IHSAHN/LEPROUS
NOTODDEN TEATER, NORWAY
Norway’s progressive maestros rekindle their kinship
Tor Oddmund Suhrke and Ihsahn strike a resonant chord
ONE STRONG INDICATOR OF a virtual gig’s success is how much people are prattling excitedly about it the following day. Both Ihsahn and Leprous have loyal and devout fanbases of course, but this joint effort broadcast from their shared hometown’s Notodden Teater is generating a tsunami of dewy-eyed plaudits, even before the dying strains of set-closers Contaminate Me and Celestial Violence ebb majestically away. As observant folk will already know, Leprous were once Ihsahn’s backing band, and the kinship between the camps remains self-evident and incredibly endearing. Rather than having either act headlining, the two bands alternate with mini-sets, and the whole immaculately paced shebang is immediately more absorbing and entertaining than the majority of recent likeminded efforts as a result.