Posted: 8/11/06

I first heard of Leatherwolf when I saw the video for "The Calling"  on MTV's Headbanger's Ball way back in 1987.  The band was one of the cherished mid-to-late 80s groups, as they delivered well-written scorching metal songs, with melody, originality, and tremendous musicianship.  While they released a self-titled album in 1984, it was 1987's, also self-titled, release where the band found their identity and strong production.  Vocalist Michael Olivieri was a key ingredient, as he had a special tonal quality that allowed him to come off aggressive and melodic.  Olivieri, Carey Howe, and Geoff Gayer all played guitar and worked as a well-oiled machine with bassist Paul Carman and drummer Dean Roberts. 1989's Street Ready didn't have the opportunity to capitalize on its predecessor, despite the tremendous quality of the music and another video for the emotional power ballad "Hideaway," thanks to minimal record company support.  The band fell off the radar screen soon after, returning in 1999 with a live opus, Wide Open.  Olivieri packed it in in 2000 but the band decided to continue and went through a few vocalists before selecting Wade Black (ex-Crimson Glory, ex-Seven Witches) in 2005.

World Asylum is the band's first studio album in 17 years.  It features Black, original members Gayer and Roberts, along with new bassist Pete Perez (Riot) and new guitarist Eric Halpern (Helstar).  The direction is darker and heavier than in the past but still traditional in nature.  It features some of the fastest, rip-roaring fret-burning that I've heard in years too.  The musical aggressiveness is matched by Wade Black's grab-you-by-the-balls ability and multi-dimensional approach.  The production is pristine too - you won't hear a brighter, more thunderous production than this.    Sounds good, right?  Well, all that stuff is but there are some problems.  The key one that prevents me from liking this album is that I can't remember the songs after repeated listens (except "Disconnect" and "Dr. Wicked" - they do make use of chorus refrains).  I blame this on the lack of catchy choruses - something the band did so well on their second and third albums.  While I can remember every song on those albums and love to shout along with anthems such as "Rise Or Fall," "Wicked Ways," "Street Ready," and "Cry Out," this factor is basically absent on World Asylum.  It seems that the band opted to replace the hooks with a more progressive writing structure.

The Bloody Truth: Once again the musicianship in this band is astounding - this is a point that cannot be debated.  But where the hell are the choruses and the hooks?  This is heavy metal for sure - the band has delivered on that point but the songwriting is down several notches from the Street Ready days.  Of course the emotional quality of Michael Olivieri is missed as well, as he really defined the band's sound.  Wade Black has incredible power but he isn't Olivieri.  I could get over that though if the vocal and lyrical hooks were there.  Unfortunately, they aren't so this isn't the album that I had hoped it would be.  In my mind, the band gambled by changing their style and it will turn off some of their original fanbase.