"A massively underrated album done by one of the most underrated vocalists of her generation. If you haven’t listened to it and you love Metal music, it definitely deserves your attention."
Dopo essere stata scoperta da Mike Varney (Shrapnel Records), Leather emerge all'inizio degli anni '80 con Chastain. Dopo aver pubblicato cinque celebri dischi metal con la band ("Mystery of Illusion" 1985, "Ruler of the Wasteland" 1986, "The 7th of Never" 1987, "The Voice of the Cult" 1988, "For those Who Dare" 1990) ed un album solista ("Shock Waves" 1989), Leather riemerge di nuovo nei 2000 ancora insieme a David T. Chastain per pubblicare due nuovi album, "Surrender to no One" (2013) e "We bleed Metal" (2015) sempre sotto il monicker Chastain. Successivamente Leather si focalizza sul suo progetto "solista", che la porta a tour in sudamerica ed in europa di buon successo ed alla pubblicazione di altri due album intitolati "Leather II" (2018) e "We Are The Chosen" (2022). Tornando al suo primo album solista "Shock Waves" la line-up è completata dal bassista David Harbour (anche in "For those Who Dare" di Chastain, in diversi album solisti di David T. Chastain e in "House of God" di King Diamond del 2000), dal batterista John Luke Hebert (anche lui nel disco di Chastain del 1990 e con King Diamond in "Voodoo" del 1998 e "House of God" del 2000) e dal chitarrista Michael Harris, che ha intrapreso un'ottima carriera solista ed una prolifica attivita' con gli Arch Rival. Confrontando questo disco con i precedenti album di Chastain con Leather, soprattutto se si considera che il principale cantautore e chitarrista della band, David T. Chastain, lavora come produttore e ha scritto molti testi e musiche sull'album, si notano sicuramente somiglianze con "Ruler of the Wasteland" o "The Voice of the Cult", ma la realtà è che questo suoni più come un tradizionale album Heavy Metal dell'epoca e risente molto di piu' delle influenze di Dio che sono state parte importante dell'intera carriera di Leather. Da menzionare che musica e testi della title-track sono scritti da Mark Shelton (Manilla Road) e che le musiche di "All Your Neon" e "Something in This Life" sono scritte da Pat O'Brien, più tardi con Cannibal Corpse e Nevermore.
After being scouted by Mike Varney (Shrapnel records), Leather emerges in the early 1980s with Chastain.
After releasing five celebrated metal records with the band ("Mystery of Illusion" 1985, "Ruler of the Wasteland" 1986, "The 7th of Never" 1987, "The Voice of the Cult" 1988, "For Those Who Dare" 1990) and one solo-album ("Shock Waves" 1989), Leather re-emerges again in the 2000's alongside David T. Chastain to release two new albums, "Surrender to no One" (2013) and "We bleed Metal" (2015) again under the Chastain monicker.
Then Leather focuses on her "solo" career, resulting in widely successful South American and European tours and in the releases of two new albums entitled "Leather II" (2018) and "We Are The Chosen"(2022).
Back on her first solo album "Shock Waves", line-up is completed by bassist David Harbour (in Chastain "For Those Who Dare", in several David T. Chastain’s solo albums and in King Diamond’s 2000's "House of God"), by drummer John Luke Hebert (in Chastain 1990 album too and with King Diamond in 1998’s "Voodoo" and 2000's "House of God") and guitarist Michael Harris, who has enjoyed a very good solo career and a lot of productivity with the band Arch Rival.
Comparing this record to the previous Chastain albums with Leather, especially if you consider that the band’s main songwriter and guitarist, David T. Chastain, works as producer and writes many lyrics and music on the album, surely you will catch some similarities with "Ruler of the Wasteland" or "The Voice of the Cult", but the reality is that this sounds more like a traditional Heavy Metal album of the time and much more in line with the Dio influences that have been important part of Leather’s entire career.
To mention that title-track music and lyrics are written by Mark Shelton (Manilla Road) and music for "All Your Neon" and "Something in This Life" by Pat O' Brien, later in Cannibal Corpse and Nevermore.
.jpg "Leather - Shock Waves")
.jpg "Chastain - For Those Who Dare")
.jpg "Chastain - Ruler of the Wasteland")
