LeATHERMOUTH are a band that has been getting a lot of attention as of late. However I believe this might be due to the fact that their front man is My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero. There are two problems with this, people are going to automatically like them because of the fact the singers in My Chemical Romance, the second problem is that the majority of people that like My Chemical Romance aren’t this band’s target audience.
I fear that because of this people who would normally like this type of music are going to be deterred by the rows of screaming teeny boppers there to see their favourite guitarist in action. That would be a real shame as this band would be liked for all the wrong reasons instead of the fact their music is really good.
I’m 3 songs in and my socks have already been blown across the room. The music infuses traditional hardcore with some more spazzy music and throws in a little bit of metalcore mixed up with some gut wrenching screaming and obnoxious talking. Being a fan of bands like The Locust, Daughters and other “spazzcore” outfits this music is so far removed from My Chemical Romance I really can’t believe it. He did used to be in a band called Pencey Prep that was a little less radio friendly than MCR but nothing as wild as this. Frank and his gang really did go all out on this album. Energetic riffs, great drumming and generally being angry at the world fuel it throughout.
Some songs such as Sunsets are for Muggings are more hardcore orientated, relying on a simpler song structure however they still do the job. The song titles are a little farfetched and immature at times with some examples being This Song is About Being Chased By Monsters and My Lovenote Has Gone Flat, but the music’s very grown up and coherent with how bad society has gotten these days. Although I Am Going To Kill The President of The United States of America takes it a bit too far, maybe Frank woke up on the wrong side of the bed the morning that was written. Silly song titles aside the music really is great and the amount of work that went into these songs is evident.
I really do hope that Frank can shake off the image of being in the black parade and can be respected by fans of this type of genre because the band really deserves it. If you like lyrical content that is genuinely angry and crazy and music that reflects it then this band are exactly that. Don’t be shaken by the fact there will be MCR fans that love one of the band members and check out this album. I tip my hat to them for making it.
Jonathan Teggert