"When I listen to bands like BMTH and Architects it’s very powerful, but everything is focused on the vocals, like boy bands!" A synthwave pioneer has written a Sci-Fi concept album fighting back against "the boy band-ification" of metal... and Elon Musk

Carpenter Brut 2026 — (Image credit: Førtifem)

The final entry in Carpenter Brut’s Leather trilogy will be more electronic, but no less heavy than what came before. Mainman Franck Hueso is pulling influence from current events this time around, with Elon Musk as the basis for his new baddie, Iron Tusk.

He’s also taking a stand against what he sees as the boy band-ification of metal.

Why the title Leather Temple?

Carpenter Brut: “The first album was Leather Teeth, the second was Leather Terror, so I needed to find a title with a T! Torture, temple, titties…”

Why didn’t you choose to call it ‘Leather Titties’?!

“That wasn’t the concept. Ha ha! It’s about a man a bit like Biff Tannen in Back To The Future [Part II], ruling over a city, and his name is Iron Tusk. In Blade Runner, one of the first shots of the movie is a big temple with lots of lights. I had this mix in my head of this big city and this temple.”

Why did you draw from Elon Musk to create Iron Tusk?

“He was brilliant. I bought a Tesla because I liked his cars, but when he became political, I was like, ‘I don’t like that.’ He’s the richest man in the universe! What happens when a guy can decide everything when he owns everything?”

Did you get rid of the Tesla?

“Yeah. I bought another car instead.”

The album is more electronic than metal…

“It takes place in the future; electronic music sounds more futuristic. The thing was to move forward with the story and sound. The single, Leather Temple, is heavier than the rest of the album. It’s a punch in the face to say, ‘I’m back!’”

Any guest spots to look forward to?

“Zero! I did a lot of features on the last album, and I wanted a more straightforward writing process. Also, when I listen to the metal scene – bands like BMTH and Architects – it’s very powerful, but everything is focused on the vocals. They have great singers, but no really melodic musical parts. It’s just vocals, like boy bands! I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to take my keyboard and write some musical melodies with no vocals.’ I wanted to go back to the golden era of The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy.”

Leather Temple is expected February 27 via No Quarter Prod / Virgin Records

† CARPENTER BRUT - SPEED OR PERISH † Directed by Seth Ickerman (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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