The Formative Years - Leeway
Desperate Measures from 1991 raised quite a few question marks with me when it was first released and did not enter heavy rotation.
Revisiting it a couple of years later, it was a delight to have more of an understanding to see it for what it was – a masterpiece put out by a band that had evolved in terms of experimentation by merging well-calibrated element of hardcore, metal, thrash and even hip hop to arrive with a for the timely context new and boundary pushing sound of their own.
A factor that certainly contributed to Leeway playing in a league of its own is singer Eddie Sutton's inimitable singing style, which pierces the thick and crunchy foundation of heavy riffs and infuses them with otherworldly melodies.
I will deliberately draw a veil of silence over Leeway’s musical output and albums that followed Desperate Measures, but their first two albums remain timeless guitar-driven, groovy classics that introduced the energy and original song-writing skills that bands like Metallica offered into street oriented punk and hardcore.
With both albums having been released thirty years ago, Leeway’s legacy looms large as with their musical output they manage to still ignite the imagination of hardcore musicians looking to evolve past the confines of hardcore and metal, e.g. bands like Iron Age and Power Trip.
A band gateway band that made me delve deeper into thrash and crossover territory and one that is in my NYHC pantheon right next to The Icemen.
