Hell for Leather: Brighton’s Hard Rock Breakouts Ready to Take On the World

In a scene crowded with copycats, Brighton’s Hell for Leather are carving out their own lane with riff-heavy, hook-packed anthems that refuse to blend into the background. Formed by four driven musicians — Alex Limb (guitar), Joe Rushman (bass), Reuben Whiting (drums), and Finlay Hutt (vocals) — the band has already sold out hometown shows, released a self-titled demo EP, and built a reputation for blistering live sets.

With a catalogue strong enough to fill three albums, but the patience to wait for the right label push, Hell for Leather are betting on themselves to become the next big name in modern rock. We caught up with the band to talk ambition, riffs, and what it takes to stand out.

Q1. You’ve described your sound as “powerful and unique,” with plenty of riffs, hooks, and melodies. What do you think sets Hell for Leather apart from other young rock bands right now?

A lot of young bands in our genre seem to be focusing too hard on “bringing back the 80s” or tyring to copy their idols, rather than being unique. We take a lot of influence from many bands that came before us, but we also strive for originality. No one wants to see something that’s been done before, and if you try to recreate the past it will never be as good anyway. We wouldn't be here without bands like AC/DC and Iron Maiden but we are very aware and conscious of not attempting to directly replicate their sound and to avoid people thinking we’re trying to copy. When song writing, we often discard, change or have discussions about a lot of riffs and songs we have that might sound similar to a riff already or even if it’s in the same vein as a bands signature sound. We instead focus on how we can make our songs original, as well as how to make them sound powerful and catchy both on a studio recording and in a live environment.

Q2. Since debuting live in March 2025, you’ve already played a mix of headline and support shows across the country. How has the reception been so far — and what’s been your favourite show to date?

When was started gigging in March 2025, we said yes to every show and spent countless hours emailing, calling, going in and researching every venue, promotor and band that have available slots for us. We played everywhere and a lot in London with our first show being at The Engine Rooms in Bow. These venues were mainly 60-200 capacity venues and no one was showing up. We realised that all the people that attend these gigs are fans or family of one of the bands on the bill and so when the band they’re there for are finished they all leave and we were only playing to our friends and family and we knew we had to find a different way to play to bigger crowds full of new people that can discover us for the first time. Joe our bass player came across a tribute act for Ghost called Ghost UK, he emailed asking if we could open for them at their show in Worthing at The Factory Live, it just so happens the normal support act they have pulled out for that show and so we were booked for that day.

We arrived at the venue, it was pretty professional but we’ve played at venues that size before but only about 10 people showed. We got shown our backstage area which we never had before which was a really fun and exciting feeling, we stayed there and chatted about the show and went through some set plans and future shows and how we’re going to keep this up after this shows done. We got led out to the stage and to our absolute surprise the room was completely full, about 300+ people. It felt so professional and like a real gig. We we’re behind the curtain ready to go on and for the first time the nerves absolutely swamped us but also filled with excitement, we went on and seeing that crowd just gave us so much energy and I remember we all said that was the first show we’ve done where we felt like we can go for it and properly perform, it felt right. It was only our 6th show so we we’re still getting used to the gigging scene but the buzz changed us and from then on, no matter the show we had the confidence and the buzz to absolutely go for it. I’d say that was the first gig that changed us but we’ve had other amazing gigs, a sold out Blackpool and Swindon show to a packed 300+ crowd and our sold out headline show in Brighton which was amazing and we love it.

Q3. Your demo EP is already out on streaming, CD, and vinyl. What was the process of putting that together like, and how has it helped build your fanbase?

We haven’t released an album ourselves due to the fact we know if we released it independently, there’s a risk it would get lost in the sea of over-saturated streaming releases. We didn’t exactly want to put an EP out independently either however we knew with an EP it would open doors for us with management, bring us closer and build a stronger relationship with people coming to see us and to demonstrate to labels what kind of style we are. We had a lot of people come up to us after shows saying they’d love to hear more and where can they listen to and we had the awkward answer of “we don’t have anything at the moment” We are so grateful and appreciative people want to hear our stuff so we knew we had to go and record an EP. For the album we’d like to be signed so it can be distributed correctly and it doesn’t get lost, like every band out there, this is our passion and we nurture the band like a baby and we want what's best for it even if it means waiting a little longer but we know we put the hard work and effort in and so hopefully we can soon release our album polished and for everyone to hopefully enjoy!

Q4. You’ve built a reputation for energetic live shows. What can fans expect from a Hell for Leather gig?

Our music itself is full of energy, with lots of in-your-face riffs and loud, fast rhythm sections. Also, to go along with this, we have a high-powered stage show that we are constantly adapting, progressing and making better and a stage show that sets us apart from other acts in our scene. in our gigs, one of our main values is fun, and a lively Rock ‘n’ Roll atmosphere. We believe Rock ‘n’ Roll is all about being loud, fast and energetic and we feel that’s lost in a lot of rock music nowadays and so our show feels constant and fast paced! expect beach balls to be thrown, expect to scream, expect to jump!

Q5. You’re based in Brighton but have played all over the country. How do you see your place in the UK rock scene right now?

We’ve found Brighton to be the most difficult place to crack so far out of the cities we’ve played. We feel we have a different yet missing sound to the rest of the city. The culture is nice and lively but very indie. This isn’t exactly a bad thing because it gives the area it’s own stamp and personality but we’ve had more opportunities arise in places such as London, Southampton, and Birmingham. Brighton’s where the band was formed although we have a drummer that travels from Portsmouth and a singer from London so we aren’t giving up on Brighton. We have had some great shows, met some great bands and had an amazing time but we do feel at this moment in time the rock scene in Brighton isn’t as lively as we would like it to be but we are still going to continue to play and work our way up in all cities and  and Brighton will always be our hometown.