LEATHERWITCH - POLAND

LEATHERWITCH - FIRST SPELL - LISTENABLE  
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Marta Gabriel's band Crystal Viper ended in 2025 and she announced her solo act Leatherwitch in 2026. To Marta's credit, she didn't take to calling the act Marta or Marta Gabriel. Here is the solo act’s first album. It appears on Crystal Viper's final label, Listenable Records. The album too has a cool and fitting title.

Given how Crystal Viper delivered traditional and honest heavy metal, it is good to report that Leatherwitch does not deviate from the style and stays true to heavy and power metal. Having said that, it becomes even more unclear why the door was closed on Crystal Viper then. Were reports of injuries and fatigue correct or perhaps Marta craved more control, which gave birth to her solo endeavour. If the latter, the question is why since the acts' styles are not much different. There are a few noticeable differences between the two acts' heavy metal, however. We'll highlight them while running through the songs.
First Spell's first invocation is Heroes And The Dice, an intriguing title. The start is, oh no, folklorish, but that does not last thankfully. The guitar sound is likely deliberately thin, The drums are furious though, but alas Marta has resorted to using a drum machine. Her voice is intact, powerful and has range. The song is reminiscent of Running Wild. Whatever riff she throws at us, the 'drums' bob forward either intentionally or as a sign of inattention. The song is catchy. Beast Inside is more melodic. The lack of variety in the drum sound begins to become monotonous given the repetition of the same beat. This would be a stark miss for the young and budding act. Bound By The Night features a cool bass sound, but the song itself is the album's filler. Marta's tone is reminiscent of Lovebites' Asami here, but the Pole wins by virtue of having the much larger range. Next come the Silver Stallions, as seen on the CD's cover, which is a hard rocker. Marta delivers on the vocals and sounds somewhat like the singer of The Lizzies. The galloping riff will warm the heart of any Running Wild fan. The weakness here is the asinine ‘cymbal’ sound, which is terrible. Human drummers have nothing to fear in today's digital sweepstakes apparently.
Living In The Fast Lane may be an archetypal title, but the song stands apart with its multiple vocal tracks. Marta stretches her voice to reach higher ranges and make this an impressive song - my favourite. The New Beginning - likely was in contention for the album's title - is a somewhat commercial rocker with a cool guitar solo. The slow part comes across like a Lita Ford single and the guitar doodling follows a pattern similar to '70s Scorpions. Two Tons Of Steel ramps up again and hits hard. In The Middle Of The Night - recall that we are bound by the night, after all - has an AOR-ish background. The solo is neat. The song is energetic. Sadly, the album adheres to Crystal Viper's habit of including cover versions. The boy needs another one of these wastes of time like the world needs more hamburger chains. Marta begins Helloween's Walls Of Jericho with a synthesized sound. Could it be a joke? Unneeded, unnecessary and inferior to the original, Leatherwitch's version comes with altered lyrics. Marta's accent comes through here most strongly. Whatever the case, bravo to Marta for not only recording all the instruments and vocals on her own, but more importantly also exceeding the limitations of a solo multi-instrumentalist. Pity about the drum machine.
The main difference compared to Crystal Viper is the dearth of guitar harmonies, given the line-up formation, and actual drums being absent, the songs generally are as good, but all in all don't expect any drastic changes. This isn’t a case of a singer going solo and wimping out. - Ali "The Metallian"