L.A. Guns – Leopard Skin

In my review of Black Diamonds (2023), the last post-reunion album from glam metal kings L.A. Guns, I noted how it “didn’t immediately grab me the way the last three albums did”, yet was still an enjoyable listen. Upon a few revisits of this affair, not only this is unfortunately still the case, but I’d almost go so far as to put forth that, after three consecutive creative triumphs, Black Diamonds was the sound of a band beginning to lose steam. Sure, there’s no denying the Zeppelin and AC/DC flavors that come with the territory of an L.A. Guns album, but at certain points, it was hard to tell where the line between every other Zeppelin/AC/DC worship act ended and L.A. Guns began.

This brings us to the fifth offering from post-reunion L.A. Guns, Leopard Skin, which just from its cover alone (Who could go wrong with a half exposed chest?), should signal a step in the right direction…right? Well folks, as the biggest L.A. Guns fan you’ll meet under the age of 55, it pains me to say that Leopard Skin is the band’s weakest reunion outing to date, and perhaps their most underwhelming platter since the Phil Lewis-less Shrinking Violet (1998), featuring Jizzy “You answered your own question” Pearl on vocals. All in all, Leopard Skin consists of a few great songs, an overload of mediocrity, and some absolutely cringe-worthy dreck.

Let’s start with the “good”, shall we? Rife with sleaze and swagger, “Taste It” is easily the strongest cut, thanks to its genuinely ’80s atmosphere and Lewis’ scorching vocals (the dude can still BELT it). Right behind it in the excellence department is “The Masquerade”. Now I’m the first to put down a symphonic ballad on a hard rock album, but that’s only because most hard rock bands can’t convey the passion that L.A. Guns did on 1991’s Hollywood Vampires, which emanates all over this one. “If You Wanna” serves as a fitting bookend, packing the same Sunset Strip punch as “Taste It” did roughly thirty-something minutes earlier. It’s what’s sandwiched in between these three songs that range from, “Meh.” to “What the hell?”

Dirty hard rockers like “The Grinder”, “Don’t Gimme Away”, and “Follow the Money” are fine and good, emphasizing those aforementioned Zeppelin and AC/DC influences with a hint of Stonesian cool and Mk. III Purple groove. Their only fault is if I heard these blindly, I’d never guess they were L.A. Guns songs. The country tinged “Runaway Train” would be a million times better if it were electrified instead of unplugged, which then brings us to Leopard Skin‘s trio of certified duds: “Lucky Motherfucker”, “I’m Your Candy Man”, and “Hit and Run”. The first two, as you could probably deduct from the titles alone, are painful slabs of cliché sleaze, completely devoid of the charm that made such similarly natured L.A. Guns songs of yesteryear so memorable. As for “Hit and Run”, well, when you’ve got a song with melodies and “riffs” more reminiscent of R.E.M. and the scene they spawned than the glory days of glam, count me right out.

So there you have it: Three bangers, three disappointments, three pedestrian rockers, and an outlier that could’ve been better. I guess if nothing else, one has to hand it to L.A. Guns for organizational skills (scrap “Runaway Train” and you got an album that can be split perfectly into thirds). I’ll obviously continue to catch L.A. Guns live, as I yet to see another band from their era come close to capturing their intensity onstage…then again, that Michael Monroe show this past weekend was something else. Anyways, if you’re looking for a palette cleanse amidst an overload of thrash, death, black, and traditional metal, put on Leopard Skin. Or better yet, put on nearly any other L.A. Guns album that is infinitely better.

5 out of 10

Label: Cleopatra Records

Genre: Hard Rock

For fans of: Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin