Leprous, Earthside, Fight The Fight bring Norwegian rock mix to Orlando's House Of Blues (REVIEW/VIEW PHOTOS)

Norwegian rock was the name of the game in Orlando that night as Leprous The Plaza played live. The doors opened an hour late, but that didn't dampen the moderate audience's enthusiasm for the evening's eclectic mix of rock.

Norwegian metal band Fight the Fight kicked things off with a 30-minute set of highly dynamic songs that would be the heaviest of the night. Although the band occasionally dipped into slow, sludgy sounds, the majority of the set consisted of mid-tempo alternative metal or fast metalcore. Lars Vegas' vocals varied from growls and screeches to plain language, but the impressive frontman and his backing band were brimming with testosterone at all times.

The Plaza Live opened as a cinema in 1963 and was the first multi-screen cinema in the city. Since then it has transformed into a theater space and then into a concert hall. Earthside's half-hour performance felt appropriate for each iteration of the venue. The progressive rock band from New England describes their music as “cinematic rock”. The predominantly instrumental set – aside from singing a backing track on two songs – was more about mood than power. Jamie Van Dyck's guitar playing ranged from orchestral to jazz to metal. The songs expanded and contracted, evolving in surprising directions, but never becoming too repetitive, as long jams often do. Whether he was playing a keytar or a synthesizer, Frank Sacramone's long, curly hair was always flying around in a constant state of headbanging. At one point, Sacramone jumped off the stage, climbed the barricade and played just inches from the front row of the crowd.

“We haven’t been to Florida in a long time. “Our old tour manager must have taken those Florida Man memes too seriously,” Van Dyck said. “Our current tour manager is putting us in danger.”

Earthside played dense soundscapes full of trippy vibes and occasional bursts of metallic intensity. Towards the end of the set, drummer Ben Shanbrom was joined on stage by Leprous drummer Baard Kolstad to double the heaviness of the rhythms.

Then it was the turn of the prog metal band Leprous to bring the evening to a close. During the 90-minute set, the Norwegian rockers delivered powerful anthems full of hooks, powerful vocals and emotional catharsis. The set was heavy, but in that unique Leprous way. Songs like “Silently Walking Alone” and “Slave” showcased the power of Simen Børven’s deep-pitched bass synchronized with Kolstad’s ugly drums. Tor Oddmund Suhrke's choppy guitar riffs anchored the catchy tunes “The Price” and “Like a Sunken Ship”.

But the star of the show was singer Einar Solberg. His voice was a velvety sing-song on the power ballads “Unfree My Soul” and “Below.” At other times he shines with the power of an opera singer or switches to a soaring falsetto. During some of the heaviest moments, he descended into a grainy death metal scream. Solberg's range was as impressive as that of the musical compositions.

And then there was “Nighttime Disguise.” As an experiment during the Corona crisis, the band allowed fans to help write the song. “We tried unsuccessfully to involve the fans in the writing process, and the song ended up being messed up,” Solberg told the crowd. “Why do you want us everywhere? This is for the other prog bands. We are more focused.”

Aside from the self-deprecating humor, “Nighttime Disguise,” even if it was a little over-the-top, showcased what makes Leprous so compelling. The song fluctuated wildly between slow and fast tempos and heavy and gentle attitudes, as Solberg alternated between gentle serenades, hair-raising falsetto and shockingly harsh screams. Fans who helped write it chose everything they liked about Leprous and put it into a song. The fans in attendance shared the same enthusiasm for the eye-catcher.

Another highlight was “Faceless,” which was built on Børven’s jazzy bass grooves. For the final chorus, the band brought several audience members on stage to sing the choral part. After the bouncy synth jam “From the Flame” and the thumping bass of “Atonement,” Leprous returned to the stage for an encore, but didn’t have a song planned. Once again the fans would have a say.

Solberg threw a water bottle into the crowd and had the person who caught it choose three songs, one of which would be played at the end of the evening. After the fan chose obscure songs, Solberg protested. The fans would have a say, but within reason. “Don’t just go on Setlist.fm and find songs we’ve never played before. This is a bonus track. “That’s about the least sensible song you could choose,” he joked. After further discussion, the band and the fan agreed on the final song, and Leprous sang through it with the energy appropriate for the finale.