I put my headphones on my head and start the digital recordings I have received. The album is called "Kill The Hunted" and I am very eager to find out what it sounds like, as I requested it to be sent to me. When it all gets going I just can't help but wonder who I am listening to. This sounds like early SAVATAGE, when Jon Oliva was still at the vocal helm of that band. It even has some resemblance to MALICE, another one of those bands with a very distinctive sound. On top of that they both had those very much over the top heaviness in the production of their albums in that era. As soon as more melodic parts come creeping in, and the lead guitar starts to make itself known you realise that you're not listening to one of those bands, but that you are actually listening to LEATHERWOLF.

I lost touch with them after their 1989 album "Street Ready", and as I listen to "Kill The Hunted" I start to wonder how much I missed. Why? Simple, this is that good US Metal with heavy riffs, beautiful lead guitar pieces (that sometimes even go into masturbatory mode) and a very good and powerful voice to front it all. Keith Adamiak does resemble Jon Oliva when he goes a bit heavier, but he has a lot softer voice than the big man has when he does his melodic interpretation. He is a real find. But I have to add that the rest of the band is not any less impressive and/or important, as all the recordings are played close to perfection, with a proper full and heavy sound as result.

The songs all have that typical build up that was so prevalent in the eighties for a lot of those US Metal bands. What is very evident, though, is that the quality of the tunes on "Kill The Hunted" is above reproach. Everything fits together like the proverbial glove. Not even some overzealous guitar exploits that are used in between can diminish the feeling that this is a bloody good record. It won't give LEATHERWOLF the cult status they had in the eighties, but it will reignite the flame with the crowd that was into them at that time. Hopefully it will also add some new additions to that group. LEATHERWOLF deserve to be noticed, and I believe "Kill The Hunted" can achieve that for them.