Leeway – Born To Expire/Desperate Measures – Review

Leeway

Born To Expire/Desperate Measures (Another Planet)
by Tim Creter

Another NYHC retrospective/compilation from Another Planet brings us the wacky Leeway. First off, as I’m sure most people know, Leeway’s material has always been more metal than hardcore. But they had a hardcore mentality and fellowship, and played hardcore shows with the likes of Sick of it All and Bad Brains. They were really a crossover band, with a sound that brought metal and hardcore kids together. (Awww! How nice!) The sound on their first LP, Born to Expire, is instantly likable metal packed with riffs comparable to Master of Puppets-era Metallica. Desperate Measures featured the addition of their current drummer and bassist, but they really took a turn for the worse. They lost the “metal-core” feel due to experimentation that led to a commercial hard rock sound, and with what vocalist Eddie Sutton refers to as Ozzy-sounding vocals. But the band admits that they strayed the path with that one and has since tried to revamp their sound. Overall, Leeway has been a NY standard since 1984. This disc shows their roots and the attitude that helped them achieve their spot in the ever-spanning hardcore evolution.