Home Rock LEATHERWOLF at NAMM – Anaheim Grand Ballroom, Anaheim, CA – 1/27/24

LEATHERWOLF at NAMM – Anaheim Grand Ballroom, Anaheim, CA – 1/27/24

February 3, 2024

1866

Leatherwolf

Anaheim Grand Ballroom – Anaheim, CA

Saturday, January 27th, 2024

Review / Pics: Shannon Wilk

Old school heavy metalheads were in for a treat that fateful Saturday evening after the NAMM Show as Leatherwolf were to have a rare performance at Anaheim’s Grand Ballroom. The group, which features only one remaining original member, plays only a handful of shows each year making it a treat for the fans who get to witness the event.

The venue is host to quite a few concerts around NAMM Show time, this year’s including Leatherwolf, Last In Line, Ronnie Montrose Remembered and others. With two venues in the same building, there is a competition for draw; that night Leatherwolf in the Ballroom and Last In Line in the Theater. Despite the cards stacked against them, Leatherwolf had a great turnout.

The triple axe attack took the stage with an iron fist, as expected. Leatherwolf opened their set with the first two tracks off their 2022 release, Kill The Hunted. The first song of the night being “Hit The Dirt“, the debut release with the band’s latest incarnation. With 3 guitarists, the songs have such depth, not to mention the face-melting, harmonizing solos. Founding member and drummer, Dean Roberts, is joined by a group of fierce musicians who collectively do justice to the classic Leatherwolf tunes as well as performing their new music with ease.

Vocalist Keith Adamiak brings the grit and hits the highs in traditional heavy metal style. On stage left, guitarist Luke Man and bassist Brice Snyder are doing windmill hair-flips as they rock out in time. Over on stage right, Wayne Findlay impressively performs both guitar and keyboard duties next to guitarist Rob Math who has been rocking with Leatherwolf for over a decade. Seated behind his classic Yamaha custom kit, original drummer Dean Roberts slams on the drums, clearly worthy of his nickname “Drum Machine”.

Taking it back to their first album with “Rule The Night” and “Gypsies and Thieves“, the 6-piece band showed off their vocal harmonies, also adding to the depth of their live sound. Adamiak interacts with the crowd, going back and forth seeing which side of the audience can scream loudest.

Leatherwolf’s set included a couple special guests on their 1989 track, “Thunder“. Legendary guitarist Joel Hoekstra joined for the tune, making for a quadruple axe attack, as well as original member Paul Carman on bass, reuniting with his bandmates for the song.

Closing out the night with the classics, the group takes it back to their ‘87 and ‘89 studio albums for the final few songs; “Rise or Fall“, “Spirits in the Wind” and, of course, “The Calling“. Leatherwolf can still, in 2024, kick absolute ass on that stage. With how few shows they play each year, it’s impressive how tight they are musically. Carrying the torch of heavy metal from the mid-’80s until now, the 6 members put on a hard-hitting, high-energy rock show every time they hit the stage.