Weird Music Wednesday: “Stella Mortua” by Einar Solberg
Featuring The Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Einar Solberg has spent the better part of a decade transitioning from “the guy with the high voice in the prog-metal band Leprous” to a sort of avant-garde architect of emotional distress. With his latest solo outing, Vox Occulta, he is building a specialized musical language (with the help of The Norwegian Radio Orchestra) that requires a secret decoder ring and a high tolerance for minor chords. This isn’t just an album; it’s an exhausting, beautiful, and occasionally pretentious ride. If his previous work was a slow-burn descent into melancholy, Vox Occulta is the moment he decides to decorate the basement with velvet curtains and dozens of candles on wrought-iron stands.
The record fits into the broader Leprous evolution by doubling down on the theatricality that has been creeping into their sound since The Congregation. However, where the band often favors a certain sleek, polished minimalism, Solberg solo is a maximalist. He isn’t just leaning into his falsetto; he’s essentially living there now, claiming squatter’s rights on the highest notes humanly possible. It’s an album that bridges the gap between high-brow avant-garde and the kind of dramatic tension usually reserved for a protagonist staring into a rain-slicked window in a movie trailer.
Side Note: Rather than seeing his solo work as a threat to Leprous, he views it as a psychological necessity. He has admitted that if he does the solo project for too long, he gets bored; if he does Leprous for too long, he gets bored. The solo records act as a “liberating” release valve, allowing him to explore things—like the “schizophrenic” genre-hopping of his debut or the orchestral maximalism here—that wouldn’t necessarily fit the current evolution of the band.
While the album is generally “weird” by the standards of anyone who enjoys a catchy chorus, “Stella Mortua” takes the prize for the most bafflingly brilliant track. The song earns its badge through its stubborn refusal to choose a lane between lush orchestration and jagged progressive metal, opening with strings that sound like they belong in a tragic 19th-century opera. Just as you’re settling into your theater seat, a syncopated, low-tuned riff arrives to kick the chair out from under you. Einar navigates this mix with his signature falsetto, making the transition between “crying in a cathedral” and “screaming at a circuit board” feel surprisingly—and concerningly—natural.
The Song
Spotify:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/song/stella-mortua-feat-the-norwegian-radio-orchestra/1859985686
The Album
Spotify:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/vox-occulta/1859985673
The Band
Be sure to check out the Audio Toxicity 2026 Bad Music Detox Protocol (AKA a playlist of songs covered so far…)