- Artist
- Turbonegro
- Label
- Cooking Vinyl
- Release date
- 9th July 2007
- Genre
- Rock
Satirical Oslo metallers hold a mirror up to rock music and have a bit of a giggle on mighty eighth album
To the uninitiated, the self-proclaimed "deathpunkers" from Oslo sound like a scary proposition. In truth, this is a talented and hilarious sextet who toy with homoerotic imagery, have names like Hank Von Helvete (Hank From Hell!) and Happy-Tom, think that hard rock is pretty funny (which it of course is) and revel in fondly satirising it.
What always stops Turbonegro from descending into mere Spinal Tap/Tenacious D metal parody is a punk energy, cracking melodies and some tight musicianship. This eighth album is no different, rooted in Motörhead’s raucousness and AC/DC’s riff-tastic pyrotechnics. As always, tracks titles bring a smile – see Stroke The Shaft and Hell Toupée – and homages to favourite bands abound: Hank sings "I am the lizard king, I can eat anything" in Everybody Loves A Chubby Dude. Song-wise, the likes of You Must Bleed and No, I’m Alpha Male are tight, turbo-charged hard rocking thrillers while eight-minute piss-take closer What Is Rock? shows a band still amused and bemused by their beloved rock universe. There’s never been a better time to Retox.
More to try: Turbonegro: Scandinavian Leather AC/DC: Back In Black The Ramones: Road To Ruin The Stooges: Raw Power
