If Leper Colony’s self-titled debut album (Transcending Obscurity) is any condition of what to expect musically for 2023, we are in for a helluva treat.
For myself and thousands of other thrashers, Death’s second album Leprosy is one of the greatest Death Metal albums of all time. The guys in Leper Colony are obviously big fans as their sound and style closely resemble the work of the great late Chuck Schuldiner. However, this isn’t a simple copy and paste job of Death worship. (Not that would be a bad thing.) Leper Colony took Leprosy’s blueprints and created their own beast.
Leper Colony is a Swedish band that was created by Rogga Johansson (Paganizer) with the help of vocalist Marc Grewe (Morgoth) and drummer Jon Skare (Consumption) Through nine blazing and aggressively blistering tracks, Leper Colony is guaranteed to turn some heads.
The album has a great thrashy and early nineties death metal feel with tons of catchy riffs. While the Death influence is on the frontline, you’ll also notice some hints of Slayer. The album isn’t just a pounding riff fest as there are plenty of jamming melodies to be found here.
Grewe’s vocals are the perfect match for this album, just aggressive enough to complement the music without being too heavy. While I’m a sucker for sewer-infested growling gutturals, Grewe does excellent work here. His vocals are perfect for the thrashy and melodic tracks.
Johansson who took on both bass and guitar duties on this recording is an absolute beast. To think that one person laid down all of those killer riffs and melodies is completely mind-blowing. Johansson, who is involved in more bands and projects than there are stars in the sky, somehow stuffed this recording full of killer new material.
Leper Colony will definitely be one of those bands to put on your radar. Hopefully, this becomes a larger gig for the three involved. It’s too damn good to be just a side project.
Buy the album here:
9 / 10
ANDREW RISCH