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Leprosy (album)

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Leprosy
Studio album by
Death
ReleasedNovember 16, 1988
RecordedApril 1988
StudioMorrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
GenreDeath metal
Length38:37
LabelCombat
ProducerDan Johnson
Death chronology
Scream Bloody Gore
(1987) 		Leprosy
(1988) 		Spiritual Healing
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal4/10[2]

Leprosy is the second studio album by Florida death metal band Death, released on November 16, 1988, by Combat Records.[3][better source needed]

The album is notable in its different tone and quality from the band's 1987 debut, it is the first example of producer and engineer Scott Burns' work heard on many of the death metal and grindcore albums of that era.[4] Shaun Lindsley of Metal Hammer said "With Scream Bloody Gore having set a new standard in extremity, [...] Leprosy would end up being the final nail in Death’s thrash-tinged coffin."[5] It is considered to be a groundbreaking achievement in the genre.[6]

The album cover is featured in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. It is the first album to feature drummer Bill Andrews and the only one to feature guitarist Rick Rozz.

Style

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Leprosy has been described as sounding "raw", "raucous" and "just absolutely pissed off".[7]

Rick Rozz’s lead guitar stylings on the album utilize whammy bar divebombs, comparable to Kerry King of Slayer. By contrast, Chuck Schuldiner’s guitar solos on the album have been described as "more technical". Some of the album's guitar riffs have been described as "melodic".[8]

While Scream Bloody Gore contained lyrics pertaining to fictional subject matter such as zombies, Leprosy saw Schuldiner beginning to explore nonfictional topics in his lyrics as well.[9]

Legacy

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In a poll by the German Rock Hard magazine, Leprosy was voted the number one of the 25 most important death metal albums of all time. On April 29, 2014, a three-disc remastered edition containing bonus tracks was released via Relapse Records.[10]

The title track was covered by the blackened death metal band Akercocke on their 2007 album Antichrist. Dutch melodic death metal band Callenish Circle covered "Pull the Plug" as a bonus on their Flesh Power Dominion album, released in 2002; shortly thereafter, Norwegian band Zyklon also recorded "Pull the Plug" to be used as a bonus track. Finnish thrash metal band Mokoma covered the track "Open Casket", with lyrics in Finnish and titled "Avoin Hauta", on their EP Viides Vuodenaika. "Pull the Plug" was also covered by American band Revocation.

Track listing

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All music written by Chuck Schuldiner and Rick Rozz, unless stated. All lyrics written by Chuck Schuldiner. All songs published by Mutilation Music.[11][12]

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Leprosy"Schuldiner6:19
2."Born Dead" 3:25
3."Forgotten Past" 4:33
4."Left to Die" 4:35
5."Pull the Plug"Schuldiner4:25
6."Open Casket" 4:53
7."Primitive Ways"Rozz4:33
8."Choke on It" 5:54
2008 Century Media remastered digipak version[13]
No.TitleLength
9."Open Casket" (live)4:49
10."Choke on It" (live)5:50
11."Left to Die" (live)4:35
12."Pull the Plug" (live)4:26
13."Forgotten Past" (live)4:33
2014 reissued Relapse Records version (bonus disc 1)
No.TitleLength
1."Open Casket" (Rehearsals September 23, 1987)4:55
2."Choke on It" (Rehearsals September 23, 1987)6:15
3."Left to Die" (Rehearsals September 23, 1987)4:41
4."Left to Die - Take 2" (Rehearsals September 23, 1987)4:34
5."Left to Die" (Rehearsals May 12, 1987)4:27
6."Open Casket" (Rehearsals May 12, 1987)4:42
7."Pull the Plug" (Rehearsals May 12, 1987)4:17
8."Choke on It" (Rehearsals May 12, 1987)5:37
9."Born Dead" (Rehearsals May 12, 1987)3:19
10."Forgotten Past" (Rehearsals May 12, 1987)4:26
2014 reissued Relapse Records version (bonus disc 2)
No.TitleLength
1."Leprosy" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)6:24
2."Open Casket" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:59
3."Zombie Ritual" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:40
4."Pull the Plug" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:20
5."Left to Die" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:41
6."Mutilation" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)3:40
7."Forgotten Past" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:35
8."Born Dead" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)3:23
9."Denial of Life" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)3:24
10."Primitive Ways" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:22
11."Infernal Death" (Live at Backstreets, Rochester, NY - December 13, 1988)4:21
12."Leprosy" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)7:29
13."Pull the Plug" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)4:43
14."Forgotten Past" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)4:51
15."Primitive Ways" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)4:45
16."Open Casket" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)5:09
17."Mutilation" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)4:29
18."Infernal Death" (Live at The Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ - December 11, 1988)3:31

Personnel

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Death

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Production

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  • Dan Johnson – production
  • Scott Burns – engineering
  • Michael Fuller – mastering
  • Edward Repka – artwork
  • Eric Greif – management
  • Frank White – photography
  • David Bett – art direction
  • Alan Douches – mastering (2014 reissue)

References

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  1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Leprosy - Death". AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  3. ^ "On this day, November 16th 1988, "Leprosy" was released. One of the most influential death metal albums of all time. A Masterpiece \m/".
  4. ^ "Roundtable: Death's 'Leprosy' (35 Years Later)". lambgoat.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Lindsley, Shaun (April 3, 2020). "Every Death album ranked from worst to best". louder. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "Roundtable: Death's 'Leprosy' (35 Years Later)". lambgoat.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "Roundtable: Death's 'Leprosy' (35 Years Later)". lambgoat.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Staff, Invisible Oranges. "Death - Leprosy". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Staff, Invisible Oranges. "Death - Leprosy". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Huey, Steve (March 20, 2014). "DEATH's 'Leprosy' Album To Be Reissued With Bonus Material". Blabbermouth. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  11. ^ Primitive Ways as registered at BMI.com Archived November 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, the percentage filed is 75% Schuldiner, 25% DeLillo (Rozz)
  12. ^ Death (Official), Facebook page administered by Relapse Records and Eric Greif (the lawyer for Chuck Schuldiner's Estate), (retrieved November 18, 2011)
  13. ^ "Death (2) - Leprosy (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. June 2, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  14. ^ Frank Albrecht (December 1991). "Counterattack". Rock Hard. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
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