OZ - review added 16th November 2011
Album Review: Burning Leather (2011)
For fans of: Heavy Metal
"Burning Leather" is the first album from Scandinavian metallers Oz in twenty years. After all that time it doesn't contain new material from start to finish which is a shame. Everything on the LP is newly recorded, but several tracks are merely updated versions of vintage efforts. Thing is, the album has a real retro feel to the production so, if someone told you the tracks harked back to the time of the band's debut "Heavy Metal Heroes" in 1982, you'd believe them.
The sound is a rough and knobbly thing that comes across like Saxon, older AC/DC, Motorhead and so on. It's not subtle, the lyrics aren't great, the musicianship doesn't do anything spectacular, but somehow the album still works. It's basically a totally harmless, great fun nod to the days when metal was massive. It's damned hard not to fall for its charms actually.
In Summation:
"Burning Leather" isn't a masterpiece, but it's thoroughly likeable and will go down a storm with anyone who likes retro heavy metal.
Entertainment/Enjoyment:
Musicianship:
Vocals:
Song Writing:
Production:
Overall (Not An Average Of The Above):
Track List:
01. Dominator
02. Searchlights
03. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
04. Fire In The Brain
05. Seasons In The Darkness
06. Turn The Cross Upside Down
07. Burning Leather
08. Gambler
09. Enter Stadium
10. Total Metal
11. Third Warning
Band/Performers:
Ape DeMartini - Vocals
Mark Ruffneck - Drums
Jay C. Blade - Bass
Costello Hautamäki - Guitar
Markku Petander - Guitar
Other Info:
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Oz | MySpace | Facebook
