Album Details

• Artist: Leathermouth
• Album: Xo
• Label: Epitaph
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: sinist3r-punk on 2009-02-07

Leathermouth is one pissed off band, and Xo is the creation that spawned from all that built up anger. Frank Lero of My Chemical Romance (yes I said My Chemical Romance) has put together the angriest 5-piece I have heard in my life. Claiming to be a political band like Rage Against The Machine or the Dead Kennedys, Frank Lero sings about everything from being robbed of your childhood to school shootings.

I think that calling Leathermouth a political band is a bit much. Yeah the lyrics are there, even though you have to read the lyrics to understand what Lero is singing, but the attitude and the uprisings arent there. It's not that I don't think Leathermouth can't do that, but it's just too early to truly understand the direction in which this band is going to go. I mean, take a look at what Rage Against The Machine was able to do for Central and South American countries with their music and protests in the United States. Or, take a look back as far as the 70's to when the Dead Kennedys mocked the music industry at the Bay Area Music Awards. It's just too early to tell if Leathermouth is capable of doing these kinds of things.

Now onto the album. The music is absolutely brilliant. As bluntly as I can put it, there is no band with more potential than Leathermouth. Reading their bio only scratched the surface of the insanity of what was happening in the studio. There are some very faint traces of My Chemical Romance, but the crazy guitar hooks and the non-stop screaming push those traces over the edge of the abyss never to be seen again. A remarkable accomplishment for metal and for the year 2009.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2009-04-26 leathereyes Said:

Great album full of hardcore punk songs.
best tracks:
My lovenote has gone flat 10/10
murder was the case 9/10
body snatchers forever 10/10
this song is about being attacked by monsters 9/10
sunsets are for muggings 9/10


Rating: 10/10

on 2009-02-11 SolitaryMan Said:

Pretty bad-ass album, thanks for the heads up dude. They sound like a younger (but more focused at their age) Converge. Who knew a member of MCR had this in them? The best hardcore pours from the east coast, and NJ has no shortage of it.
Rating: 7/10