Leprous

Leprous is a Norwegian progressive metal band formed in 2001 in Notodden, Norway. The band gained prominence as the backing band for former Emperor frontman Ihsahn's live shows. Ihsahn has, in turn, contributed to several Leprous albums as a vocalist (on "Thorn" from Bilateral and "Contaminate Me" from Coal) and as a co-producer for Coal.

Biography

After releasing several demos with relatively unstable lineups, the band's roster solidified by the time that they recorded their debut album, Tall Poppy Syndrome in August 2008. American label Sensory Records signed the band and released the album in May 2009. 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.

The album received positive reviews while the band gained attention as the live band for Emperor's former frontman, Ihsahn, whose wife is the sister to Leprous vocalist/keyboardist Einar Solberg. In 2010, Leprous appeared at ProgPower USA and ProgPower Europe, and later supported Therion on their European tour. After that tour, the band announced that they had split with bassist Halvor Strand, who was replaced by Rein Blomquist.