It’s been three years since veteran Norwegian prog-pushers Leprous delivered their last album, Aphelion, but they’re making it up to fans by announcing that a new LP called Melodies of Atonement is on the way. The band’s eighth full-length release is due out later this summer, but they’ve debuted de facto title cut “Atonement” today (May 31st).
A press release explains that the band began plotting out Melodies of Atonement near the end of the tour cycle for Aphelion. The record apparently continues the group’s journey towards a more straightforward sound, further dialing back the orchestral drive of some of their earliest work. With “Atonement,” they lithely chunk it up, though frontman Einar Solberg still pumps plenty of power into his vocal work.
“’Atonement’ is a different kind of single than what we’ve done before,” the singer said in a statement. “It’s heavy, it’s catchy and it’s straight-to-the-point. It’s a song we believe will unify old and new fans at the same time as it has a fresh and new sound… This is the sound of Leprous in 2024.”
“It’s a change for Leprous for sure,” he continued, adding of the album on the whole, “The goal was to be more straight-to-the-point and more pure, in a way, to emphasize our qualities more, by adding less.”
Melodies of Atonement was tracked at Stockholm, Sweden’s Ghost Ward Studios with David Castillo (Opeth, Whitechapel, Katatonia.) The record is set to drop August 30 via InsideOutMusic, and Leprous will be supporting the album with a North American tour through September and October.
Melodies of Atonement tracklist:
Silently Walking Alone
Atonement
My Specter
I Hear the Sirens
Like A Sunken Ship
Limbo
Faceless
Starlight
Self-Satisfied Lullaby
Unfree My Soul
Leprous 2024 tour dates:
9/4 Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl
9/5 Atlanta, GA – Progpower USA
9/6 Charlotte, NC – The Underground
9/7 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live!
9/8 McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre
9/10 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
9/11 Toronto, ON – The Opera House
9/12 Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre
9/13 New York, NY – Webster Hall
9/14 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
9/15 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
9/17 Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot Ballroom
9/18 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
9/19 Chicago, IL – Metro
9/20 Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
9/21 Minneapolis, MN – The Lyric at Skyway Theatre
9/23 Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre
9/24 Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell
9/26 San Francisco, CA – August Hall
9/27 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
9/28 Mesa, AZ – The Nile Theatre Underground
9/30 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10/1 Austin, TX – Mohawk
10/2 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
10/4 Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
10/5 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution