A band I had always
believed were probably somewhere between rap and death metal given the name and
album art, I was not expecting a pop-punk-glam ensemble. Whilst that
description over-simplifies the group's sound, it covers the key elements of
short, loud, simple songs. The lead guitarist Knut Schreiner (Euroboy) is a
class apart however, and it is his noodling that really stands out even from
the first listen.
Turbonegro formed in
Norway in the late 1980s, and went through various different sounds before
finding real success as a punk/glam-rock act. Euroboy joined in 1996, and added
a layer of musicality to the band. Their new drummer, Christer Engen, apparently
added some urgency, which the first album of their Apocalypse trio certainly
demonstrates. The success of this album led to the band's four year hiatus,
with Hank von Helvete's drug addiction coming to the fore on a sold-out
European tour. The band reformed in 2002 following a successful one-off show at
the Bizarre festival. Whilst they haven't hit the musical heights of this
album, they have a cult following across the globe.
The opener, The Age
of Pamparius, kicks things off with an epic, prog-esque, intro before
descending into fast, distorted guitars and snarling lyrics about the quality
of pizza and heavily reverbed backing vocals. The shredding is impressive, with
solos straight out of the Van Halen book of velocity. Selfdestructo bust is a
sped up and toned down piece of classic Oi punk, and is one of the few misses
on the album. By just being flat out the entire time, it comes across as a wall
of noise, with little to separate any part of it. Get it on could have been
written and performed by the Hives, and has a truly anthemic, if simple,
chorus. Rock against Ass successfully continues in this manner, with its tongue
somewhere between being firmly in cheek and stuck out ala Gene Simmons. Zillion
Dollar Sadist is a perfect example of a three minute pop-punk song. Whilst
lyrically coming up a bit short, the rest of the sound is absolutely spot on.
Prince of the Rodeo was released as a single, but I can't quite work out why,
as its drumming led-rhythm aside it is one of the weaker dongs here. Are you
ready (for some Darkness) sounds like a band parodying AFI, but doing it well
enough to sound utterly convincing. Humiliation Street is somewhere between Bon
Jovi and Lenny Kravitz, with a Metallica-esque intro and a really impressive
musical outro that allows all members of the band to really show what they can
do.
I can't work out if
this band are really as straightforward as this record implies, or if they are
actually just calculatingly creating a sound and image that captures attention.
This album reminds me of the Dictators, and therein lies most of its strength,
but also its weakness. It is simple, unashamedly fun, with songs good and
catchy enough to not be embarrassed against some of the 1970's best punk and
glam rock. However, it is also a slight indictment that in 25 years music had
moved on so little; simply adding shredding and heavily distorting the rhythm
section. Still, i guess Turbonegro were having too much of a good time to worry
about such matters, or at least appear to be, and that deserves some credit
either way.
Chloe's rating: 5
Chloe's favourite
track: 4. Rock against Ass
Olly's rating: 7
Olly's favourite
track: 12. Humiliation Street
Next week's album is
603. Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo - a definite break from the guitar
driven rock we've had in the last few weeks.
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