Genre: Death
Country: USA
Label: Combat Records
Year: 1988
There’s no need to compose a huge introduction concerning Death. Everybody knows who they are and what they’ve done to enter the immortal metal pantheon. Death’s poignancy and significance toward the death metal genre and the metal genre in general, is indisputable and incontestable. Born in 1983 in Orlando, Florida, Death and Chuck Schuldiner managed to evolve into the most influential entities of the extreme sound. Chuck is justifiedly considered the “Father of Death Metal” and his first record with Death “Scream Bloody Gore” is supposed to be the first death metal album ever written.
“Leprosy” is Death’s second album and it hit the stores on August 12, 1988, through Combat Records. It’s the record where drummer Bill Andrews made his first appearance, whereas it was guitarist’s Rick Rozz first and last appearance in the lineup. The compositions belong to Chuck Schuldiner and Rick Rozz, except where noted otherwise. The lyrics were written by Chuck, as well.
“Leprosy” is considered one of the most influential and most important death metal records. As a matter of fact, the German magazine “Rock Hard” ranked it as the number one most influential record, amidst a total of 25 others.
Comparing “Leprosy” to its predecessor and Death’s debut record “Scream Bloody Gore”, it is substantially different in all aspects, even if just a year and a half intervened between them. First of all, it’s much more fledged and complete than “SBG”. Everything has been taken one step further and evolved into something greater. The compositions, the atmosphere, the lyrics, the approaches; everything is meliorated; so indeed the differences are multi – faceted.
The compositions are not so different than their debut, though there are many more melodic passages; the ones that established Death’s music. Furthermore, there are more inspired bridges and fantastic breaks that inject variety to their compositions. It’s clear that this record is a product of a more meticulous work and Chuck’s passion is much more evident. “Leprosy” is in the verge between the previously primitive death metal and the upcoming technical progressive death metal Death chose to serve later on, until their last release. There are many quick yet fluent changes in the tempo in some tracks, but the good structure elaborating on every single detail makes you think it’s the only way a death metal record should be written. The jaw – dropping intense riffs, perfectly executed, cause multiple stab wounds. The unfiltered raw aggression the record emits causes a dominating force that obliterates everything.
As far as the guitar work is considered, the guitars are now double, completing one another, yet Chuck’s superiority is unmistakable and his improvement over “Scream Bloody Gore” is evident. Chuck’s performance on both guitars/bass and on vocals is exceptional. There may be some confusing parts due to the many tremolo riffs, but this doesn’t spoil our appetite… This extremely brutal and bestial sound became Death’s trademark and symbolized the revolution in extreme music in general.
On the subject of the drumming part, should you visit online forums or sites where musicians and enthusiasts share their opinions on bands and records, then you’ll see that 90% of them think very little of Bill Andrews, saying he’s incapable or lacks skills or talk about how wrong was the decision to add Andrews in Death’s lineup at that time. Alright; chill out, people. Calm down you magnificent drummers who became experts overnight just because you hit a snare once, or a kettle while singing Christmas carols. I do agree with the opinion that there’s a leitmotif and some kicks are repetitive, though I’m opposed to that demeaning talk about Andrews’s kills. Grow up a little.
The atmosphere created is putrid, murky, and bleak, urging you to crave for the annihilation of humanity or a nicely roasted cannibalistic feast. The lyrics are mature, but not in the humanitarian way they’re used in the following records, neither do they deal with psychological / psychosocial problems yet. They still maintain the horror atmosphere and the gory, nightmarish and morbidly horrific themes.
Its production is new, improved, clearer and more polished, as opposed to “Scream Bloody Gore”. Now you can actually listen to what’s being played without being distracted by the poor sound or the poor mixing process. The production is finally commensurate with the compositions Death had written. Both lead and rhythm guitars’ sound is crystal clear, which is a feature of the bass guitar as well. The well – crafted mixing process and the correct use of depth and warmth in the compositions create a record that’s as solid as reinforced concrete, building a legacy that will withstand in time.
Now, let’s take a deeper look in some of the tracks. One of the most beloved and by extension, covered tracks is “Pull The Plug”, with its starting mid – paced riff and the refrain that sticks to your mind as if you’ve applied the world’s strongest adhesive. The sick guitars unleash the plague to every possible direction. My guess is that “Pull The Plug” was Death’s first attempt to compose something more complex and perplexed that what they were used to. “Open Casket” has one of the most characteristic intros Death had ever written. Hand in hand with the constant changes in tempo and rhythm, it has a wonderful progression and creates a rotting putrescence atmosphere with its doom – to – sonic – blasting – solos and vocals. “Primitive Ways” is faster, more technical and brutal simultaneously. “Choke On It” is the ideal track to seal this record. It’s a combination of their past and present composition while looking to the future prog-to-be turn. In general, all the tracks are crude and merciless. It’s up to you to choose your favourite.
Many bands throughout all these years have covered tracks by “Leprosy”, such as Akercocke, Callenish Circle, Zyklon, Mokoma, Revocation, Insidious Disease, Neurosis Inc, Obduktion, Psychotic Gardening, Illdisposed, Anthropomorphia, Igzordium and many many others…
“Leprosy” undersigns the manifesto issued in “Scream Bloody Gore”, stating “We are Death and we’re here to claim your sanity”. Death as a band and Chuck Schuldiner as an individual became the school for every aspiring metal musician, since their brilliance doesn’t apply exclusively in death metal genre. “Leprosy” is a monumental album that will remain unforgettable. This sonic brutality will never be pushed aside.
In 2008 Century Media released a remastered digipak, containing “Open Casket”, “Choke On It”, “Left To Die”, “Pull The Plug” and “Forgotten Past” as bonus live tracks. In 2014, Relapse Records remastered and re-released “Leprosy” as a three – disc edition, containing 50 minutes of previously unreleased Leprosy demos and rehearsal material housed in an embossed o-card package with a 24 page booklet featuring unseen pictures as well as brand new liner notes.
Highlights: Forgotten Past, Pull The Plug, Choke on it.
“Leprosy will take control and bring you to your death!”