''Desperate Measures'' is the second album by the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Hardcore/

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Leeway Leeway is the amount of drift motion to leeward of an object floating in the water caused by the component of the wind vector that is perpendicular to the object’s forward motion.Bowditch. (1995). The American Practical Navigator. Pub. No. 9. ...

. It was released in June 1991 on Rock Hotel/ Profile Records as was its predecessor, '' Born to Expire'' in 1989. It was followed by 1994's ''

Adult Crash ''Adult Crash'' is the third album by New York City band, Leeway. It was released in October, 1994 on Bulletproof Records and follows '' Desperate Measures''. It was followed by 1995's '' Open Mouth Kiss''. Track listing * All songs written by A ...

''. It features two line-up changes from the previous album: Jimmy Xanthos and Pokey replace Zowie and Tony Fontão on bass and drums respectively.

Overview

While the previous album showed a clear hardcore influence, the sound on Desperate Measures is of

akin to

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

or Testament. However, like its predecessor, it had fans in both metal and hardcore camps. Guitarist and songwriter, A.J. Novello, had this to say on the album:

...it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. (It) was a little too metallic. Eddie's vocals were drenched in effects (Suttons' critical comparison to Ozzy began here), the songs were more left-field, and we initially disappointed some fans.

In contrast to Novello, guitarist Michael Gibbons perceives the album in a more positive manner:

I still love Desperate Measures. Eddie's vocals were mixed too heavily, I agree. But, as a metalhead from Queens first, before I was even a hardcore fan, I've always loved that recording. A lot of hardcore fans also loved it, as well as some prominent people from the NYHC scene who have admitted that to me through the years.An interview with Gibbons with No Echo: http://www.noecho.net/interviews/michael-gibbons-leeway

Unlike the previous album, Desperate Measures shows more

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

& groove yet a melodic oriented sound with more variety, such as songs like "Kingpin" incorporate elements of a

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and early ...

/ rapcore sound, while another track like "2 Minute Warning" had more of a hip hop/

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

influence.

Track listing

#"Make Me An Offer" (Eddie Sutton, A.J. Novello, Michael Gibbons) – 5:49 #"All About Dope" (Sutton, Novello, H Ackerman) – 4:27 #"Soft Way Out" (Sutton, Novello) – 3:29 #"Stand For" (Sutton, Novello) – 3:41 #"No Heroes" (Sutton, Novello) – 3:46 #"Kingpin" (Sutton, Novello, Gibbons) – 3:53 #"Who's to Blame" (Sutton, Gibbons) – 4:06 #"Ball Hugger" (Sutton, Gibbons) – 3:23 #"2 Minute Warning" (Sutton) – 2:01 #"The Future (Ain't What it Used to Be)" (Sutton, Novello, Gibbons) – 7:27

Personnel

* Eddie Sutton – vocals * A.J. Novello – guitar * Michael Gibbons – guitar * Jimmy Xanthos – bass * Pokey – drums * Recorded in April, 1990 at Normandy Sound,

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...

, USA * Produced by Chris Williamson * Mastered by Howie Weinberg at

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such no ...

, USA * Re-issue re-mastered by Alan Douches at West Westside Music

Notes

External links

Leeway official website
{{Authority control 1991 albums Leeway (band) albums