Leprous – An Evening Of Atonement: Album Review

By Mike Ainscoe on 7th November 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Leprous capture their in concert magic with an expansive live album.

Release Date: 24th October 2025

Label: Inside Out Music

Format: digital / CD-DVD / LP

A LIVE FEAST

Leprous live has always been a daunting proposition. If that nudges towards the slightly apprehensive, it’s actually meant as a compliment. Billed as An Evening Of Atonement, the reference is to the most recent album (Melodies Of Atonement) and the sort of uplifting engagement and catharsis that live Leprous brings.

Since their Live At Rockerfeller Music Hall album of 2016, itself a landmark set, four albums have come and gone so the time is ripe for a new live outing to be set in stone. As is their opportunity to up the game, put on a live spectacle and deliver a set drawn from their entire back catalogue across two sets.

Recorded at Poppodium 013 in Tilburg in February 2025 the challenge is to create a setlist that draws from their whole catalogue – no ignoring the early or formative years as is often the case. And when you have tracks as iconic as The Price and Foe (which is always a personal ‘go to’ track), they really need to be in the set. The result is a full blown set of epic and intense proportions. The presence of live keyboard player Harrison White allows Einar Solberg the freedom the chance to enhance his already commanding presence and the band plays a blinder.

DYNAMIC CONTRASTS

All bases are covered, with the catalogue well represented. A band who still value their early songwriting and its value in the musical narrative where they’ve moved from Progressive Metal to Progressive. And Metal. Alleviate and Like A Burning Ship fine examples of the dynamic contrast that’s the Leprous signature, where the build up explodes into massive life.

The combination of pulsing synths and the sheer power of Baaard Kolstad behind the drum kit along with the line of two guitars and bass, switching musical bases and commanding attention propels the set at a furious pace. Distant Bells and Nighttime Disguise offer moments to take a breath and although a minor gripe at the absence of Mirage – however, there’s always the overwhelming Youtube clip from Vulcan Oslo in 2017 to go to the sheer muscle and authority of that number.

Bottom line – we have what’s essentially a ‘best of’ Leprous and live versions to boot. Bringing down the curtain on the next stage of Leprous and setting up an anticipation of what might come next. Setting the scene, the band speak of “another evolution for Leprous – shedding the orchestral layers that had defined the past few albums, and focusing instead on what we as five musicians sound like together.” Exciting times ahead.

Here’s the drama of the concert finale.