𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
August 12, 1988 — Death released their second studio album, Leprosy via Combat Records. (Listen: Apple Music or Spotify)
Background:
Once back in Florida, Chuck Schuldiner teamed up with former bandmate Rick Rozz and two members of Rozz's band Massacre, Terry Butler (credited, but did not play on the album) and Bill Andrews, and with this line-up they recorded Leprosy.
Notably different in tone and quality from the band's 1987 debut, it is the first example of Scott Burns' work heard on many of the Death Metal and Grindcore albums of that era.
The cover is featured in Metal: A Headbangers Journey.
It is the first album to feature drummer Bill Andrews and the only one to feature guitarist Rick Rozz.
Despite being both credited and pictured on this album, Chuck Schuldiner said that he handled the bass parts not Terry Butler, who only joined the band right after the recording sessions of Leprosy were completed. So, this means that Spiritual Healing was Butler's only proper recording with Death.
After much touring in support of the album, including a quick and ill-planned tour of Europe, Rick Rozz was let go from the band in 1989.
After a tour of Mexico featuring guitarist Paul Masvidal (later to re-emerge in the Death camp), a replacement was found in James Murphy, with whom the third album Spiritual Healing was recorded in Tampa in the summer of 1989.
(𝙱𝚊𝚌𝚔; 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙴𝚛𝚒𝚌 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚏 - 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝; 𝚃𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚞𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙰𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚠𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚑𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚛, 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚊 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟿)
In a Death Metal special by the German Rock Hard Magazine, Leprosy was voted No 1 of the 25 most important Death Metal albums of all time.
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, Norway’s Zyklon also recorded Pull the Plug to be used as a bonus track for the Toys Factory Records Japan release of their 2003 album, Aeon.
Finnish Thrash Metallers Mokoma covered the track Open Casket, with lyrics in Finnish and titled Avoin Hauta, on their EPViides Vuodenaika.
Pull the Plug was also covered by Technical Death Metal band Revocation for the Decibel Magazine Flexi Series.
On April 29, 2014, a three-disc remastered edition containing bonus tracks was released via Relapse Records.
Noteworthy:
The 2nd riff for Choke on It was originally used in a rare Rigor Mortis song, which was released as a demo in 1985.
The US version came in gatefold cover with lyrics and band photos on the inside. Canadian version came in non-gatefold cover.
Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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