Carpenter Brut (FR)

Carpenter Brut is the synthwave project of French musician Franck Hueso, blending aggressive beats, neon synths, high-flying guitar solos (particularly during live performances), and a deep obsession with '80s action and horror films into a high-octane thrill ride. Like several other synthwave artists, such as Perturbator and GosT, Hueso comes from a metal background, having engineered, produced, mastered, or played on numerous grindcore and thrash recordings since the late '90s. German witch house label Black Bus Records released Carpenter Brut's debut EP at the end of 2012, with the track title "Disco Zombi Italia" pointing to some of the inspirations behind the project. EP II arrived in 2013, and Carpenter Brut guested on Perturbator's 2014 full-length Dangerous Days. EP III was released by Hueso's own No Quarter label in 2015, and all three EPs were compiled as Trilogy. Carpenter Brut songs appeared in video games such as Hotline Miami 2 and Furi, and the project began performing as a trio with a guitarist and a drummer, including a 2016 American tour with Swedish metal band Ghost. The concert album Carpenterbrutlive appeared in 2017, including several previously unreleased songs as well as a cover of Michael Sembello's iconic '80s hit "Maniac." The short album Leather Teeth followed in 2018.