Softer or more poppy music fans need not read any further. This is metal. This is heavy stuff, fairly aggressive, and in your face. It’s not screamy…well, there are a few parts of light screaming but it goes away pretty quickly. Leprous, for those of you who remember, were on my 2013 best album list with their album Coal. I am generally not fond of the screaming vocals, and these are no exception, but they do play into the aggressiveness that is The Congregation. The only thing I can say positive about those few abrasive vocals is that they help show where Leprous came from and what they have transformed into. Like Opeth, I’m kind of glad they left their screaming/death days behind them. They’re so much more now. I’m sure death metal purists may disagree, and that’s fine, but I prefer understanding my vocalists say actual words instead of angry cookie monsters. But without further dudes, here’s Leprous’s single from their new album, Rewind. I can’t provide a whole stream from the album so I’ll just post this song, and maybe the other single of theirs.

This is the kind of music I love. It starts slow, in its beginning phase, and grows as the song progresses. It hits a good pace a few minutes in, and then by the five minute mark, it’s a powerhouse. I won’t do what I normally do and bog you down with technical information and prowess of this album and I’ll simply say that The Congregation is loud and powerful. This review had to be much shorter given the circumstances, and honestly this album speaks for itself.

One such person unfamiliar with Leprous, after listening to Rewind, said the track was “incredible.” Anecdotal evidence with selection bias at its best, but it slightly helps demonstrate that I think you’d be surprised by this album. I wish I could write more but my computer is having a total revolution against me so I want to get this done with and I’ll definitely have to come back to this album later this year. I don’t think this album was a concept album but I have only listened to this album two and a half times since picking it up. I apologize for the brevity but I will have to let you be the judge of this album. I give The Congregation 13 RU’s out of 15. It’s incredibly solid, loud, aggressive, and just what I needed to get through the week.

This was a heavy one, and deserves to be a top 10 album without question. It’s intense from start to finish, and apart from the angry vocals, it was a hit. It was never too heavy for too long to push people away, but this certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. I appreciate it for its structure, in that it doesn’t always have one. It may have a framework to guide the album along, but as good prog metal, it evolves into a raging beast and you’ll have to hear it to believe (or enjoy) it.