My love for Leatherwolf has been documented throughout the years. I've always felt that metal and hard rock fans haven't given the Orange County, Calif. quintet a fair shot due to their admittedly horrible band name. But, to me, the group's first three studio albums—Leatherwolf (1984), Leatherwolf (1987), and Street Ready (1989)—belong in any classic metal fan's record collection.
Of all their work throughout the years, Street Ready remains the crowning glory of Leatherwolf's growing discography. There isn't a clunker among the 10 tracks on the album, but my favorite song on Street Ready has to be "Thunder."
Appearing on Side 2 of the album, "Thunder" starts off with a rolling drum pattern that slowly builds throughout the verse and then explodes into a momentous chorus fit for a power metal-leaning band like Vicious Rumors or Savatage. The use of gang vocals during the chorus is also a winning studio choice, giving the track an arena-ready effect begging for crowd participation.
On the guitar front, the triple-axe team of Carey Howe, Geoff Gayer, and Michael Olivieri (also the lead vocalist of the band) comes through with tasty harmony parts during the solo part of "Thunder" that bring to mind Operation: Mindcrime-era Queensrÿche. The combination of Dean Roberts' tribal-like drum parts during the intro and verses and the classy guitar work from Howe, Gayer, and Olivieri makes "Thunder" Leatherwolf's best moment on tape (so far).
