Cypress Hill and House Of Pain don't seem like obvious in-roads to a prog mind like Einar Solberg. But then, the Leprous frontman's penchant for gorgeously layered, oft-melancholic melodies and surprising pop hooks does go some way to explaining his band's impressive collection of anthems that challenge the notions of what prog actually is.
That in mind, we sat down with Einar to talk through the 10 records that changed his life and turned him from teenage raver and breakdancer to prog metal mastermind.
The Prodigy - Breathe (The Fat Of The Land, 1997)
“The Prodigy my favourite band when I was a kid. The first time I ever wanted to perform was after hearing Breathe, and I imagined myself cutting my hair to have a green reverse mohawk [like vocalist Keith Flint]. There was a lot of testosterone and adrenaline, which had a really big appeal to me."
Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade (Evil Empire, 1996)
"Another childhood favourite was Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine. I just remember me and my brother listening to it at my grandfather’s house, and he of course hated that sort of music! It had the same energy you can find in The Prodigy, this kind of ‘fuck everything’ punk rock attitude."
Cypress Hill - Throw Your Set In The Air (Temples Of Boom, 1995)
“Cypress Hill were another one of my favourites, even if I didn’t understand what their lyrics were about. I didn’t know Throw Your Set In The Air was about drugs. I remember putting it on, aged 11 or 12, when our school threw this party for all the students. We had this very religious teacher and the amount of times they say ‘fuck’ in that song is insane. She was very offended! The song was allowed to finish, but the playlist got more restricted afterwards."
Michael Jackson - Earth Song (HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, 1995)
“I didn’t like Michael Jackson as a kid. Because of all the plastic surgeries, I was just like, ‘What is that?!’ Ha ha! So I got the whole Michael Jackson experience as a grown-up. Earth Song is very naive and transparent in its message, but I think sometimes that’s important. I miss the time when pop artists sang about important topics, like the environment."
Arvo Part - Fratres (Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa, 1984)
“Arvo Pärt is a classical composer from Estonia, and Fratres introduced me to the deeper layers of emotional music. I think it’s my all-time favourite piece of music, so it had a big influence on how I started to search for more emotional depth in my music."
House Of Pain - Jump Around (House Of Pain, 1992)
"On the other hand, I wouldn’t put Jump Around by House Of Pain in my top 50 favourite songs, but there was a period in my youth where I listened to pretty much only that song. Every single Wednesday and Friday I went to the local youth club, and I rehearsed breakdance the whole evening, alone. I entered a dance competition with that song. There were four people and I ended up in third place. The judge was my older brother, and not even he thought I deserved better than that. Ha ha ha!"
Radiohead - Exit Music (For A Film) (OK Computer, 1997)
“I need to choose a song from Radiohead’s OK Computer. Tracks like Exit Music (For A Film) were a lesson to me in not trying to be anything; just be 100% true to who you are. It’s never pretentious, and I feel like a lot of indie music is pretentious in trying not to be pretentious. There’s a lot of, ‘I don’t fucking care,’ when they care a lot."
Massive Attack - Angel (Mezzanine, 1998)
“Radiohead gave me a lesson in authenticity, and Angel by Massive Attack was a lesson in how to make a lot out of a little. Most prog bands make a little out of a lot! Ha ha! But Massive Attack took one small thing and built a whole song around it. I’ve used that way of thinking a lot over the years. I can understand how some people can find it monotonous, but I don’t think Massive Attack get monotonous. There are too many layers, too much stuff happening."
Hans Zimmer - Cornfield Chase (Interstellar Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2014)
“Cornfield Chase by Hans Zimmer is, again, minimalism, but it builds something big around something extremely simple. That song is the best moment I’ve ever had at a live concert. It was more like a rock concert than a classical one, with a full band and Hans playing guitar. It was what every symphonic rock band dreams of being but will never be.
The Mars Volta - Inertiatic Esp (De-Loused In The Comatorium, 2003)
“The Mars Volta were an inspiration to me when it came to playing progressive music. They offered a lesson in turning down the gain on the amplifier, and we’ve done that a lot. [Debut album] De-Loused In The Comatorium, especially the song Inertiatic Esp, was something completely new. We did a Mars Volta cover in the early days of Leprous – it wasn’t that one, but that was the first song of theirs that I heard.”
