternoon shoppers to see the quartet and they’re quickly made to feel very welcome indeed.
They work in the same atmospheric Nordic folk territory as Wardruna, Katrine Stenbekk’s beautiful high clear vocals being inevitably reminiscent of Myrkur (absent the black metal), with just a smidgen of Kate Bush in her delivery. And it’s not often that we get to hear a horn solo and Jimmy Page-style bowed electric guitar in Bristol on a Saturday night.
is needed now More than ever
They waste no time in showcasing their musical diversity, hopping from the brooding Borders to the poppy Slow Motion, which highlights the advantages of their unusual configuration of vocals, two guitars and drums. After a few songs, Katrine announces that her voice needs a rest and she’s going to perform the next one, Virkelighetens Etterklang, in Norwegian. Naturally, we’re all invited to sing along.
It’s a hugely impressive performance, which they’d be wise to capitalise on with a full headlining tour at the earliest opportunity.
And now, as a great man once said, for something completely different: the boisterous prog/tech-metal of Monuments, with a fury of crunchy riffs and blast beats. They’re not breaking any new ground here, but this stuff certainly makes a lot more sense in the presence of a riotous throng than it does on CD.
Recently recruited vocalist Andy Cizek has an impressive range and works his way through the playbook to drive the receptive crowd into a frenzy, inciting moshpits, circle pits and a wall of death, as well as crowdsurfing his way through the audience.
As prog astronomers won’t need reminding, the aphelion is the point in a planet’s orbit when it is furthest from its sun. So it’s rather appropriate that Norway’s Leprous should name their latest album Aphelion. If their sun is prog-metal, they’ve moved as far from it as possible without spinning out of the solar system altogether, shedding much of the metal along the way.
Not to disparage the accomplished, intricate musicianship – especially of guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke, drummer Baard Kolstad and cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne – but it’s the extraordinary vocals of Einar Solberg that really set Leprous apart. Singing keyboard players are rare enough in this genre (and tonight Einar has three sets of keyboards to bound between), but his dramatic, semi-operatic high-pitched style is rich, melodic and totally controlled.
“We haven’t headlined a show in Bristol for years and years,” he acknowledges. “And there’s a reason for that. Promoters always tell us we have to play the Fleece. If we want to play another venue, we have to sell more tickets.” After a few disparaging remarks about the legendary venue’s pillars, he surveys tonight’s packed crowd. “Now look at this. It means we never have to play the Fleece ever again.”
The arty, restrained Have You Ever? from Aphelion is an interesting choice of opener, but Leprous then go straight into the distinctive staccato riffage of old crowd favourite The Price. It’s perhaps a little early in the set to perform that one, but Einar promised that they’re not going to flog the new album to death tonight. They certainly play a huge chunk of it, highlights including The Silent Revelation and the lovely On Hold. But those who want to hear their earlier stuff aren’t disappointed, especially by an epic, soaring rendition of The Flood from The Congregation album.
What distinguishes the more recent compositions is a sense of space. There’s no fat or unnecessary clutter in the likes of Castaway Angels, which still achieves a crescendo of high drama despite its restraint.
There’s no rust here, either. The tour has already wended its way through part of Europe and Leprous are impressively tight and well-drilled, with an impressive sound mix, their music complemented by a powerful and effective if unflashy lighting rig that eventually bathes the stage in red light for encore The Sky Is Red. Now more or less a pure progressive rock band in the truest sense of the term, there’s literally no one else quite like them.
All pix by Mike Evans
Read more: Metal & Prog Picks: February 2023
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