The fantastic journey of Leprous continues. Since their debut "Tall Poppy Syndrome" the Norwegians have taken a fascinating musical development. Already with "Bilateral" they emancipated themselves from the original approach (Black Metal paired with classical prog rock of the seventies and jazzy passages), with albums like "Coal" and "The Congregation" they then joined the top of a fresh new prog metal generation. With "Pitfalls", their sixth album, the band is now also vehemently freeing themselves from this (for them never really existing) corset, the musical palette of the quintet seems to be almost unlimited from now on (see also the detailed review of the current "album of the month"!). In an interview singer Einar Solberg talks openly about his severe depression.
eclipsed: Einar, "Pitfalls" is lyrically probably the most personal Leprous album ever.
Einar Solberg: As an artist, you always have two options: Either you sing about true events, or you try your hand at fantasy. I have personally noticed that it is easier for me if I do not turn my heart into a murder pit this time. It sounds paradoxical, but it was hard and light at the same time. It was very difficult because you suddenly feel very naked, but at the same time it was simple because it is the truth. I am basically talking about the last year and a half of my life when I had to deal with fear and depression.
eclipsed: However, the narrative structure is by no means chronological.
Solberg: Of course that would have been the simplest approach. In the opener I would have told how it all started, and then at the end I would have told about the hopeful light at the end of the tunnel. But life doesn't work that way, and I never wanted this album to look like a fluffy movie script. And so the last song, "The Sky Is Red", is not only the longest, but also one of the least hopeful. And depressions are also somehow like that: there is no exact start or end point. They come and go, sometimes they're stronger, sometimes they're weaker.
eclipsed: When did you first realize the problem for yourself?
Solberg: Of course, it is not really possible to determine the exact time. However, there are events from my youth or childhood that I have trapped in me all these years, but which I do not want to talk about here. There was certainly also a certain displacement mechanism active. Of course, it is always good to always look ahead, but there has to be some degree of processing and dealing with bad experiences. I feel much calmer and calmer now than I did a year and a half ago when I fell ill.
