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Scandinavian Leather is rock & roll hedonism in its highest (i.e. lowest) form, combining the theatrics of Alice Cooper, the campiness of Queen, the degenerate glam of Motley Crue, and the urgent punk-rock spirit of the Ramones. Less punk than 1996’s Ass Cobra and more rock than 1998’s excellent Apocalypse Dudes, Scandinavian Leather is everything a proper rock album should be: there’s pomp (strings pop up on "Wipe It ‘Til It Bleeds" and again on "Fuck the World"), shout-along anthems (check out the driving, fists-in-the-air chorus of "Remain Untamed"), and even the occasional, self-indulgent guitar solo. Songs like "Sell Your Body (To the Night)" and "Train of Flesh" are dark and seedy, but the danger is cartoonish. Fortunately, this bunch doesn't make music to be taken seriously; they make music that rocks. --Robert Burrow