I never thought we would cover Leprous ever again. After all, Einar Solberg took his almost picture-perfect prog act down a windy road of whiny, high-pitched, and soft-balled tunes. Suddenly, the progressive cojones went missing and the outcome wasn’t something we could stomach for more than five minutes at a time. But wait, what? This ain’t Solberg?
Right.
Meet Rioghan, a very talented Finnish artist with a pig-headed, out-of-the-box approach to her music. And that landed her with an inordinate amount of attention on this zine to this day. The last time the RMR crew had her seriously on its radar was in 2022 when she was navigating Different Kinds of Losses. First prog vibes started to appear back then with Solberg’s influence felt strongly, together with members of Katatonia and others. And this secret eminence thing kept on appearing on this new 2025 piece, stronger than ever.1 So, what’s on the menu this time? Unintelligible Post Prog mumblings Leprous-style or mindblowing songsmithing à la Rioghan? Hit play, I say.
Compared to her former record and as our internal oracle2 kinda predicted, Kept heads straight into prog country. An interpretation that harkens back (a lot) to what the aforementioned Leprous did in the past and shows as living proof that the man must still be doing some coaching somewhere. Yet, Rioghan managed to imprint her very own sigil onto that groove-laden mix of extended melodics and a somewhat overdone load of djentology. But, by and large, you’ll find a pretty subdued yet proficient brand of prog on Kept. And interestingly, a goodly portion of the proggy vibes on the record seem to sail closer to the direction Steven Wilson took lately. At least, somewhat.
In other words, Kept contains a mix of different elements, from the ‘usual’ prog vibes to distinct metal flavors and different kinds of rock. All of the above is steeped in an almost gothic melancholy without going there outright. Speaking about which, hit up Grief if you need an example of subdued woe on soft progression. A Victorian tableau full of them belladonna-laced red and black roses you should never touch. A track that – for some reason – crazily reminded me of the softer parts of him who must not be named.
And you may or may not like all those core-ish movements sticking to the smelly underbelly of the metal multiverse. But when Rioghan does them, things get spicy. The RMR crew absolutely loved the breakdowns into the weird world of non-metal genres that somehow keep intruding into our harsh metal multiverse. Those hoarse Hardcore screams quickly got the attention of the folks over at the review desk. An undercurrent that already made a first appearance on Kept‘s predecessor, by the way. Timid beginnings, but they were there.
And I reckon, it’s this sense of hot ‘n’ cold, the palette of different styles, moods, and flavors that holds Kept above water. A proficient mélange of understated prog vibes, some truly metallic undercurrent, a load of Alternative Rock, and the typical synth-heavy Rioghan-esque musings. Boy, you even have Hands strongly leaning into power prog somewhat fierce. A fully dedicated five-piece band of course adds to the talent, musical prowess, and oomph. A move that made the formerly prevalent undecided mushiness in her tune disappear.
So, there you have it. Kept finally blew what was before in Rioghan‘s discography out of the water. The RMR crew truly appreciated the usual genre-bending approach taken to a new level. This record finally is the breakthrough this crew has been looking for over the years. A steep rise in quality and proficiency that we didn’t quite expect this time around. But hey, we gladly stand corrected.
Recommended.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Inverse Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 14 February 2025