Leather Temple

Sound DNA

• Electronic
• Synth-Pop / New Wave

• dense
• intense
• nocturnal

About

In completing his sci-fi serial killer trilogy, French electronic mastermind Franck Hueso drops the after-hours bacchanal to an eight-year dance party. Following 2018’s <i>Leather Teeth</i> and 2022’s <i>Leather Terror</i>, <i>Leather Temple</i> invokes a futuristic neon cityscape that conjures Ridley Scott’s <i>Blade Runner</i> and the sleeve of Iron Maiden’s <i>Somewhere in Time</i>. Hueso’s storyline propels us into the fictional Midwichopolis in the year 2077, where our heroes Bret Halford (a mashup of Poison lead singer/<i>Rock of Love</i> beau Bret Michaels and Judas Priest singer Rob Halford) and Lita Connor (a combination of former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford and <i>Terminator</i> ass-kicker Sarah Connor) battle the supervillain Iron Tusk. But where <i>Leather Teeth</i> and <i>Leather Terror</i> featured guest vocalists as varied as Ulver’s Kristoffer Rygg, Norwegian artist Sylvaine, and former Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato, <i>Leather Temple</i> is an all-instrumental affair. As Hueso tells it, he simply wanted to bask in melodies inspired by the electronic music of the ’80s and ’90s. The booming industrial title track pitches the drama into high gear, while fluorescent fantasy “Neon Requiem” gives off futuristic <i>Miami Vice</i> vibes. “She Rules the Ruins” splits the difference into something turbocharged for the <i>Grand Theft Auto</i> soundtrack. Hueso channels the Carpenter part of his stage name on “Iron Sanctuary,” a throbbing horror-movie piece that could score a remake of <i>They Live</i>, <i>Escape from New York</i>, or—not that we need another one—<i>Halloween</i>. “Start Your Engines” is all pulsing pastels, while “The Misfits / The Rebels” is a merciless, hard-driving banger that sets up the pounding sci-groove of “Speed or Perish.” Last but not least, “The End Complete” serves as the moody comedown in which we reflect upon our choices and maybe smoke a jazz cigarette as the sun comes up.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits