French synthwave powerhouse Carpenter Brut has returned with Leather Temple, a punishing and atmospheric new single that offers the first, ferocious taste of the third and final instalment of his long-running Leather trilogy, due in 2026. Loaded with abrasive beats, metallic textures, and a rising sense of tension, the track arrives as an immediate statement of intent: this concluding chapter will be darker, heavier, and more cinematic than anything that has come before.
Carpenter Brut
Alongside the single comes an immersive and unsettling video from director Dehn Sora, expanding Carpenter Brut’s world-building with the introduction of Midwichpolis, a dystopian city rising from the ashes of a nuclear catastrophe in 2077. Towering above the devastated landscape is the monolithic Temple, home to the city’s brutal ruler Iron Tusk. From its countless floors, the Temple casts its shadow over the so-called City of Light, a decadent domain where neon and holograms bathe the streets in artificial glow, disguising corruption beneath a veneer of endless luxury.
Beyond the impenetrable walls that protect this upper-world excess lies the Midwich Slums — a harsh sprawl of wreckage, poverty, and fear. Giant screens broadcast Iron Tusk’s propaganda on an endless loop, promising prosperity while misery festers below. In this world, rebellion is punished, dissent is hunted, and the darkness is only deepened by the blinding glow from above.
Leather Temple channels that tension perfectly. Its snarling guitar riffs echo the rage building in the slums, while pulsating, neon-lit synth lines flicker like signals from the City of Light. Carpenter Brut fuses these elements into a blistering blend of ’90s electro, industrial menace, and the cinematic dystopia that has become central to his sound. The result is a track that feels both combustible and meticulously crafted — a soundtrack to uprising, decay, and the clash between power and rebellion.
For more than a decade, Carpenter Brut has carved out a unique place in electronic music, blending metal, synthwave, and the lurid pulse of 1980s horror into a world entirely his own. Drawing on influences from John Carpenter and Dario Argento to Slayer and Justice, he has shaped a universe that is as stylised and narrative-driven as any graphic novel or cult film. The Leather trilogy has reflected that evolution: Leather Teeth (2018) delivered a twisted glam-rock celebration, while Leather Terror (2022) leaned fully into a slasher revenge arc centred around Brett Halford, a serial killer anti-hero seeking retribution. The forthcoming final chapter looks set to expand this cinematic mythology to its most ambitious scale yet.
Carpenter Brut’s vision extends far beyond the studio. His live shows are renowned for their intensity, pairing explosive visuals with the weight of his genre-blending sound. Fans will be able to experience the next iteration of this world onstage in March 2026, with dates across Europe and the US. UK audiences will get a special treat when he headlines London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 22nd March.
Leather Temple is out now across all major platforms, offering an electrifying first glimpse into the dystopian finale of the Leather trilogy — and the next evolution of one of synthwave’s most distinctive creators.
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