Carpenter Brut releases new single ‘Speed Or Perish’

Carpenter Brut has released the new single ‘Speed Or Perish’, the latest song to be taken from his forthcoming album Leather Temple out February 27^th via No Quarter Prod / Virgin Records.

Leather Temple is the third and final album in the Leather trilogy from the French synthwave icon. The Leather Temple stands at the centre of Midwichpolis, a post-apocalyptic city risen from nuclear fallout which is the beating heart of the forthcoming album.

‘Speed Or Perish’ captures the sound of the Midwichpolis arena, which shakes with the roar of the crowd who are witnessing several teams war machines set to destroy one another in a life or death race, driven by propulsive synths, electro stomp, heavy riffs and dramatic electronics.

The video – written & directed by Seth Ickerman and produced by No Quarter Prod – captures the highspeed bloodbath, it’s brutal and relentless, as blades, gunfire, and collisions tear one another apart.

Leather Temple dives into a raw, rhythmic, and restless energy, with each track working like a condensed charge. More cinematic and orchestral, yet also more direct, the album distils a saturated 90s electro atmosphere — dark and unflinching — driven by sharp beats, distorted layers, and unrelenting tension.

The Leather series launched in 2018 with Leather Teeth, which was in parts a celebratory take on ‘80s glam rock, while the 2022 follow-up Leather Terror was an altogether more malevolent slasher-horror affair, telling the story of Bret Halford, a serial killer wreaking revenge on those who wronged him. Like its predecessors, the new album forms the soundtrack in the latest chapter of this filmic concept.

Short but intense, Leather Temple hits fast and hard. It doesn’t take time to explain — it acts. Each track feels like a scene, a shot, a chase. A soundtrack seemingly designed to make the neon lights flicker, speed up the heartbeat, and set the engines of a collapsing world roaring.

LEATHER TEMPLE TRACK LISTING

1. Ouverture (Deus Ex Machina)
2. Major Threat
3. Leather Temple
4. She Rules The Ruins
5. Start Your Engines
6. Neon Requiem
7. Iron Sanctuary
8. The Misfits The Rebels
9. Speed or Perish
10. The End Complete

Since 2012, Carpenter Brut has been blending electronic music, metal, and 1980s pop culture into a unique universe that is both dark and energetic, and in the process has established himself as one of the leading figures on the international synthwave scene, with a powerful, dynamic sound.

Drawing inspiration from John Carpenter and Dario Argento as much as from Slayer or Justice, Carpenter Brut has built a coherent, stylized, and shadowy world at the crossroads of retro thrillers, glam metal, and futuristic dystopia.

The aural and visual spectacle continues into Carpenter Brut live shows, and he has announced shows across Europe, the USA and Canada for March 2026. He will perform a special standalone UK headline appearance at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on March 22^nd. Full dates and tickets can be found here.