Leprous
is a young, five piece band from Notodden, Norway, playing experimental progressive metal.

Leprous was founded in 2001, has gone trough a few changes in the line-up, and now consists of Einar Solberg (synth and lead vocals), Tor Oddmund Suhrke (guitar and vocals), Halvor Strand (bass), Øystein Landsverk (guitar) and Tobias Ørnes Andersen (drums).

Prior to Tall Poppy Syndrome (2008) the band has recorded two demos, Silent Waters (2004) and Aeolia (2006). The recordings have received very good feedback from Norwegian metal press and local fans. The band received a 20.000 NOK scholarship from the organization “Lions” to fund their latest recording. Tor Oddmund Suhrke and Einar Solberg received Notodden Kommunes Culture award in 2005 for their work with Motstøyfestivalen. In addition to this, Einar Solberg was hired as synthist and co-vocalist in the legendary black metal band, Emperor, for their reunion shows in 2006-07.

After releasing several demos with relatively unstable lineups, the band’s roster solidified by the time they recorded their debut album, Tall Poppy Syndrome in August 2008. Alex Henderson of Allmusic praised the band’s debut for moving past the “staunchly pre-90s mentality” of contemporary progressive metal by blending the influence of Pink Floyd and King Crimson with alternative metal bands such as Tool.

In 2010, Leprous appeared at ProgPower USA and ProgPower Europe, and later supported Therion on their European tour.

At the end of February 2011 the band announced that they had signed with Inside Out. The band’s debut for Inside Out Records, Bilateral, was released on 22 August 2011 in Europe and a day later in North America. The album featured artwork by American surrealist Jeff Jordan and the Spanish designer Ritxi Ostariz.

On 20 May 2013, Leprous released Coal. Vocalist Einar Solberg described the album as “a more melancholic and darker album than the more playful Bilateral. By darker, I don’t mean more aggressive, but more severe. There is still a big range in the dynamics, but no jumping between different moods within a song.”

On 5 May 2014, the band announced the departure of drummer Tobias Ørnes Andersen. He was replaced by Baard Kolstad, who played with Leprous throughout their 2013 Coal tour. The statement also revealed that the band are currently working on material for their next album.

On 25 May 2015, Leprous released their album The Congregation, via Inside Out Music. After that, the album Malina was released on August 25th, 2017.