LEATHER

We Are The Chosen

Steamhammer
rating icon 8 / 10

Track listing:

01. We Take Back Control
02. Always Been Evil
03. Shadows
04. Off With Your Head
05. We Are The Chosen
06. Tyrants
07. Hallowed Ground
08. Dark Days
09. Who Rules The World
10. The Glory In The End


One of heavy metal's greatest unsung heroes, Leather Leone, always had a voice that could pin you to the wall and slap you about a bit. First heard on cult US metallers CHASTAIN's 1985 debut "Mystery of Illusion", she is a studs 'n' steel powerhouse who shares pioneering DNA with the likes of DORO, HOLY MOSES's Sabine Classen and other female figureheads from metal's first golden era. Most importantly, she is still on the same blistering form that fueled CHASTAIN classics like "The 7th of Never" (1987).

A heavier, darker counterpart to LEATHER's 2018 opus "Leather II", "We Are the Chosen" is an exercise in pure heavy metal, with a crushing, modern production that gives the singer the perfect platform. Leone sings the living shit out of each and every one of these songs, from the monstrous speed metal of "We Take Back Control" through to the even more monstrous speed metal of "The Glory In The End". With a startling range that frequently dissolves into demonic screech, she tears through black-hearted anthems like "Always Been Evil" and "Off With Your Head" like a woman possessed, with DIO-like levels of dramatic presence, and a dense, obsidian vibrato that refuses to quit. On the lurching blues of "Shadows", Leone lets rip like an soul diva from the depths of Hell; on the cobwebbed and unholy balladry of "Hallowed Ground", she shimmies across the octaves with the finesse of a master.

The title track is a particularly fine example of modern, traditional metal and promises to be a nailed-on live favorite, and not just because it features some enjoyably thuggish gang vocals and an instantly singable chorus. Ultimately, Leather Leone is incredibly adept at selling the sentiment of a song, and all those years of experience have only sharpened her expressive intuition. Whether it's the high-octane swashbuckling of "Tyrants" or the mutinous call to arms of "Who Rules The World", these songs are shrewdly positioned at a musical midpoint between European power metal and its grittier and darker US equivalent, with Leone's timeless bellow as the glue that holds it all together. Again, her band are magnificent throughout, casually shapeshifting from all-out thrash to the sumptuously symphonic without losing one shred of band identity.

Not just a fine and ferocious melodic metal record, but one of the most powerful records she has ever made, "We Are The Chosen" is what happens when greatness grits its teeth and keeps chasing the dream. LEATHER forever. This fucking slays.

Author: Dom Lawson
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).