LEATHERHEAD – Violent Horror Stories

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7.0

• Bands:
  LEATHERHEAD
• Duration: 00:37:39
• Available from: 02/13/2026
• Label:

• No Remorse Records

Directly from Thessaly, home of mythological heroes, Herculean labors and Homeric writings, come Leatherhead, contemporary Greeks who, to use an assonance with 'higher' themes than ours, refer to the 'classics' not of literature but of heavy metal in the strict sense. Ours, in business since 2022, release their second album, called “Violent Horror Stories”, an LP which, as we will see, draws heavily from that cumbersome past which, still today, forcefully re-emerges in many groups who make revival their reason for existence. On the other hand, we're not saying anything new, just go back to the quintet's self-titled debut to find the exact same coordinates; a more than discreet job that allowed them to share the stage with acts such as Savatage, Michael Schenker, Tankard and Destruction, showcasing their explosive mix of 1980s speed/heavy and Californian thrash a la Testament and similar in much of the Old Continent. Anticipated between the end of the past year and the beginning of the present by two singles, “Violent Horror Stories” aims to make a good impression within today's very varied metallic music scene, where there really is something for all tastes.

Going into the individual musicians, this release marks the entry of a new entry, namely the guitarist Jim Komninos, former bandmate of the singer Tolis Mekras (founding member of the nucleus together with the bassist George Bradley and the drummer Michalis Zounarakis) in a youth group called Thorn Burial; in general, the lineup appears well-established and sufficiently educated for the task of propagating healthy and true heavy metal, as evidenced by the two singles that preceded the album: “VHS” features a main riff that is a little too indebted to the early Testament, and the more experienced will certainly notice the similarity with “Burnt Offerings” by the Frisco thrashers, but overall it works and achieves the objective of presenting the work in an aggressive manner; “Summoning Dead”, more reasoned, leaves very little to be remembered for, the choice of this piece as a single was mysterious. There is no point in proceeding with a track-by-track: as far as we are concerned, there is an episode which, taken alone, is already worth the entire album, and it is “Children Of The Beast”, a journey in the wake of famous rides of the past such as “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Victim Of Changes” or, even more so, “Roads To Madness”, also given the obvious similarities of Mekras with Geoff Tate; a melodic principle in a power ballad style that progressively increases the revs and darkens into the classic solutions made great by the NWOBHM school, for seven minutes and pennies of excellent music. The watchword is compactness, you never get out of the heavy/speed grooves, and in this case it's a good thing: the best things are often the simplest, if expressed with competence and passion. They were also very competent in the area of ​​No Remorse Records for having given trust to a horse who was undoubtedly still young, perhaps still in a moment of “work in progress” to strengthen and shape his own more marked personality, but in a phase of possible important launch pad.

“Violent Horror Stories” is not an album for everyone, indeed, for some the present work could be derivative beyond manner; for our part, we recognize the intrinsic value of tracks such as the ones already mentioned, as well as the captivating “The Visitors”, in perfect US metal style, and the sinister “Something Evil (This Way Comes)”, bordering on power and with interesting solo combinations of the pair of axes. Ultimately, we promote Leatherhead and await them with confidence in the third act, which will represent their full maturity.