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Well, this is one hell of a cool album. No wonder Luxi put it in his list of best albums of 2011. This has to be one of the best "album that could have been released 30 years ago" that I've heard in a long time. Very NWOBHM-ish, on occasion sounding much like Saxon, Burning Leather is 100% old school (except for the modern production, which thankfully takes nothing away from the old school vibe), is catchy as hell and occasionally pretty funny ("Turn the Cross Upside Down" makes me smile every time I hear it).

The vocals melodies coupled with the clean, relatively high-pitched singing just scream "sing along or I'll fucking kill you" – very engaging, and after just one listen a lot of those melodies will be stuck in your head. The same can be said for a lot of the songs here, whether it's the riffs or just the melodies this is all very catchy, while also having that "hey, this reminds me of this or that album" feeling that just keeps you guessing, while at the same time feeling like you've just travelled three decades into the past. Songs like the anthemic-must-make-a-killing-live "Enter Stadium" or the very Saxon-esque "Total Metal" just get me pumping every time, while the chorus in "Dominator" is forever imprinted in my brain.

A lot more could be said about the album, but that would require a lengthy track-by-track review. While Burning Leather is not all that original, it is bound to please fans of the band as well as fans of NWOBHM or straightforward, catchy, spirit-lifting old school Heavy Metal. A number of bands make a lacklustre comeback after many years, but OZ prove with Burning Leather that they still have what it takes. They may be stuck in a time machine but damn, it's stuck just on the right date. Recommended for any fan of old school Heavy Metal who just can't get enough of it.