The defining moment for Leeway is and probably always will be their debut, the crossover masterpiece ‘Born to Expire’ from 1989.
Three albums came after that without attracting much attention from the masses, and you could with reason say that hardcore/thrash crossover by the entrance of the nineties already was a worn-out recipe. The NYC troupe disbanded in 1995, but have come together again recently to do some festivals and apparently also to record material (if I’m to trust the band’s website).

In the current wake of semi-live/look-what-we-could-dig-out-of-the-closet DVD’s from well-nigh forgotten bands who probe into the market yet again, Leeway have now issued their documentary of the NYC hardcore scene of yonder years. The target for this would be…well, old geezers like myself, I suspect.

And what we see is indeed aged versions of Eddie Sutton and A.J. who take us through anecdotes and locations that will make a lot of sense to old hardcore fans.

The focal points of the DVD are live sequences from NYC venues the Welands and L’Amour, primarily documenting the ‘Born to Expire’ material.

The quality of these recordings is not exactly superb and must therefore be deemed as valuable strictly for hardcore fans. And, to be honest, so is the entire DVD. Even for an old geezer like me, who enjoyed ‘Born to Expire’ immensely in its time, nothing on this release ever becomes really interesting or striking.

Can’t say I’ll be watching it again.