TURBONEGRO
Scandinavian Leather (Burning Heart)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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"I scream into the night/TurboNegro must be destroyed" proclaims the fourth song on this, the new disc from these Homoerotic obsessed rockers from the icy Netherlands. I hope the words aren't too prophetic because the world needs bands like TurboNegro. This, their new CD and first new release since 1998's brilliant Apocalypse Dudes, and subsequent break-up due to singer Hank Von Helvete's heroin-induced breakdown which resulted in the singer being admitted to a psychiatric ward in Milan. After drug rehab, Hank took a job as the Conservationist at a Norwegian museum; bassist and founding member Happy Tom became a market analyst and started the band Olso Motherfuckers with drummer Chris Summers; piano player Pal Pot Pamparius opened a pizza restaurant; guitarist Knut "Euroboy" Schreiner formed the much more pop sounding Euroboy; and other guitarist Rune Rebellion did nothing as far as I know. In the meantime, a TurboNegro Tribute CD and a posthumous live set were released. Rumors began to spread that Turbo were getting back together, and indeed it was so. Fans expecting another Ass Cobra or Apocalypse Dudes may be, as even I was, a little surprised by this new CD.

After a brief intro song called "The Blizzard Of Flames," replete with keyboards, bells, and other odd sounds, "Wipe It 'Till It Bleeds" kicks off sounding like vintage Cheap Trick. While there are punked-out burners, strings pop up on "Wipe It 'Til It Bleeds" and again on "Fuck the World." Shout-along anthems like "Remain Untamed" sit alongside powerpop songs like "Drenched In Blood." Then there are ones like "Sell Your Body (To the Night)" and "Train of Flesh," full of darkness and evil. Another surprise is the sung-in-French "Le Sabateur," a full-on hard rocker that nicks bits from Thin Lizzy left and right. The album ends off with the band stealing from themselves, using the riff from "Are You Ready For Some Darkness" again in "Ride With Us." A great tune, it eventually culminates in a blaze of guitars, moog synth and flutes! I like this more with each listen.

© 2003 - Alan Wright