Leprous is a Norwegian progressive metal band founded by singer/keyboardist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke in 2001. After several tumultuous years of changing lineups, recording demos, and touring–most notably with acclaimed black metal progenitor Ihsahn–the group released their debut album Tall Poppy Syndrome in May 2009.
For their second studio release, August 2011’s Bilateral, Leprous signed with InsideOut Music–home of acclaimed experimental rock acts such as Riverside, Liquid Tension Experiment, Caligula’s Horse, and more–where they remain today. Their eighth and latest album, Melodies of Atonement, arrived in August 2024. Recorded by expert producer David Castillo (Opeth, Katatonia, Soen) at Sweden’s Ghost Ward studio, the ten new songs showcase the band’s brilliant ability to balance the darker, heavier tone that the genre demands with melodic hooks that draw in more casual listeners.
Though Melodies of Atonement is available in a variety of physical formats including standard compact disc and vinyl LP, the most intriguing edition for audiophiles will almost certainly be the 2CD/Blu-Ray ‘artbook’ containing high-resolution 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Atmos mixes from The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord. This marks the first occasion that a Leprous album has been remixed in a multichannel or immersive format. The Dolby Atmos mix is also available to stream via Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music.
Over the past several years, Bruce Soord has established himself as one of the most creative and in-demand immersive mixers working today. In 2024 alone, he’s already been involved in multiple Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound projects–including the latest albums from Big Big Train, Pure Reason Revolution, and Tesseract, as well as his own primary musical outlet The Pineapple Thief.
The dedicated 96-khz/24-bit 5.1 surround mix has been executed in a simple yet effective manner, with Soord opting to focus the rhythm section to the front stage and then utilize the rear channels for textural elements like the keyboards or background vocals. Einar Solberg’s incredible lead vocal is spread across all three front speakers, rather than isolated solely in the center.
The Dolby Atmos mix is somewhat different in approach, as likely necessitated by the addition of the side surround and four overhead channels in a 7.1.4 setup. Solberg’s vocals have been lifted up towards the front heights and slightly forward–also hitting the side surrounds–giving the eerie impression that he’s standing directly in front of you singing. The height channels have been treated as near-equal partners in this mix, constantly supplied with a steady diet of lead guitar, harmony vocals, keyboards, and percussion.
“Silently Walking Alone” opens the album with the pulsating bass synth and Baard Kolstad’s drums thundering across the front stage, while ambient reflections of the kit hit off the rear height speakers. Background vocals appear in the side and rear surrounds, along with keyboards from directly behind during the chorus. The huge vocal chorus in "Atonement” takes over the entire space, with harmonies extending upwards from the side surrounds into the height array.
Keys swirl overhead for “My Specter,” followed by Solberg’s vocals emerging from the front wall. Heavy guitars again fill the room for the chorus, while keys take the rear. On a 9.1.4 or 9.1.6 array, the lead vocal interestingly appears predominantly in the front wide and front height speakers. “I Hear The Sirens” features more rotating keys and guitar, again foregrounding the drums and main guitars toward the front stage.
The ominous atmosphere in “Like A Sunken Ship” suddenly gives way to some of the heaviest riffing on the album at around the halfway point, with crunchy guitars spread all around the listening space. From there we move into “Limbo,” one of my favorites on the album. Throughout the first verse, falsetto harmony vocals (“How can it break me…”) appear between the side surround and height speakers. During the chorus, a doubled lead vocal (“when apathy would serve me better…”) similarly emerges from behind to fun effect.
“Faceless” is certainly an immersive highlight, with the lead guitar mostly in the side speakers and vocal choir filling up the whole room. The guitar intro to “Starlight” hovers between the rear and rear heights, quickly joined by Solberg’s vocal and the rhythm section. The track slowly builds in intensity before the power cuts in just before the two-minute mark.
Layered vocals from Solberg surround the listener for “Self-Satisfied Lullaby,” followed by percussion in both the front and side speakers. During the ambient breakdown at around a minute-and-a-half in, keyboards travel back-and-forth between the front and rear speakers. Towards the five-minute mark, electric guitars spring forth from the height array.
Melodies of Atonement then concludes with the explosive final track “Unfree My Soul.” Guitars swirl around all speakers at ear-level, while handclaps and harmony vocals hover above the listener. Keys creep in from the rear, with Solberg’s soaring vocal harmonies again spread all around the listener.
Heavier rock music like this can be difficult to translate into the immersive format, as spreading the individual instruments too far apart can reduce the visceral impact of the band. By keeping the main elements more upfront and then positioning additional ‘sound design’ components like the keyboards, backing vocals, and time-based effects elsewhere, I feel that Bruce Soord has achieved an effective balance–even though it does seem a bit more front-centric than some of his other Dolby Atmos mixes.
My main gripe with both the 5.1 and Atmos mixes is that the drums are completely confined to the front speakers, which makes them sound a bit flat and 'small' especially during the heavier passages. I suspect this may be because a pre-mixed stereo stem was provided instead of the full multitracks, but–even if that is the case–letting some of that signal spill over into the side or rear channels may have helped give the listener a better sense of envelopment.
Additionally, it’s great to see this album made available in high-resolution on Blu-Ray rather than exclusive to the streaming services–as is unfortunately the case with a few other InsideOut Atmos titles, like Haken’s Fauna and Pure Reason Revolution’s Coming Up To Consciousness. Overall, I’d definitely recommend the 2CD/Blu-Ray edition to fans of Leprous and Bruce Soord’s immersive mixes.
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