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WICKED LEATHER
Season Of The Witch

Lost Realm (2026)
Rating: 7/10

Fresh out of Barcelona in Spain, Wicked Leather is the latest bunch of headbangers to keep the heavy metal flames flickering. Fronted by the stunning Yamila Martins, who provided backing vocals on the recent Redshark outing (Sudden Impact), Wicked Leather are the fiery female-fronted rock clan we need in our lives.

For all of its predictable shifts, this debut full-length album is a solid affair that you don’t have to think much about while swigging your beer. Armed with a good selection of toothy cuts, Season Of The Witch is more than happy to take wads of information and influence from the likes of Hellion et al in its quest for fire and brimstone. The guitars are sharp, acting as glinting steel weapons which rumble and snake with streaks of menace and galloping glee. Yamila adds that extra punch by providing screams and banshee wails in equal measure.

Season Of The Witch is the complete package if you like classic heavy metal, a pastiche of all that’s good and wholesome about the genre. Wicked Leather are not here to pander to progression, this is a band that just wants to rock, as showcased on the rollicking ‘Black Goat Rising’ with its mid 80s speed metal lashing. The combo occupies that not quite basement level of import metal that was rife in the 80s. How much of this outing you take seriously is at your discretion, but there’s no denying its warmth and nostalgic appeal. Consider then ‘Night Hunter’ which sounds like an undervalued outtake from the early Mötley Crüe years, although Yamila really drops deep with the vocal scowl. Meanwhile, ‘She Is The Storm’ boasts a punky New Wave Of British Heavy Metal vibe, particularly the axe work as it wafts with an earthy early 80s stench.

I guess my main issue here is the lack of real oomph, and much of what’s offered seems a bit timid at times. A few injections of speed wouldn’t have gone a miss here and there, but there’s no denying the rattle n’ roll of ‘Masquerade Of Shadows’ and the deliciously melodic ‘Crystal Lake’ which boasts a 70s glam pomp. For the most part, though, this is an album that shifts between the early-to-mid 80s, drifting towards old Judas Priest and Satan. The title track is very good, tight and well constructed, but the general hue is one that’s a touch off-kilter, struggling within its own skin as if the band hasn’t quite found the chemistry.

Maybe an EP would have sufficed at this point, but as it stands, Wicked Leather’s debut outing certainly boasts charm and promise of hotter and darker things, but for now Season Of The Witch may push the band into mid-table status. Whether they can remain there, we shall see.

Neil Arnold

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