Sacred Leather Keep The Fire Burning Review
Sacred Leather
Keep The Fire Burning
King Volume Records / Wise Blood Records
2025
In my never-ending hunt for anything dripping with Metal and nostalgia, I stumbled onto a new-to-me Indiana outfit called Sacred Leather. They’ve been around a few years and already have at least one full-length under their bullet belts, one I haven’t spun yet, but that’s about to change quickly.
Their newest release, “Keep The Fire Burning,” wastes zero time letting you know exactly what fire they’re talking about, the eternal flame of METAL. With a twin-guitar attack that screams Maiden, Priest, and Thin Lizzy worship, the riffs are sharp, the harmonies soar, and the leads are full-on ear-melting. Vocally, we’re talking somewhere in that Priest-meets-Queensrÿche spectrum, which is always welcome in this house. That’s certified royalty territory.
The overall vibe here lands squarely in the realm of pure, OG Heavy Metal. Nothing overly modern, nothing genre-bending, just the band throwing their own leather-clad spin on the blueprint. And honestly, that’s part of the charm. If someone slid me a beat-up cassette of this album and told me it dropped in 1984, I’d believe them without blinking. It’s got that warm, vintage punch. Even the slower tracks, definitely not “power ballads,” but thoughtful dips in tempo, add texture and elevate the whole mood.
My lone gripe is production. The mix feels a little flat, like everything sits at the same level. At times it almost sounds like the vocals got swallowed up by the guitars, as if the whole thing was tracked on an 8-track in someone’s garage. The vocal performance is killer, so it deserves to slice through the mix, not get buried under it. Maybe I’m spoiled by decades of Rob Halford supremacy, but still, a bit more separation would’ve taken these songs over the top.
That said, Sacred Leather have delivered a damn strong record with “Keep The Fire Burning”, production quirks and all. I get the feeling these tracks absolutely destroy in a live setting, where the energy can tear loose without restraint. If you’re an oldhead from my generation, or just someone who craves that authentic Heavy Metal spirit, you owe it to yourself to give this album a spin. Vinyl, CD, cassette… pick your poison, they’re out there.
Standout Tracks: “Tear Out My Heart,” “Keep The Fire Burning,” “Phantom Highway,” “Mistress of the Sun.”