Biography
Emerging amid a wave of promising metal acts from the greater Los Angeles region in the early 1980s, Orange County’s Leatherwolf drew repeated notice for its distinctive “triple axe attack,” built around Mike Olivieri—who also handled vocals—alongside Geoff Gayer and Carey Howe. Even so, this guitar-centric distinction proved insufficient to lift the group out of the heavy-metal underground. The band’s serious work began around 1982; after cutting demos and performing in area venues, the same three guitarists, joined by bassist Matt Hurich and drummer Dean Roberts, issued a self-titled EP on the independent Tropical Records label in 1984. That material was later augmented by five additional tracks to form a full-length album sometimes known as Endangered Species. Because the group’s sound drew heavily from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the recordings secured a European release through Grand Slamm Records. Those influences, however, found little traction in the United States, where more radio-friendly glam metal dominated attention, forcing Leatherwolf to wait and soften its approach before securing a contract with Island several years afterward. The resulting second album, also self-titled, arrived in 1987 and placed the band in a polished traditional-metal vein comparable to Fifth Angel, Armored Saint, or Queensryche, yet it largely set aside the earlier three-guitar hallmark. The shift suggested an attempt to meet label expectations, and the 1989 follow-up Street Legal—now featuring bassist Paul Carman—pushed the sound even closer to glam-rock territory with a series of unsuccessful tracks. Within a few years the group had dissolved. Although the live recording Wide Open surfaced in 1999, Leatherwolf did not return to the studio until 2006, when it assembled its fourth album, World Asylum, with Wade Black of Crimson Glory and Leash Law handling vocals.
Albums
