Album Review: Carpenter Brut - 'Leather Temple'
Carpenter Brut’s cinematic grand finale is rich in gothic text and pure synthwave melodies – it’s purely an artist’s vision and we’re all the better for having them.
Opening with the loud, bombastic synth-laden beats of Ouveture (Deus Ex Machina), Carpenter Brut thrust you into a world where you can imagine you were akin to Ryan Gosling in Drive, moving through the neon-soaked streets of Los Angeles, or a video game Racing Sim. It’s hypnotising and Major Threat ups that gear completely with the dance-metal really kicking in for a unique thrill. Carpenter Brut himself has built significant lore behind the world of Leather Temple that plunges you into the dystopian lore of 2077, and this chapter tells the story of the Rebellion led by Lita Connor, who resurrect Bret Halford, now transformed into a cyborg, to overthrow the tyrant Iron Tusk. It’s very pulp sci-fi and the first few tracks reflect that – high-energy Tron-esque rage-inducing soundtrack to a post apocalyptic film where humanity has failed is very evident, utilising influence from John Carpenter as much as Slayer – and they’re two winning combinations right there.
It’s the closure of a concept album that wraps up the story that began in Leather Teeth and Leather Terror and showcases the talent of Carpenter Brut’s mammoth project that it stands on its own as much as acting as the concluding part of a cinematic trilogy. The leading synthwave heads are bombastic in the dark and energetic atmosphere that create a whirlwind of emotion and help the audience possess that feeling from the get-go. Each song title tells a story: be it She Rules the Ruins, Start Your Engines or Iron Sanctuary – where it is easy enough to imagine the lead characters of Leather Temple breaching the inner walls of Iron Tusk’s home, building to a Speed or Perish conclusion that lays the stakes bear – this is a visual treat as much as at is a musical one. Few artists have taken the concept of a cinematic album like Carpenter Brut and turned it into a trilogy of this undertaking and that is a feat worthy of recognition in its own right – audacious to see it through to the end.
Like any battle does it builds and builds and then just explodes – purely trance- inducing and magnetic in its ability to keep you hypnotised. The sheer scale of the world Carpenter Brut has built is captured in songs like She Rules the Ruins, which casts us into the mindset of Lita Connor and her protagonist as leader of the Rebellion, as does The Misfists The Rebels and how it tells that story. Neon Requiem is a beautiful reminder of what Carpenter Brut is: able to hit glorified heights in a way few in the synthwave genre can.
The album feels industrial at times and it feels wholly different, with Frank Hueso refusing to take the spotlight with the Frenchman putting his record above his stage presence. There are almost no vocals and it feels entirely standalone despite being the third part of a trilogy – which itself is a feat to be commended; an accessible launching on point to act three. It’s a story from a movie that doesn’t exist and by the end of the record you’ll be wishing it does: this immerses completely and as sincerely as Carpenter Brut commands you to, and the triumphant blastbeats of She Rules the Ruins when everything kicks into gear?
Perfection – just across the board – it’s progressive right the way down to the very core and explosive on just about every level; this feels like a real reminder of what pure, unaltered vision-guidance can lead to from an artist with class and talent. It’s a world of Cyberpunk 2077 and Blade Runner here on high octane energy with an Akira-esque shot in the arm; the exploration of the need of human existence in an age of machine feels more timely as the years go by and the 10 tracks that Carpenter Brut can create cast a spell on the audience. It’s a ghost-like gothic organ opener and the Carpenter-esque backings of a sci-fi dystopia are evident here.
This is an album that demands to be listened to in full to get the coherent picture; Carpenter Brut builds an anti-playlist record that demands you to spin it from start to finish and you’ll quickly find out why. Bombastic and full of grandeur, it stands on ceremony and throws you headfirst into the world. If you’re not immersed by Major Threat’s end this album won’t be for you, but those who get on its wavelength will be hooked line and sinker. It’s a blockbuster made for the big screen blasted into your ears and stands triumphant as one of the boldest concept albums since well, Carpenter Brut made his last release.
Whether you have been eagerly awaiting the final part of the trilogy or this is your first exposure to Carpenter Brut as an artist you will be rewarded by his magnitude and scope. It’s one of the most ambitious records of the year in terms of pure vision and every time you return to this dystopian landscape you learn something new or sinister – it peals back a layer and feels as good as the kings of the electronic genre themselves, Aphex Twin and their ilk. It’s not a utopia – very much a functional dystopia that we’re thrust into and Brut makes you believe in this world completely and utterly. The gears are switched from the sonic organistic bombast of the opener to the cinematic She Rules the Ruins and there’s almost a lot of rave-core elements in here as well, Carpenter Brut able to be one of those few artists capable of treading the line between that of Boomtown and Download festivals, which on paper should have zero overlap, to perfection.
It’s easy to be drawn into the world and make up your own stories or follow the script that Brut rights for you – naming a character Connor in a sci-fi dystopia fighting evil robots draws out the Terminator comparisons and it’s not subtle, with sheer relentless non-stop beats drawing to mind the thrill of the chase of Mad Max: Fury Road. Neon Requiem allows for calm before the storm – but that’s all it is, the deep breath before the plunge.
Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies
