Stealing Grace

The little known and now defunct Florida power metal act Leash Law were definitely not what they seemed, at least when considering their image and cover art when compared to their overall sound. While most would likely conclude based on the former two aspects of the band that they were another in a long line of half modern rock/half metal mediocrity pushers who started popping up in the early to mid 1990s, the actual sound is unapologetically 80s in sound, minus perhaps the down-tuned guitars and the production. This little EP functions mostly as a musical sampler of what is contained on the album, and also a taste of what it would be like to hear the group live, but with backup tracks (just so you know).

The two album tracks that are on here represent 2 of 3 variations on the metal format that appear on “Dogface”. The title track is basically a well conceived, modern retelling of that famous speed metal tale that was told partially by Judas Priest, while the rest was carried to the folks via Yngwie Malmsteen. The solo is definitely “Trilogy” worship, while the bulk of the riffs and vocal work mixes influences ranging from Painkiller to The Seventh Sign. “Banyan” is an extremely well executed ballad with some heavy Yngwie influences that sports a harpsichord part and some Cassanova inspired lyrics; basically the opposite of what you would expect from a band that puts themselves forward as social critics.

The remaining two tracks on here are live songs taken from a gig in Athens, Greece. Interestingly enough, the gig was played completely by Wade Black, Rick Renstrom, and a fold of well seasoned backup tracks. Although the scenery of this gig would probably have been a little lacking, the sound is extremely well done, save a few tiny rough spots during the guitar solo. Wade’s vocal performance mostly sticks to the same approach as the album version, although he occasional varies his rhythm enough so that you can differentiate between him and his backup vocal tracks. The Iron Maiden medley, which I had to download because my copy didn’t have it on the CD, is the weak point of the release. Wade’s vocal performance is mostly on point, but the guitar rearrangement on “Revelations” was dry and all of “Hallowed Be thy Name” sounds flat. I don’t think either of these songs was meant to be played acoustically.

Although this album scores pretty high for content on its own, there isn’t really much extravagance on here that can’t also be heard on “Dogface”. I was able to procure this in a package deal with the full length from an independent vendor on the internet, and that’s the only scenario where I could see myself picking it up. But if you want to really experience some solid modern US power metal, definitely pick up a copy of “Dogface”. This band’s work needs and deserves a larger audience than what has.