Pitfalls

Once known as the backing band for black-metal stalwart Ihsahn, Norway’s Leprous have grown into one of heavy music’s most daring songwriting outfits. On Pitfalls, vocalist and keyboardist Einar Solberg draws out an operatic and soulful vocal range ("Distant Bells"). The album opens with the slow-burning, string-heavy "Below", setting the pace for electronic flourishes. "Alleviate" may be aggro, but Pitfalls is largely experimental ("Foreigner") and grand in scale ("The Sky Is Red").