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Drugi solowy album lidera Leprous jest być może najbardziej majestatyczną rzeczą, jaką kiedykolwiek nagrał. Czy ambicje norweskiego piosenkarza idą w parze z dobrym songwritingiem?

Jeszcze w okolicach premiery „Pitfalls” macierzystego zespołu Einara Solberga sam zainteresowany opowiadał – nie bez racji – że nie do końca czuje się częścią współczesnej sceny progresywnej, która zjada swój ogon. Na przestrzeni tych paru lat muzyk chyba zrewidował swój pogląd nie tylko nieco bardziej technicznymi materiałami Leprous, ale przede wszystkim tym, co słyszymy na „Vox Occulta”. O ile debiut artysty, „16”, biegł w kierunku alternatywnego art rocka, o tyle tegoroczne dzieło wokalisty jest zdecydowanie bardziej bombastyczne, pompatyczne i… progresywne. – Chcę być tą kinematograficzną postacią w progu. Na nowej płycie totalnie do tego dążyłem – podkreśla twórca w zapowiedzi prasowej. Zawartość krążka dowodzi, że nikogo nie oszukuje.

„Vox Occulta” ocieka majestatem. Gdy Hans Zimmer przejdzie na emeryturę, Einar Solberg będzie jego godnym następcą. Progresywny rock w wydaniu Norwega na tym materiale nie jest oszczędny, tylko epicki do granic. Wszelkie symfoniczne smaczki, kontrasty na bazie cicho-hymnicznie i przede wszystkim jego operowe zawodzenia wyzierają tu z każdego kąta. Nie każdy doceni taki natłok wszystkiego, lecz trzeba przyznać, że artysta przemawia prosto z serca. To nie kreacja, tylko emocjonalny wyrzut ubrany w elementy graniczące z przesadą, bo przecież każdy z nas bywa – że posłużę się tytułem piosenki z jego debiutu – „Over the Top”. Orkiestra Norweskiego Radia odpowiadająca za symfoniczne aranżacje i instrumentarium idealnie zgrywa się z głosowymi popisami Solberga. Posłuchajcie tylko tych rozedgranych smyków i niemal djentowego riffu w „Liberatio”. Zwróćcie uwagę na kolosa „Grex”, w którym znalazło się miejsce i na staroszkolnego progrocka, i na wątki niemal musicalowe. Einar ma łeb na karku. To czuć od razu.

„Vox Occulta” to kawał muzyki. Na jej tle „16” jawi się jako sympatyczna muzyka o krótkim terminie przydatności do spożycia. Jej następczyni albo was w sobie rozkocha, albo przesyci, ale na pewno prędko o niej nie zapomnicie. Sprawdźcie to!

Łukasz Brzozowski


The idea of going solo is a little counterintuitive in a genre like prog where bands dominate the scene. Figures like Devin Townsend and Steven Wilson have dabbled both in group and solo projects but have been such bold personalities as to dominate their band projects regardless. Leprous frontman Einar Solberg rather unfairly faced criticism that his main band had become little more than a solo project with recent releases—an accusation that was largely refuted by Solberg’s solo debut 16 in 2023. The multifaceted outing spanned a wide range of genres and experiments as Solberg began to feel out his solo sound, and probably the most significant throughline was the widespread use of symphonic backing.

If orchestra was the blood of 16, it’s the beating heart of Vox Occulta, Solberg’s solo sophomore. Many artists attempt orchestral projects but so often the orchestra is relegated to mere accompaniment. For Solberg, however, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra are perhaps the most vital players, and the rock instruments are subsumed into the orchestral forest rather than standing in their own clearing. Chris Baum (Bent Knee) towers a little higher on lead violin duties; meanwhile, guitar duties are shared between Pierre Danel (Novelists), Ben Levin (ex-Bent Knee), and John Browne (Monuments). The team is rounded out by Jed Lingat on bass, and Keli Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco) dominating drums. This core group never overwhelms in the mix, clearly audible but wending their way under the orchestra with knotty riffs, like root systems under a canopy of strings and woodwinds.

Solberg utilises the whole of his expansive vocal range on Vox Occulta, spanning beseeching falsetto, half-whispers, and even significant use of his latterly absent harsh vocals. Indeed, this is the most we’ve heard of Solberg’s growls since The Congregation, culminating in the full-throated mid-section on “Vita Fragilis” and the cathartic resolution on “Grex”. Meanwhile, the more melodic and restrained “Serenitas”, built around a gently rising scale motif, sees Solberg push his falsetto to its limit at the climactic release, and features a gorgeously bluesy guitar solo. The loping strings and thunderous brass of the title track prove a positively Zimmerian opening to a more Broadway style track; one imagines Solberg crouched like Batman only to stand up and start projecting with broad hand gestures as skronky djent plumbs beneath galloping strings.

In its more metal moments, Adam Noble’s mix never loses sight of the orchestral elements, blending lead guitars deftly into harmonies with the strings (“Grex”), and allowing Danel and Lingat’s riffs to thrum along in the place where the bassoons and tubas usually lay, without any of these textures ever becoming lost. With co-production from Solberg and David Castillo, the trio use negative space sublimely, allowing for all sorts of embellishments to layer into the whole such as a sudden xylophone remark leading into the heavier section of “Vita Fragilis” or the syncopated backing vocal accents on “Liberatio”. Vox Occulta’s lustre is to die for and allows its ensemble to shine across the record.

Countless breathtaking moments cluster Vox Occulta: the cascading string arpeggios that animate “Liberatio” falling in Poissonian rainform while an off-kilter “Mirage”-esque riff beneath, the nasty clean bass groove lumbering up and down in the background of “Medulla”, the Holstian jubilance of the orchestra post vituperative climax of “Vita Fragilis”, the incredible vocal control and deft restraint Solberg demonstrates on closer “Anima Lucis”… From minor textural highlights to Solberg’s consistently and unsurprisingly brilliant vocal work, we could be here for the rest of the review discussing Vox Occulta’s myriad apogees, but instead we need to talk about “Grex”, a career highlight for Solberg. Opening with a mournful violin solo, the track progresses through a number of identities: a lead guitar/string duet, a Guthrie Govan-esque guitar solo, and a quiet operatic requiem. But it’s the off-kilter guitar motif reminiscent of “The Sky is Red” which grabs attention at the halfway point, a seeming non-sequitur that foreshadows the track’s apocalyptic climax to come. When the song eventually explodes, it’s into a nasty groove as Solberg alternately implores and screams ‘a silence far too loud, I march into the crowd’—the singer self-atomising into the fray with bittersweet acceptance as tenebrous strings overlay a rhythm section that threatens to collapse under the weight of its own seismicity.

Any critiques to be levelled at Vox Occulta are largely structural. At the macro level, the album’s pacing is a little off, front-loading the record with the more dynamic cuts and cluttering the second half with all the tracks that demand listener patience. A little rearrangement would have left Vox Occulta more balanced and with the softer—and arguably weaker—tracks (“Serenitas”, “Anima Lucis”) better contrasted. At the micro level, it’s down to some traditional Solbergisms (those good ol’ backing whoas and ohs) and Solberg’s love of abrupt endings—many-a-track on 16 just stopped, and the trend continues on Vox Occulta. Unfortunately, these abrupt cut-offs only feel impactful in moderation, and many times, particularly on closer “Anima Lucis”, tracks feel a touch incomplete for the suddenness of their conclusion. These are minor issues, none really detracting from the ambition and spectacle of Vox Occulta, but nevertheless signalling some missed potential.

A solo release is rarely ever completely solo, but it’s testament to Einar Solberg’s talent and taste that he assembled such a team to bring to life this opus. Holistic in vision, flawlessly produced, and emotionally bracing, Solberg has delivered a truly ambitious work of theatrical, orchestral metal that can stand toe-to-toe with the genre’s titans.

Dani Copelli



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Stella Mortua (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra) 05:26
2. Medulla 05:31
3. Vox (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra) 07:58
4. Liberatio 04:40
5. Serenitas 06:45
6. Vita Fragilis (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra) 05:27
7. Grex 11:48
8. Anima Lucis (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra) 07:05



..::OBSADA::..

Einar Solberg - vocals, keys, piano
Jed Lingat - bass
Keli Guðjónsson - drums
Pierre Danel - guitar
Ben Levin - guitar
John Browne - guitar
Chris Baum - violin

The Norwegian Radio Orchestra



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwWiHEFN0gA


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