Man, Leprous have become really weak all of a sudden. Almost like they're riddled with a degenerative disease that causes vital parts to fall off, leaving less and less behind.
I thought Coal was a dull drag of an album, didn't understand the reviews at all...and then Congregation was even quieter and even more boring. I could understand having a tough time topping Bilateral (although it certainly wouldn't have been impossible), but for them to just lose all of their appealing points save for the voice of their frontman seems like a tragic loss. I'm sure they could do something energetic again, but unfortunately since they're prog they've probably gone milder as a result of looking up their own asses. As a result, they're not likely to change significantly and even if they did it'd probably be a really token effort.
Also, what the hell is up with bands getting so bloody repetitive lately? I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's for 'building atmosphere', but it helps to have at least a little variegation. Besides, good buildup usually...you know, builds up. 'The Price' from Leprous has got to be one of the worst examples of this I've heard in a while, which sucks because the actual chorus to the song isn't bad from what I remember. And for goodness' sake if you're going to repeat something to build atmosphere make it engaging/interesting. Meshuggah's 'Rational Gaze' is great example of this, but 'The Price' has this same pretentiously bad riff that has all the aural effect of being fed hot, flat, gone-off Pepsi drop by drop.