Leprous: "If you could measure our adrenaline while we’re playing, we’d probably have a lot more of it in Greece"

Having already clocked nine visits to Greece, Leprous have by now more than earned the title of a band with a “special relationship” with the Greek audience. Their return to our country, both in Thessaloniki and in Athens for two consecutive nights featuring completely different setlists and a rare "By Request" experience, needed no further excuse for us to catch up with them once again, this time with Robin Ognedal, the guitar virtuoso of the band. Among other things, we also get a glimpse of the band’s next steps, as they appear to be in one of the most productive phases of their career.

You’ve decided to give Athens two back-to-back nights with completely different setlists. What was the motivation behind this? Is it a way to reward the Greek fans for their long-standing loyalty?

We do love the Greek fans, but changing up our setlist is nothing new for us, we always do this on tour to make it interesting for both the audience and ourselves. However, we usually don’t change up the setlist as much as we will in Athens. The reason for that is the fact that we’re playing two shows back to back, and if someone decides to come to both shows, we want it to be two completely different experiences.

On February 1st, the fans are taking the wheel. As musicians who often meticulously craft the flow of a show, is it terrifying or liberating to leave the setlist in the hands of the audience?

A bit of both, I would say. It will definitely be a more nervous show than usual, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It keeps us on our toes, and magic can come from that. I am curious to see how it will work as a live set though, because crafting a live experience is more than picking the best songs in order. You need to build it up in a way that makes sense. But who knows, maybe the Greek crowd has a talent for putting together setlists. We will see!

In a “By Request” scenario, there’s always that one obscure song (like something from "Aeolia" or "Tall Poppy Syndrome") that fans crave. Are there any ”forgotten” tracks you’re secretly hoping don’t get voted in, or are you ready for everything?

There’s quite a few songs we don’t hope get voted in, the reason being those songs being not great, thankfully our fans usually agree with that and vote for better songs.

You’re bringing IHLO and Crystal Horizon with you. How involved is the band in selecting the tour packages, and what made these two bands the right fit for the Greek leg?

Some of us are at least usually very involved in selecting bands. I haven’t really been that involved in that part this time around, so I can’t really speak to the specific why’s on this, but we have heard IHLO mentioned more and more lately, and thought it’d be interesting bringing them along. Crystal Horizon I am not very familiar with, to be honest, so I’m very much looking forward to getting to know their music on this tour! I usually prefer to discover new music live, so I might not even familiarize myself that much beforehand.

You’ve played many venues in Greece, from the intimate An Club years ago to the Lycabettus Theater. How does the energy of a Greek crowd in an indoor club setting compare to the massive festivals you headline in Europe?

I honestly prefer the energy of indoor club shows over huge festival shows in general, and especially the Greek crowd is such a loud and passionate one, which translates even better in a room than on a big outdoor stage far away from the crowd. I’d say it feels more personal and intense in a club show with the audience up close.

Your latest album, "Melodies Of Atonement", felt like a shift away from the orchestral/symphonic layers of "Aphelion" and "Pitfalls" toward a more direct, band-oriented sound. How has this transition translated to your live performance in 2026?

Yes, we felt like it was time to explore some different sonic territories. This time we chose to strip away a lot of the elements and layers that aren’t the five of us playing together. So learning these songs to perform live was one of the easiest albums we ever practiced. There was no trying to figure out what parts to play and what parts to drop, as the layering was way less heavy than on previous albums. That translates really well with the mix as well, because the album is crafted around us as musicians, and therefore translates really well in a live setting.

Many fans felt this record brought back some of the “heaviness” of the "Coal" or "The Congregation" era, but in a more refined way. Was this a conscious return to your roots or a natural reaction to the previous records?

It was a natural reaction to the previous records I guess. We decided while making this album that we would go more extreme in all ends. So softer and heavier. Which I think we managed. But at no point did we sit down and decide that we need to be more heavy.

This is your 9th visit to Greece. Is there a specific moment from a past Greek show -perhaps a certain fan interaction or a “malfunctioning” moment- that still sticks in your mind?

Yes! Einar fell off stage once in Athens, I think it was in Fuzz Club in 2018. He fell off the ego riser and onto the barrier. It looked really brutal and shocked the others on stage, but before we knew it he was back up singing and seemingly ok.

Greek fans are known for being... vocal. Does the “singing along to guitar melodies” culture here affect how you perform on stage, or does it ever catch you off guard?

Yes, it gives us a lot of energy for the show! I think if you could measure our adrenaline while playing, we’d probably have a lot more of it in Greece than with other more calm crowds around the world. A concert is not just the band putting on a show, it’s something that happens between a band and the audience, so how the audience act during the show definitely helps shape the concert.

You first came here when the “modern prog” scene was still quite small. How have you seen the Greek audience grow and evolve alongside the band over the last decade?

It seems like we’ve been steadily and slowly growing every time we’ve come back to Greece, so for that we are very thankful!

With the "Melodies Of Atonement" cycle in full swing, are you already thinking about the “next” shift? Leprous never stays in one place for long - where is the “north” on your musical compass right now?

Yes, we’ve already started working on a new album, and will go in the studio to record it not long after this tour. You’re just gonna have to wait and see what it sounds like, but I can say that it’s not gonna be "Melodies Of Atonement" Version 2.

Since you’re doing these special "By Request" shows and unique residencies, is there any plan to capture these 2026 performances for a new live release?

Probably not, as we just released our "An Evening  Οf Atonement" Blu-ray from Tilburg.

After all these years of experimentation, from avant-garde metal to symphonic rock and now “atonement”, what is the one thing that you feel must remain constant in a Leprous song for it to feel “right”?

A Leprous song can very wildly, so that’s hard to say. I guess maybe Einar’s vocals. And everyones voice on their instruments.

What do you remember from the Aspera days? What happened to this band? You had to change your name to Above Symmerty, so did this affect things somehow?

I remember this time very fondly! It was my first meeting with the professional world of music, and we actually got signed to Inside Out, the same label as we’re on with Leprous. We got a cease and desist letter from an American band called Aspera, saying change name and pay us 2.000 USD or else we’ll sue you. We never found a name we liked, the label got impatient and gave us like 3 different names to chose from and told us to chose one of them and stop wasting time, basically. This wasn’t really the reason the band broke up. Half of the band didn’t have time for it anymore, and it just kinda died. The name thing didn’t help, but it wasn’t the killing blow.

"Ripples" was a fantastic album, especially if someone took into consideration how young you were back then. How do you feel about it? Is there a chance you might do something new at some point?

Thank you! Well, there’s always a chance, but no plans as of now. I met the guys a while ago and we started talking about the fact that it would be fun to do one last gig together, so we’ll see. Maybe in the future.

You can really shred on guitar, but in Leprous -even though your guitar playing is impressive- there is no really need to channel these skills. Have you felt the need to create a musical outlet to play that kind of music?

I think I outgrew the interest for shred guitar as I grew older, to be honest. It doesn’t really interest me anymore, and I’d rather make tasty guitar parts that serve the song. When I have the occasional solo I try to make it a strong melody and something that people remember rather than showing off all my tricks. So very unlikely that I’ll find myself in a shred band ever again, to be honest.

Who would you pick as the three guitarists that shaped you the most and in what ways did they influence you the most?

Alexi Laiho: Was my biggest inspiration in the early years and made me spend a lot of time practicing technique.

John Mayer: Was the guitar player who made me wanna play Strats, and also opened my eyes to the world of blues players and the very vocal way of playing guitar.

Derek Trucks: Opened my eyes to slide guitar. Has the most vocal way of playing guitar that I’ve ever heard.

Since we’re still in January, what were your favorite albums of 2025? What music are you into in general?

I honestly struggle to think of one album I’ve been listening to that was released in 2025. I have a lot of 2024 ones but I’m not very up to date with what’s new and hip. I listen to a lot of different stuff. Lately I’ve been listening to Gåte, Nils Frahm (ambient electronic music), Billie Eilish, Sleep Token, Sohn and a bunch of different stuff. Can’t say I’ve had a love relationship with any 2025 releases though, but not been looking that much for it neither.

Thanks for your time!