CARPENTER BRUT

Mainstream hijacking may have hastened the popping of the synthwave bubble, but the harder, more metal-friendly end of that subgenre continues to flourish. CARPENTER BRUT has been leading the pack since this sound first became ubiquitous in underground circles, and while fellow frontrunners PERTURBATOR and GOST have both found distinct ways to deviate from the lowest common denominator, "Leather Temple" suggests that darksynth's most goofily bombastic progenitor has simply dedicated himself to becoming bigger, better and bolder. Not as much a great leap forward as it is a meticulous consolidation of past achievements, Franck Hueso's fourth album — and the climactic, third entry in his "Leather" trilogy — sticks with what we know but does it with renewed intensity.

Still determinedly exploring the cinematic possibilities, CARPENTER BRUT begins "Leather Temple" with an opulent overture that could easily have been co-opted by KING DIAMOND or some other horror-adjacent gothic entity. A robustly theatrical belch of synthesized strings, choral vocals and assorted pomp signifiers, it leads perfectly into "Major Threat": a thunderous, mutant-disco encapsulation of the BRUT formula, retro-futuristic and dancefloor bound to a fault, and a neat throwback to the thumping, artful techno of the late '90s. Synthwave's connection to metal was always aesthetic rather than specifically musical, but there is great power in these surging synth grooves, and a sense that all of this will sound even more crushing in the live arena. The title track repeats the trick, with flurries of sharp, robot melody, before "She Rules the Ruins" comes in at force, a pristine blur of speaker-levelling bottom end, serrated-edge melodies and a formidable, maximalist arrangement that fills every inch of space with fizzing electronic matter.

Thereafter, "Leather Temple" rattles through the gears, taking in big-budget arena techno with a gothic underbelly ("Start Your Engines"),downbeat grandeur married to giant, perky, synth-pop hooks ("Neon Requiem"),voracious electro-rock that revels in symphonic density ("Iron Sanctuary"),and hyperactive psycho-beats with a snotty, punk rock attitude ("The Misfits / The Rebels"). Everything exists comfortably within the same sonic limitations, and everything flows with its own myopic, internal logic. CARPENTER BRUT has dialed down the guest star collaborations this time, and the result is a more cohesive record than either "Leather Teeth" or "Leather Terror". The downside is that several moments occupy the same stylistic ground without any obvious sidesteps away from the synthwave norm, but as with previous releases, the Frenchman's musical identity is so strong that even his most prosaic creations are difficult to resist. "Speed or Perish" is a particularly effective demonstration of what this project is all about, its hard edges and pummeling momentum proving more than charismatic enough to justify the straightforward approach. Likewise, the closing "The End Complete" — sadly, not an OBITUARY cover — nails the elegance and beauty that often lurks at the heart of this music, conjuring a dream-like and glacial synth-scape that wears its debt to horror movie soundtracks lightly but plainly.

The period point at the end of a three-album voyage, "Leather Temple" marks the end of an era for CARPENTER BRUT. What happens next is open to debate, but after skillfully summing up his own career like this, Hueso would be well advised to explore the outer reaches of synthwave's self-contained sonic world rather than tread the same ground again. Either way, this is another compelling statement.