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Leprosy
Leprosy
Studio album by Death
Released	November 16, 1988
Recorded	April 1988
Studio	Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
Genre	Death metal
Length	38:37
Label	Combat
Producer	Dan Johnson
Death chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	4/10^[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, and 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.^[4]

It is the first Death album to feature drummer Bill Andrews, and is the band's only release to feature guitarist Rick Rozz.

Composition

Leprosy has been described as sounding "raw", "raucous" and "just absolutely pissed off".^[4] Invisible Oranges described the album as sounding "softer" than Scream Bloody Gore and "not as technical" as Spiritual Healing, the album that followed."^[6]

The lead guitar stylings of Rick Rozz 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".^[6]

The lyrical content on Leprosy has been said to be "darker and bleaker" than its predecessor, Scream Bloody Gore.^[7] While the latter contained lyrics pertaining to fictional subject matter such as zombies, Leprosy saw Schuldiner beginning to explore nonfictional topics in his lyrics as well.^[6] Topics explored by Schuldiner on the album include social stigma, war, and existential dread.^[4] "Pull the Plug" is written from the perspective of a person who is being taken off of life support.^[8]

Legacy

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.^[9]

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.

The album cover is featured in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey.

Track listing

All music written by Chuck Schuldiner and Rick Rozz, unless stated. All lyrics written by Chuck Schuldiner. All songs published by Mutilation Music.^[10]^[11]

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Leprosy"	Schuldiner	6:19
2.	"Born Dead"		3:25
3.	"Forgotten Past"		4:33
4.	"Left to Die"		4:35
5.	"Pull the Plug"	Schuldiner	4:25
6.	"Open Casket"		4:53
7.	"Primitive Ways"	Rozz	4:33
8.	"Choke on It"		5:54

2008 Century Media remastered digipak version^[12]
No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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