Although a new band, Leper Colony predictably will get a lot of attention, and not just because of the macabre cover art that Alex Tartsus rendered for their self-titled debut album in such hellish tones, or the top-shelf logo that Dipayan Das made for them.
There’s also the fact that the band’s lineup consists of some exalted names in the annals of death metal — vocalist Marc Grewe (Morgoth) and guitarist/bassist Rogga Johansson (Paganizer). And although those two names may get the most attention, drummer Jon Skäre is a formidable presence as well, as one look at his M-A resume demonstrates.
They’ve also got a clever way with words — witness the name of the song we’re premiering today in advance of the album’s release by Transcending Obscurity Records: “The Surgical Undeadvors“.
Of course Leper Colony play death metal, of a particularly thrashy, hook-laden, and horror-loving variety.
As you’ll discover from today’s premiere, Marc Grewe is in fine form, which is to say he sounds like a raving and ravenous lunatic, screaming at the top of his longs and snarling like he’d like nothing better than to have your throat in his teeth.
The song is also, unsurprisingly, a riff feast. With his guitar tuned to a high whine and the accelerator mainly punched to racing speeds, Rogga creates sensations in rapid succession that quiver and squirm, jitter and swirl, bray and blaze. There’s one particularly headbangable riff that you’ll notice right away on the other side of a bridge, and some completely delirious arpeggios.
Meanwhile, Jon Skäre does his part to keep the adrenaline flowing, pumping the snare like a variable-speed piston above rumbling double-kicks and throwing in electrifying fills, plus some explosive detonations in that bridge referred to above.
As forecast earlier, the song is also really damned catchy too. Check it out:
If somehow that’s not enough to whet your appetite for this debut album, we also invite you to partake of the previously released album track “The Human Paradox“.
It’s also a fire-breather, but mixes up the high-octane madness with the kind of hammering stomp-fests that will bend your necks, along with some truly morbid melodies and a wild fret-melter of a solo. If anything Marc Grewe‘s vocal performance is also even more extravagantly varied, unhinged, and spine-tingling than the one he delivers in today’s premiere.
Transcending Obscurity recommends Leper Colony for fans of Death, Morgoth, Asphyx, Pestilence, Slayer, Massacre, and Cancer. A definitive release date will be announced soon along with pre-order opportunities at the locations linked below.
TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY RECORDS:
https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/
https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
http://transcendingobscurity.8merch.com/
LEPER COLONY:
https://www.facebook.com/lepercolonyband