Review by JD on March 1, 2012.

Gotta question here for you all: what do you have, when you combine the heaviness of Motorhead, some up-tempo Doom Metal and then get some Blues based Rock like Priestess thrown in to the pot? Give up? You end up exactly with San Diego based Doom/Stoner trio Leather Nun America.

With fire and power, this trio are impressive as all hell. They have talent and fire and some of the strongest lyrics, but sometimes I find that they lack direction. The seem to not be all on the same page, going from Doom Metal that makes you weep to mediocre Biker Rock. All that is making me think that the this band has lost its way.

Songs like 'Indra' are a thick, monstrously heavy and full of addictive melody Doom Metal that sticks in your head, but then when you get to the uninspired 70's flavoured 'Damiana' all crashes - the unfocused part of the album rears its head. It is a good song, but does it belong on this album? It is songs like 'Damiana' that bring it all to earth, and makes a potentially amazing album end up being a sort of confused version of average. It has smatterings of true brilliance, but only a few.

I will recommend the album to a degree, as some songs are so good that they have to be heard but taken as a whole album, it is not the best out there. They have the potential to be one of the best Doom/Stoner bands around, when the play it. Leather Nun America just needs to really focus on a collective direction for the band, and run with it.

That is what I hear.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 6.5
Originality: 6
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 6.8 out of 10