Turbonegro - A Punk Clockwork Orange

What can we learn from the story (not yet over, though clearly in decline) of a group of Norwegian punks who take the stage dressed as a nastier, S&M version of the Village People, and whose former singer — thoroughly obese and made up like a cross between Alice Cooper and Malcolm McDowell in “A Clockwork Orange” — used to close shows singing a song titled “I Got Erection” with fireworks lit between his buttocks? For one thing, that rock'n'roll is not dead and, thank God, every now and then it remembers it doesn't have to look grown-up and socially acceptable at all costs — but, just like in the song of the same name by Elio e le Storie Tese, it's still capable of biting the heads off bats and trashing hotel rooms amid orgies and bacchanals of every kind.

Secondly, that the term “indie” isn't exclusively a synonym for “serious, depressed and boring” as it might seem nowadays, but can also mean plugged-in amps, youthful cockiness (including the “young at heart”), raw chords, street attitude and lyrics celebrating the three S's (sex, sweat and sperm, give or take).

In that sense, the Nineties marked a rebirth of the wildest, most raucous punk-rock: to give a few examples, on one side of the Atlantic New Bomb Turks, Ripp-offs and The Mummies were raging, while on the other side (for once not in Britain, but in Scandinavia) the Hives, the Hellacopters and, above all, Turbonegro were every bit as fierce.

Absurd right from their name (though the alternative reportedly was “Nazipenis”), the latter boast one of the murkiest histories in rock (starting with their very moniker, having gone by Turbonegro, Turboneger or TRBNGR interchangeably) and some of the most unstable line-ups, as well as at least three of the most fun, hormonally charged records ever put to tape.

Yet, despite their crude appearance and their constant resort to crass on-stage provocation — which has often cost them the critics' goodwill — the story of Turbonegro has been marked by a genuinely fascinating artistic evolution, one that came to a halt the moment the commercial success of Apocalypse Dudes sealed the discovery of their “definitive formula.” The common denominator running through all their work is directness of impact, along with an innate ability to write songs that grab the listener immediately.

Formed in Oslo in the late Eighties, the band — led by bassist Thomas Seltzer (later “Happy Tom”) and guitarists Rune Gronn (“Rune Rebellion”) and Pål Bottger Kjærnes (“Pal Pot Pamparius”) — released two singles (“Computech” and “Route Zero”) and an EP (“Turboloid”) between 1989 and 1990. These early works gave no hint of the glory to come, offering a sound caught between punk urgency (telling, in this regard, are the covers of “1970” by the Stooges and “I Want You Right Now” by MC5) and a few noise ambitions.

Unwisely, the then-six-piece set off on a three-week tour of the United States, where they racked up a string of resounding flops and saw Rune hospitalized after a brawl with some drug addicts. These would be the first of many legendary live disasters that would plague the Norwegians' history and, on more than one occasion, lead to their breakup.

Given all that, it's nothing short of astonishing to consider what they achieved in 1992 with their debut album. Preceded by the single “Vaya con Satan,” which pays homage to Venom right from its cover art, Hot Cars And Spent Contraceptives is the first example of what the band itself would come to call “deathpunk”: a damnably effective hybrid of Detroit rock, hardcore, metal and a dash of noise, to which further ingredients would later be added. By this point bassist Bengt 'Bingo' Calmeyer had joined the line-up (with Thomas moving behind the kit), along with Norwegian punk veteran Harald Fossberg, formerly of Haerverk, on vocals — though on the record all the members are credited as the Neger brothers, à-la Ramones.

Opened by a girl's voice recounting her sexual exploits while on holiday in London, the breakneck “Librium Love” flattens the listener like a black car speeding through downtown with its headlights off. The four musicians back Harald's glorious, gravelly roar with sharp, tight playing. “Punk Pals” brings more metal elements to the fore, especially in its steady, pounding finale, while “Kiss The Knife” is pure MC5/Radio Birdman-style rock.

The aforementioned “Vaya con Satan,” fast and sulfurous, would surely have made Cronos & co. proud given its obvious influence. The near-title-track “Hot Cars” marks the album's first slowdown, bringing in surprising percussive and industrial touches, but the pace goes mad again with the following “Clenched Teeth.” The record's closing stretch is decidedly less punk, with the heavy, slow “New Wave Song” and “Nadsat Comes Easy”, and above all with the ten minutes of “Prima Moffe,” whose noisy trudge recalls the Germs' “Shut Down (Annihilation Man).” Surprising, meanwhile, is the presence of a Seventies-style organ on the fantastic “Zonked Out (on Hashish)” – yet another proof of the band's versatility and imagination.

The album, already excellent, is turned into an outright masterpiece by the bonus tracks added to the German edition — originally titled “Helta Skelta,” with a different cover depicting Robert Kennedy's assassin, and released the following year: “Manimal” and “Suburban Antichrist” are two ferocious knife-edge assaults, while “Armed and Fairly Well Equipped” masterfully fuses power and melody, conjuring a street-level epic on par with the best metal productions of the previous decade. Unlistenable, on the other hand, are the concluding twenty minutes bearing the sarcastic title “A Career In Indierock,” entirely spoken-word, describing the sexual violence suffered by a punk at the hands of a policeman.

The album, which would later be reissued under its original title, with yet another new cover and all the tracks from both editions combined, received glowing reviews from the less highbrow critics. In particular, one Swedish DJ described their music as “Venom and Radio Birdman meeting at an institute for sexually abused minors” – to the presumed great satisfaction of those involved.

After another disastrous tour abroad (this time in northern Germany – a region which, paradoxically, would later become the center of their cult following), Harald left the band for health reasons and was replaced by the pudgy Hans Erik Husby, better known as “Hank von Helvete” (Hank from Hell), who, after a shaky start, would go on to become their most iconic frontman. Alongside the new singer's arrival, the band made an abrupt shift in both sound and look. As for the latter, the five members began taking the stage with blackened faces and afro wigs, while their new musical direction was well represented by the single “(He's a) Grungewhore” (released under the name “Stierkampf,” soon abandoned). The track, which opens with unsettling acoustic guitar chords before growing steadily heavier, boasts an unusually polished arrangement and production, sharply at odds with everything the band had produced up to that point and, more broadly, with the reborn punk scene of the era.

The break becomes even more obvious with the release of the album Never Is Forever (1994), which Turbonegro themselves describe, not unreasonably, as a tribute to Blue Öyster Cult. Indeed, a certain Seventies rock influence is plain to hear, from the opening piano ballad (!) “Letter From Your Momma” all the way to the closing, melodic and majestic “The Ballad Of Gerda And Tore.”

In the middle, flashbacks to a darker punk past ("Time Bomb", "Black Chrome", "Destination: Hell"), potential indie hit singles with a powerful, polished sound ("Suburban Prince's Death Song" and the wonderful "No Beast so Fierce" with its unforgettable chorus) and Ramones-esque pleasures ("Pain In The Arsch Pocket Full Of Cash" and "I Don't Care").

The album, which remains their most eccentric work, holds together, even though it's clear the band is at its best on the more instinctive tracks and that Hot Cars And Spent Contraceptives was decidedly superior. Paradoxically, the biggest flaw of Never Is Forever is Hank's voice, still unsure of itself and disconnected from the band's sound.

After a support tour with Bad Brains, in 1995 Turbonegro appeared for the first time in the stage outfits that, with a few later tweaks, would make them famous: get-ups clearly inspired by Kenneth Anger's films, depicting unsettling, violent thugs, steroid freaks and flamboyant queers. Likewise, their shows ramped up the elements of sexual ambiguity (if you can even call it that... given that, on the contrary, the posturing was decidedly explicit), traits that, albeit somewhat toned down, would mark all their subsequent live shows.

These unsettling clouds, heavy with sex and violence, would give rise to the storm named Ass Cobra (whose cover art spoofs the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" artwork) — in this writer's opinion (though not that of most critics and fans), their best album.

It's a collection of short, fast, razor-sharp tracks, without the production flourishes of Never Is Forever or the experimentalism of Hot Cars. Of the 14 tracks, only 2 run past the three-minute mark, yet despite this concision, memorable choruses and riffs of brilliant immediacy abound. A definitive punk record, if there ever was one!

From the opening "Dazzling Display Of Talent" onward, electricity starts coursing through the listener's body and, for at least half an hour, doesn't let up for a second, while Hank shows off a snarling, aggressive voice brimming with excitement, a world away from the flatness of the previous record. "Mindnight Nabla", built on an epic bassline, is the album's first heavyweight moment and would become one of their live classics. But the masterpieces keep coming, from the 300-km/h sadomasochistic anthem "Just Flesh" to the irresistible single "Denim Denom", all the way to that gem of gay romanticism set to a punk beat, "Sailor Man".

The album also features a few deliberate and effective slower moments, though the impact and heaviness never let up: first and foremost the tribal "I Got Erection", but also the sinister "Bad Mongo". Worth mentioning too are two collector's-item punk covers, namely "Mobile Home" by Lewd and "Reggare Is A Brunch Of Motherfuckers" by the Rube Boys.

In short, 14 tracks, 14 hits of speed set to music — by the time you finish listening to Ass Cobra, you might have been violated without even realizing it!

Thanks to their third album, the band's fame began to spread, and the five of them had no trouble pulling off a finally successful European tour — so much so that, in those years, their legions of fans began organizing themselves under the name "Turbojugend", sporting a look built around denim jackets and biker caps. If anything, the problems stemmed from Hank's drug addiction and from artistic disagreements that would lead Pal and Bingo to leave the band. Their replacements were Knut Schreiner (aka "Euroboy") on guitar and Christer Engen ("Chris Summer") on drums, while Happy Tom went back to playing bass. However, shortly before recording the new album, Pal would have a change of heart, taking on keyboards and percussion instead.

After yet another image overhaul (the six of them began taking the stage looking like a cross between the droogs of "A Clockwork Orange" and the Village People), 1998 saw the release of their most famous and, in a sense, "definitive" album — in that none of their later work would stray far from this template — namely Apocalypse Dudes, its cover emblazoned with the symbol of Patty Hearst's terrorist group, the SLA.

Just the two-minute electro-acoustic grandeur of the opening "Age Of Pamparius" is enough to make clear not only that the band has embarked on yet another new artistic path, but that this is the one that will lead them to success. Essentially, Turbonegro had transformed from a punk-rock band into a rock-punk band, with heavy influences from the most electric, perverse or rowdy strands of the Seventies (T. Rex's glam, of course, but also New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, and the Dictators).

The songs are longer, less aggressive, but they seduce you on first listen and, in the end, win you over regardless. The already-mentioned "Age Of Pamparius" would become THE opening track of their concerts, with irresistible chants, a melody as simple as it is brilliant, and an orgasmic guitar solo. "Selfdistruction Bust" cranks the tempo up considerably, but its chorus, made for belting out at the top of your lungs, makes clear that their hardcore days are well and truly behind them. "Get It On" is pure, liberating, dumb rock and would become the album's hit single, at least in Northern Europe. The rock-solid "Rock Against Ass" delivers exactly what its title promises, as do the tracks that follow: the cocky, aggressive "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker" and the perverse, insinuating "Rendezvous With Anus".

And the album's true high points are still to come: "Prince Of The Rodeo" is a breakneck electric ride that can only end in a spectacular crash, while the fast, lascivious "Back To Dungaree High" is the ideal soundtrack to a 21st-century "Animal House". The steady, marching "Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)", meanwhile, would become their fans' call to arms. "Monkey On Your Back" boasts one of their best riffs, while "Humiliation Street" mixes melody and power in equal measure. Closing out this latest masterpiece from the Norwegian band is the fun "Good Head", with its almost sixties-style sing-along chorus.

Just as their record label had predicted in the album's press notes, Apocalypse Dudes is a record for the masses, and the success it achieved almost everywhere (Italy excepted) was remarkable. However, the strain of the lengthy promotional tour and Hank's instability led to the band's breakup after the frontman collapsed during their show in Milan.

In the silence of the four years that followed, the cult around Turbonegro, rather than fading, grew exponentially. The ranks of the "Turbojugend" multiplied (complete with their own festival held every year in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, whose football club would adopt the German version of "I Got Erection" as its anthem), and the band released a live album (Darkness Forever) and a fine tribute record ("Alpha Motherfuckers") featuring more (Queens Of The Stone Age, HIM, Therapy?, Motorpsycho...) and less well-known bands having fun covering songs that seem to have been written specifically to be covered.

In short, all that remains to wait for is the reunion, which comes about in 2002 – except that, as often happens, the band finds itself having to confront its own myth and the expectations of its fans, and for a long time comes out defeated. Both Scandinavian Leather (2003) and Party Animals (2005), in fact, while not being outright contemptible works, repeat the formula of Apocalypse Dudes fairly slavishly, but without its freshness and, above all, with decidedly inferior songwriting.

The feeling that the band had switched on autopilot is partly disproved by the excellent Retox (2007), a tribute to 80s street and glam bands, Motley Crue above all, which boasts heavyweight tracks like the anthemic "We're Gonna Drop The Atom Bomb", the clattering "No, I'm Alpha Male" and the stadium-sized single "Do You Dig Destruction?". But, above all, Retox closes with the immense "What Is Rock?", whose first two minutes exemplify the concept of rock'n'roll better than hundreds of critical treatises, and which ends with the brazen admission that, at their age, music has simply become a great way to make money. Chapeau!

In 2010, Hank (the band's cross to bear and its delight) decides to leave Turbonegro to launch his own project, Doctor Midnight and the Mercy Cult. The band, which had initially announced yet another breakup, decided to regroup with singer Tony Sylvester, formerly of Duke of Nothing, with whom they are now recording a new album. It will be hard to make people forget the burly frontman, and in any case the impression that the Norwegians have said everything they had to say is a strong one. That they can still pull it off well, however, is decidedly likely.

And Hank Von Helvete's departure from Turbonegro comes at the wrong moment. Especially after the band had begun climbing back up with the excellent Retox, decidedly the best work the Norwegian band had put out since their 2002 reunion. The risk was that the frontman's defection would halt Turbonegro's work right as they were finding a new vitality that, at least in part, broke free from simply rehashing the blueprint of "Apocalypse Dudes". D

After five years, our heroes return with a new singer (the Englishman Tony Sylvester) and an album that, from the title onward, is 100% Turbonegro. Shorter and leaner than their last few records, and, as usual, extremely entertaining. Sylvester's showing behind the mic is solid, sandpapery and aggressive just the right amount (the problems with Hank's looming ghost will mostly show up live). The opening "I Got A Knife" is a great example of their hyper-vitaminized Detroit rock, "Shake Your Shit Machine" and "Mister Sister" are two irresistible boogies, "TNA" and "Dude Without A Face" flirt with the most engaging kind of heavy metal, while "Tight Jeans, Loose Leash" is a solid AC/DC knockoff.

The basic problem is that Sexual Harassment is a work that doesn't take risks and has no songs on the level of "Apocalypse Dudes" or "Ass Cobra": it's almost impossible to dislike, but, given the heights the band has reached in the past, it doesn't deserve more than a solid pass.

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