LIVE REVIEW: Leprous @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

It takes a special band to pull off an ‘Evening With…’ set without crossing the line into self-indulgence or boredom. It takes an even more special band to leave you wanting more. It’s a good thing LEPROUS are that kind of band. The Norwegian prog magicians bring their extended show to London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town, with their reputation as a magnificent live act on stake. By the end of proceedings, it is only enhanced.

Leprous live @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

Opener Silently Walking Alone throws us deep into the arms of drama. LEPROUS sound huge from the offset, and the infectious refrain is sung back at them by over two-thousand people, as are the ‘ahhs’ of fan-favourite The Price. Glitchy prog (Illuminate), epic balladry (I Hear The Sirens) and metallic trip-hop (Like A Sunken Ship) follow to showcase the band’s stunning versatility. Throughout the many shifts in style, one thing is for sure – LEPROUS mean business tonight.

Vocalist Einar Solberg, normally seen behind his trusty keyboards, has taken the leap to becoming an out-and-out frontman. Liberated from his instrument, his freeroaming role adds an extra element of visual engagement, as his tall stature parades around the stage with arms aloft in interpretative gestures to the music, underpinning his powerful vocals and soaring falsetto. Deputising Solberg on keys is homegrown talent and permanent touring member Harrison White (NOVENA). The Brit plays his part admirably and is clearly delighted to be playing in front of a packed local crowd.Leprous live @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

While the setlist leans heavily into 2024’s Moments Of Atonement, it also offers a detailed walk through their discography, with each of their eight albums spotlit through at least one song. In a selection full of highlights, special mentions go to the ten-minute prog lunacy Forced Entry (which Solberg introduces as being from before they learned how to write songs), and the slow-burner of Distant Bells which builds and builds for five minutes before exploding into one of their greatest climactic crescendos.

The sextet are by now a well-oiled machine on stage, throwing their bodies around in time with the music whilst showing a complete mastery of their instrument (and some, of additional instruments – no fewer than four out of the six people on stage play synths at some point through the night). The pick of the bunch is tireless drummer Baard Kolstadt – a celebrated percussionist who appears to have twice the number of limbs and thousandfold the metronomic ability of a typical human. He and White occupy the upper end of the two-tier stage setup whose steps are often pierced through by simple yet effective floor lighting. Leprous live @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

An interval and three slower numbers give us all a well-deserved breather, before cult favourite Passing off their debut album contorts band and crowd with its avant-garde rhythmics. For the climax of Faceless, LEPROUS bring out a choir of friends which includes some familiar faces like HAKEN’s Ross Jennings and IAMTHEMORNING‘s Marjana Semkina. A box-office combo of Castaway Angels, From The Flame and Slave rounds out the second act in powerful fashion.

Two and a half hours of music still leave the question of an encore an unequivocal certainty. Atonement shows its potential as a synth-djent banger, and the iconic, angular outro of The Sky Is Red brings proceedings to a close. With all this, LEPROUS leave us with the enduring memory of a glorious show. Protect this band at all costs, we don’t know how lucky we are to be witnessing them in their pomp.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here:






















































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