Earlier this year, Leprous presented their latest album The Congregation en masse and if you haven’t heard it yet, then this needs to be rectified pronto!
The Congregation is eleven tracks of incredible and gripping prog; this is an album that demands your attention and you really get immersed in it. A particularly good element of the piece is the fact that whilst the album does flow like one continuous song, each track has its own unique identity so there’s no chance of songs merging together with you unable to tell which is which.
The vocals are powerful and emotive, lending themselves well to the largely complex instrumentation and there’s that much going on in the music that you’ll keep picking up on new elements each time you listen to it. From the old-school proggy keys in Down to the repeating guitar riffs in Third Law and the gentler electronic moments in Red, there’s no denying that Leprous have brought in a vast amount of ideas and variance to the release, really keeping you on your toes as you listen.
As a whole, there just isn’t much to be faulted with The Congregation – this is a timeless listen you’ll keep wanting to come back to.
9/10
