Bruce's Weekly Metal Album Feature #2 - Leprosy by Death

Album: Leprosy
Artist: Death
Release Date: August 12, 1988

Today I'm going to talk about a record I've been listening to recently: Leprosy by Death. The album is Death's second, and my personal favorite out of the three Death albums I've listened to. First, I really enjoy the vocals because they're very guttural and the lyrics are still gory. I'm also a fan of the drumming on this album because at times it is laid back and just grooves with the rest of the band, but at other times it's very aggressive and bears down on the listener. I found the guitars really enjoyable because the rhythm parts are inventive and are not generic riffs for the most part, and lead work is very technical and fun to listen to. Specifically, my favorite guitar solo is on "Pull the Plug" as well as my favorite riff (the chorus). However, my only criticism is there is a little too much whammy bar abuse, but that's a minor point.

Overall, I find the song structures fascinating because the different sections of each song seem so erratic and disjoint, but they always come together in interesting ways. In addition, I find the tone of the band to be very pleasing. Specifically, I like that the bass is very audible and not hidden by the guitars. This is a very solid album.

Rating: 4.5/5
Outstanding Tracks: "Leprosy", "Forgotten Past", "Pull the Plug"