Leprosy

If Morbid Angel never released Altars of Madness a year later, Death’s second album Leprosy would probably be the greatest death metal album of all time. Scream Bloody Gore was essentially a perfect start and yet Chuck Schuldiner still somehow managed to best it with Leprosy. A lot of the obvious thrash metal elements from the first album begin to fade away on Leprosy as the riffs get chunkier and heavier, and the songs become thicker and more dynamic. It’s here where Chuck really puts the ‘death’ in death metal; as he had already laid the groundwork on Scream Bloody Gore, now he could perfect his original formula to the most precise and powerful sound heard up to that point in metal’s history.

Sonically, there are heavier albums than Leprosy, what with the brutal death metal scene which began to form in the early 90s with bands like Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation as well as grindcore/goregrind acts like Napalm Death and Carcass which began a whole new sub-genre of extreme music around the same time as Death was creating death metal. But for its vintage status and age, Leprosy is an absolutely punishing experience.

Chuck is as evil sounding as ever behind the mic, his delivery hasn’t changed much from Scream Bloody Gore. His guitar playing has maybe gotten a slight bit better from a technical standpoint, and it maintains the same ferocity. Rick Rozz on lead guitars is absolutely wild, the frenzied style he displays reminds me of Slayer a bit, but it works even better here. Although Terry Butler is credited as the bassist on the record, it’s actually Chuck again with the four stringer, and like on the previous album the prominence of the bass really drags the album to a heftier level. There’s some riffs reminiscent of doom metal or death doom in the title track and “Pull the Plug” in particular. But the definitive piece of Leprosy’s sonic heaviness is the drum production. Bill Andrews is an absolute monster behind the kit, he is so relentless on every track and although it’s not the most technical of styles, this is one of my favorite drum performances on any record for the sheer power and persistence on display.

Even without the improved production, the songs are simply better on Leprosy than on the debut. The opening title track is quite possibly the single greatest death metal song of all time. It starts off the album with a tense and lengthy first riff before Chuck lets out a horrifying roar. The song changes speeds and dynamics several times over its 6:19 runtime, complete with one of Rick Ross’s best solos, unforgettable buildup verses, and a main chorus that absolutely overpowers the listener. “Born Dead” is in contrast the shortest song, closest in style to Scream Bloody Gore but with a more refreshing and clear mix held up by the aforementioned decimating drumming. “Forgotten Past” is maybe the catchiest song on the album and features one of the best main riffs, and “Left to Die” is probably in the discussion with “Leprosy” for best death metal song ever made. After the (slightly) less intense “Forgotten Past”, “Left to Die” hits like a bag of bricks with inhuman screams from Chuck to mix with the growls and some of the most unhinged guitar work found on the entire record. And that’s just side one.

Side two starts off with “Pull the Plug” which as I previously mentioned has a lot of doom elements in its main riff and chorus; it’s possibly the heaviest song on the album. It also makes good use of changing tempos; the faster, ‘thrashier’ parts contrast very well with the slower doom aspects of the song. “Open Casket” displays some of Chuck’s best growls and some of the most interesting lyrics of his career up to this point. “Primitive Ways” has the catchiest riff of side two and works great segueing into “Choke on It” which is an excellent closing track. Focusing more on instrumental passages and clocking in at nearly six minutes, it’s the longest track after “Leprosy” and they bookend the album with some of Chuck’s most fleshed out songwriting.

Despite having two less tracks than Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy is a few seconds longer coming in at just over 38 minutes. Chuck spread his ideas over Leprosy a bit better and made these songs all the more interesting for it. The longer instrumental passages and more common changes in tempo make Leprosy the more complete experience. It has faint elements of thrash, doom, and even some traditional metal but at its core it’s a pure death metal record.

Leprosy is incredibly ahead of its time being released in 1988 when thrash metal was still in its prime and death metal was still a very underground idea. This, along with Altars of Madness and other late 80s death metal albums are most likely responsible for completely killing thrash in the early 90s and leading to the reign of death metal, which has gone up and down in popularity over the years but is ultimately still metal’s biggest sub-genre to this day. It’s not a stretch to say that Leprosy is among the greatest metal albums of all time. Certainly in my top 20, maybe even top 10. It’s hard to say with so much music out there but there’s no doubt that this is Death at their peak, and the genre they helped invent at its peak as well. Often imitated, never equaled. Wish I could drop a GIF in this review to mirror my face when Leprosy hits, but the only true way to understand is to just go listen to it yourself.