LEPROSY

Chuck Schuldiner had a different approach to music. He formed his band Death (of which he is the only consistent member), to make brutal and aggressive music with an attitude to shock the metal world. Sound like the Stradinsky of metal right, WRONG! Schuldiner accomplishes his objective of shocking the metal world with song titles like "Choke On It" and "Open Casket", but he doesn't do it in a musical fashion at all. There is not a single piece featuring musical variation on this album. It's drop-tuned guitars, overdistorted, playing at obscene volume levels the entire album. There is nothing inventive about this album musically, only in attitude is this album a musical landmark.

Chuck Schuldiner minimizes his role from vocals, guitars, and bass to vocals and guitars on this album. Schuldiner writes the majority of the juvenile riffs throughout this album. The songs never seem to develop or go anywhere. They are just four musicians playing as fast and sloppy as they can for three minutes at a time. Schuldiner makes to attempt at melody. There are some skillfull solos, but nothing creative in relation to music. The vocals are underdeveloped growls. There isn't really any vocal ability being demonstrated here, but credit must be given to Schuldiner. His poor performance as a growler was at the time unique, and lead to the influence of better growls featured in extreme music. He laid a blueprint, but his particular structure feel.

Rick Rozz also plays some interesting solo licks like Schuldiner, but other than that simply plays the exact same rythymns as Schuldiner throughout the entire album. There is very little reason for Rozz to even be on this album. Due to the lack of variation in the guitar parts. Rozz was later fired from Death by Schuldiner because he started liking his hair too much. Schuldiner was a hard man to work with, but at this team, he was nothing but attitude.

Terry Butler makes another unremarkable perfomance on bass. His part pretty much follows the rythymn guitar the entire time, and I've already said enough about that.

Bill Andrews plays another typical performance from an extreme metal drummer. There are some blast beats, some flashy drum fills, but the entire album is pretty much 4/4 beats with a lot of bass drum.

The production is awful, no clarity, no definition, but a bunch of distortion that fits the attitude of the music.

Stay away, download it if your curiosity is peaked, but this album is a waste of money in any collection.

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