One of my almost annual dates with a band is that with LEPROUS for whom I feel a very special connection. This love arises mainly from the emotions and the shivers that Einar and his bandmates give me when I see them on stage. Despite the fact that their two last albums are not my favorite. It doesn’t matter at all. Sunday’s live was in fact the most special of all that I have attended as the setlist was formed during the concert.

Shortly after 19:30 (there is a reason for this early start, I will explain later) the relatively newly formed CRYSTAL HORIZON from Norway got on stage for an almost half-hour set. Their story could be summarized with the phrase: “from school to world music scene” since they are a bunch of friends from colleage who decided back in 2021 to pursue their dream. The influence from LEPROUS was more than obvious but we are talking about the beginning of their career so it is certain that as time goes by they will shape their own identity since there is no shortage of talent. The melody, the atmosphere and the beautiful compositions are a given and this tour with LEPROUS will give them the necessary experience (and fanbase as a matter of fact) to move forward.

Setlist

• Finally I Fly (unreleased)
• Falling Again (unreleased)
• All My Dreams
• Drifting
• Where You End

The next band was the clearly more experienced British IHLO who this year celebrate 10 years of career. More comfortable on stage and generally more dynamic, especially their absolutely expressive singer Andy Robison who also had the role of keyboardist. In 2025 they released their second studio album so there was enough material to choose from while following the concept of the show they decided to play a song that they had not played and I dare say that it was the one that made the biggest impression on me. In their case too, LEPROUS is an inspiration, but IHLO has a broader musical identity that extends to the boundaries of djent and even electronic music.

Setlist

• Wraith
• Reanimate
• Starseeker
• Source
• Legacy

The audience warmly welcomed both bands, but the apotheosis that LEPROUS experienced as soon as they got on stage, about ten minutes before the scheduled time, was unparalleled. The cries “Leprous, Leprous” and “The Norwegian is crazy” (in Greek) vibrated the atmosphere (a journalistic cliché, but so accurate) and LEPROUS made sure to compensate us with a unique musical experience. As they had already announced, the setlist was gradually formed during the concert, with choices from the audience. The only songs that the band chose were “Atonement” with which they opened the show and the classics “Below”, “From The Flame” and “The Price” which of course caused great enthusiasm. From the rest of the songs, some were chosen by the audience (the loudest cheer) between 3-4 options such as “Third Law” or “Out of Here” (unfortunately “Alleviate” and “Take on me” were left out). Others were chosen randomly from a hat with cards, such as “On Hold” or “Red” which Einar described as their most difficult song that they avoid playing live. “Down” and “The Flood” were chosen by fans who caught a bottle of water that Einar threw into the audience, while the closing was with the classic “The Sky is Red”, the full verison, after a vote on Instagram between “Nighttime Disguise”, “Like a Sunken Ship” and “Slave”.

The show was a truly unique experience. I may have been slightly disappointed not to hear “Slave”, which is their ultimate live song, but the show went by with great joy, with Solberg being incredibly communicative, even more than usual, a crystal sound and the band members proving that they are incredible musicians. Special praise of course to drummer Baard Kolstad, who is among the 2-3 best drummers of his generation. The fans participated in almost every song with sing-alongs, cheers, applause and shouts and in general an almost festive atmosphere prevailed. Strangely, keyboardist Harrison White had to leave shortly after 10:30 because, as he explained, as a British, he had to leave EU territory even for a few hours before midnight since the work permit he had obtained was expiring. Thus, he had to fly to Istanbul and return to continue the tour, apparently with a new permit.

Setlist

(taken from www.setlist.fm)

1. Atonement
2. Third Law – Voted by the audience (loudest cheer). “Illuminate”, “Stuck”, “I Lose Hope” were the other options
3. The Valley – (The band used a paper fortune teller (Tor’s idea) to decide the song, resulting in “The Valley”)
4. Below
5. Out of Here – – (Voted by the audience (loudest cheer). “Alleviate”, “Take on Me” (a-ha cover) were the other options)
6. Red – Ένας θεατήςτράβηξε τυχαία ένα χαρτάκι από ένα καπέλο που περιείχε όλα τα τραγούδια που είχαν προβαριστεί (50 απ’ ότι μας ενημέρωση ο Einar κάποια στιγμή).
7. The Price
8. Distant Bells – (Voted by the audience (loudest cheer). “I Hear the Sirens”, “Castaway Angels” were the other options)
9. Down – (Chosen by a fan. Einar threw a bottle; the catcher chose “Down” over “Contaminate Me” and “White”)
10. From the Flame
11. On Hold – (A fan drew a random paper slip from a hat containing all rehearsed songs)
12. The Flood – (Chosen using bottle throw; preceded by a snippet of “White” (their first choice) with Einar only)
13. The Sky Is Red – (Full version. Most voted on a IG poll over “Nighttime Disguise”, “Like a Sunken Ship” and “Slave”)

The show may not have had the flow of a normal live, but the experience that those who attended this special evening had is incomparable to any other of the previous times they visited our country. Of course, the other two bands who created a matching line-up full of melodies and talent, contributed to this amazing outcome.

Live Correspondent – Photos – Videos: Kostas Boudoukos