Greg Puciato Powers New Carpenter Brut Song ‘Imaginary Fire’
French synthwave artist Carpenter Brut is leaning a little heavier with the new song "Imaginary Fire," pulling in a guest vocalist who has considerable experience on the heavier side of music in former The Dillinger Escape Plan singer Greg Puciato.
The track immediately smacks you with a wall of distorted synths before pulling back to let Puciato's vocal take the lead. Melodic verses give way build to more soaring and occasional aggressive moments. The end result is a song that pushes both musicians beyond a bit of their norm.
“I'm really proud of this one, happy to cross these musical paths. I love how the video turned out too," says Puciato. "Lyrically the song is pretty to the point. Two people frustratingly trying to get rid of their fears and their made-up bullshit so they can move forward, together or separate, free of outcome.”
"Imaginary Fire" is featured on Carpenter Brut's upcoming Leather Terror album, due April 1 via Universal. The Dehn Sara-directed clip can be viewed below.
Carpenter Brut Featuring Greg Puciato, "Imaginary Fire"
Leather Terror is the second installment in Carpenter Brut's "Leather" trilogy, coming on the heels of 2018's Leather Teeth. The albums are meant to form a soundtrack for an imagined 1987 movie, following the story of introverted science student Bret Halford who becomes disfigured after failing to create a concoction to win over his crush, so he decided to turn to rock and roll instead, becoming the singer of Leather Patrol.
In this second installment, Bret has become a true rock star and ruthless avenger, inflicting his punishment on those who stand between him and what he desires. Where the preceding album was more centric to '80s glam rock, this second album turns darker in nature, documenting the central character's rise to becoming a serial killer.
Regarding the album, Carpenter Brut says, "After spending much of 2018 touring, I had decided to take a long break to compose the new album of the trilogy. The pandemic confirmed that my choice to stay home was the right one. I ended up taking over a year and a half to compose this album. I made a lot of decisions with the time I had that I wouldn't have had time to make if the pandemic hadn't happened. I wanted to make the whole thing as massive as possible. There is no guitar on this album. I did everything with synths. Even though I didn't know exactly how I wanted the album to sound at first, I knew I wanted it to be massive and violent.”
In addition to Puciato, the new album features guest turns by Gunship's Alex Westway, Converge's Ben Koller, Tribulation's Jonka, the Norwegian band Ulver, Sylvaine's Kathrine Shepard and Parisian vocalist Persha. Pre-orders for the album are being taken here and you can view the album artwork and track listing below.
Carpenter Brut, Leather Terror Artwork + Track Listing
Opening Title
Straight Outta Hell
The Widow Maker
Imaginary Fire
… Good Night, Goodbye
Day Stalker
Night Prowler
Lipstick Masquerade
Color Me Blood
Stabat Mater
Paradisi Gloria
Leather Terror