We're Gonna Drop The Atom Bomb / Welcome To The Garbage Dump / Hell Toupee / Stroke The Shaft / No, I'm Alpha Male / Do You Do You Dig Destruction / I Wanna Come / You Must Bleed/All Night Long / Hot And Filthy / Boys From Nowhere / Every Body Loves A Chubby Dude / What Is Rock?! / Back In Denim / Into The Void

COOKING VINYL

Scandinavian punk rockers Turbonegro have never been ones for things like subtlety and introspective navel gazing; this a band who play your basic three chord rock in the vein of AC/DC meets Motley Crue and have styled themselves as "threatening gay men playing loud rock music", wearing sailor's hats, trucker-cut jackets and tight blue denim jeans.

Following their minor breakthrough with 2003's SCANDINAVIAN LEATHER, latest record RETOX is hardly messing with their well thumbed formula; that of loud riffs, breakneck pacing and camp lyrical asides.  The likes of WE'RE GONNA DROP THE ATOM BOMB and HELL TOUPE soon set the tone, Turbonegro indulging in an ultra melodic snarling punk assault on the senses.  STROKE THE SHAFT leaves little to the imagination lyrically; with a chorus of "stroke the shaft/make it last" and lines like "stroke it/smoke it/make it glad". Turbonegro are in familiar double entendre territory; a carry on film set to punk riffs and lashings of attitude.

Producer John Agnello lends his golden touch to proceedings, RETOX sounding like the album that could well break Turbonegro once and for all; catapulting them from cult curiosities to full blown rock star status, his full bloodied rock n roll sound last witnessed on The Hold Steady's Girls And Boys In America giving Turbonegro a much appreciated leg up in the mainstream rock stakes.  The anthemic DO YOU DO YOU DIG DESTRUCTION is a Hives like monster single in the waiting, vocalist Hank Von Helvete letting rip with his Iggy Pop meets Vince Neil wail over Stooges-esque guitar histrionics and attitude by the bucketload.  The bluesy I WANNA COME takes Halvete's Iggy infatuation to almost ridiculous levels, his every sneer and snarl a carbon copy of his obvious idol; but then Turbonegro have never been exactly defined by their sense of the original or innovative.

Your appreciation of RETOX will perhaps be defined by your fondness for ultra camp punk rock, but for those who like to indulge in some Stooges meets Motley Crue like noise full of double entendres and tongue in cheek rock n roll spirit, Turbonegro deliver the goods with attitude, style and most importantly killer tunes galore.

BIOGRAPHY

"WHAT IS ROCK?! 

Rock is the area between the balls and the anus of a dog or another man. 

WHAT IS ROCK?! 

Rock is the possibility of choking on your own vomit in the back of a rapist's van. 

WHAT IS ROCK?! 

Denim-clad Satanists making love in the sewers of Birmingham during Maggie Thatcher's prime. 

WHAT IS ROCK?! 

Meeting the grim reaper in a sports arena stampede at the tender age of nine..." 

... only the first verse from the blood-spattered rock-operatic epic which climaxes 'RETOX', the latest and career-best record from Turbonegro, the band who (rather humbly) style themselves as the "Official Number 4 Formula Band In The Universe" - the top three are, they state, AC/DC, the Ramones and Slayer. 

From Norway, these 6 deviants have wrought more rockin' havoc around the world than any other band in the last ten years. Their blue-denim sailor-boy gear and "faux-mo-erotic" lyrics have caused astonishment and confusion everywhere. Their remorseless collaging of influences from across the spectrum of classic rock, punk and metal - what they call their musical "dream cocktail" - serially blows the minds of their disciples, leaving others wondering if it's really okay to let their jams be kicked out, too. Must the Great forever be doomed to be misunderstood by the masses? 

'RETOX', finally, blows away such nonsensical logic. It's hard, heavy, hilarious, terrifying, offensive, dumb-ass, thought-provoking and plain genocidal all at once. It IS rock. Total rock. Total Turbo. A record which, to borrow a lyric from its riotous lead-off single, 'Do You Do You Dig Destruction', will hit you like "brass-knuckles and a 2-by-4". 

"It is the sound," they add, "of cold steel slashing through hot leather". On the cover, a Kenneth Anger youth gazes up at the vast projected horror of singer Hank von Helvete's eyes. Time for anyone with the least passing interest in rock to stare the Devil in the face. Fuck, yeah! 

"Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot, but end up as a parody," remarks Happy-Tom, the bassist and mastermind behind the dark power that is Turbonegro. "We started as a parody, but ended up as a revolution." 

The Turbonegro saga commenced in Oslo in 1989. The initial line-up included Happy-Tom, back then the drummer, and guitarists Pål Pot Pamparius and Rune Rebellion. They originally considered using the name "Nazipenis". Instead, they settled on Turbonegro, evoking "a large well-equipped, armed black male in a fast car, out for vengeance. We are his prophets." Neither name was really indicative of any grand career strategy, or thoughts of global success. 

After making a messy entrance with 1992's debut, 'Hot Cars And Spent Contraceptives', the band reached the dizzy frontier of their own expectations when they got to support the Ramones. Soon, though, they unearthed a mighty new singer in Hank von Helvete (or "Hank from Hell"). With 1994's 'Never Is Forever', they forged the sound of 'Deathpunk', an ultra-snotty, irritant evolution of the old form. The album was dedicated to muso-rockers Blue Oyster Cult - a fuck-you to the punk scene, with its blinkered lo-fi aesthetic; also, an expression of genuine love for rock grandeur. 

Turbonegro identified with rare nonconformist elements in Scandinavia's punk scene like Sweden's Union Carbide Productions, who actively went about winding up the earnest, dreadlocked politico brigade. They quickly stepped up the antagonism. On tour, they wore Al Jolson-style 'blackface' and afro wigs. To many, their name suggested involvement in Norway's Black Metal scene. Feeling somewhat outgunned by the church-burning antics of their diabolical fellow-countrymen, the band held a crisis meeting to brainstorm ideas for how to unsettle even Black Metal fans. When the hangover wore off, they found one word on a scrap of paper: "homo". 

The band soon styled themselves as "threatening gay men playing loud rock music". They wore sailor's hats, trucker-cut jackets and tight jeans in blue denim ("the only textile that was actually designed for kicking ass"), and women's make-up. 1996's 'Ass Cobra' contained the songs 'Sailor Man', 'Denim Demon' ("I am a saint for semen") and 'I Got Erection'. Almost unbelievably, they landed an endorsement deal with Levi's - life-size cardboard cut-outs of Turbonegro adorned shop-fronts across Scandinavia. 

Turbonegro as they are today clicked into place with the arrival of "totalitarian guitar hero" Euroboy, and Chris Summers "the Rolex of drummers", and the release of 1997's masterpiece, 'Apocalypse Dudes'. To accommodate the new arrivals, Happy-Tom, now modelling his hair after Myra Hindley. switched to bass. Pål Pot Pamparius returned from a stint running his own pizza restaurant in Kolbotn, near Oslo - celebrated in the track, 'The Age of Pamparius' - in a multi-instrumental 'Bez' role. 

With technical acumen in the ranks greatly enhanced, Turbo now had the chops to take their punk-meets-'70s-rock vision to its logical conclusion. 'Apocalypse Dudes' sounded like 'Tommy' played by The Damned, with a new libretto from Jean Genet. Punks in Scandinavia only sneered at Euroboy's guitar solos, but the mighty riffage of 'Get It On' and 'Prince of the Rodeo' saw NYC hipster's bible Grand Royal hype '.Dudes' as "the rock & roll album of the decade". A cult exploded around the band, as the likes of Dave Grohl and Jello Biafra raved about Norway's Boys In Blue. 

Happy-Tom remembers: "People were saying , 'Yeah, rock & roll is coming back!' And we were like, 'Where?!' We thought rock & roll was in a pretty bad state if a bunch of slightly overweight and underweight Norwegians had to dress up and pretend to be homosexual to revive it." Grunge and Britpop were wilting, Radiohead and Limp Bizkit were on the rise. Terrible days! To be Norwegian, cod-gay and actually breaking through was a near-miraculous feat. 

On stage, Hank emerged as a magnetic if volatile presence, his eyes blacked out with Alice Cooper eye make-up, his rump routinely lit up by a roman candle fizzing between clenched buttcheeks. Privately, though, he'd been self-medicating his depression with heroin. The trails of addiction led to him missing numerous gigs. On the road in '98, he suffered a nervous breakdown. In the waiting room of a psychiatric emergency room in Milan, the band were forced to split up, losing a lot of money in cancellation fees, but, more - losing their dream. 

After one last farewell show in Oslo that December, the six 'Negroes scattered. Hank went into recluse in the tiny fishing village of Lofoten, where he lived at his grandparents' house, and worked variously as a radio DJ, and the guide at a local whaling museum. In the meantime, the band's legend multiplied to fever pitch. Proving the human tendency towards necrophilia, their fan club, Turbojugend, went into overdrive, shifting boxfuls of blue-denim merchandise. Eventually, in Summer 2002, three European festivals offered Turbo pots of cash to reform. With Hank's health restored, they agreed, and duly tore it up in front of 100,000+ fans. 

Where lame cult acts like The Velvet Underground reformed and quickly scurried back to their Art House, Turbo charged on, making 'Scandinavian Leather' (2003) - an album with a dense Nordic metal sound, and ultra-dark, blood-dripping lyrics to match. Its macabre self-devouring-animal sleeve was designed by Klaus Voormann, responsible for the artwork to The Beatles's 'Revolver'. 

Now with a decent budget behind them, Turbonegro were able to indulge their stadium rock fantasies to the max. Throughout Europe and America, live audiences were showered with Turbo's own Zillion Dollar notes, blasted out from a giant wind machine. Instead of playing to 50 disapproving bozos in NOFX T-shirts, their audiences were bigger, wilder, and revelled in such wind-up tactics, forming a curious but unique bond. Tours supporting , Queens Of The Stone Age were insane, but profile-building: the '.Leather' phase concluded with two headline shows at House of Blues on LA's Sunset Strip (it must've been Lana Clarkson's week off.) 

LA provided the spiritual backdrop for their next abum, 'Party Animals' - a back-to-basics punk record inspired by heroes Black Flag and Redd Kross, whose leading light, Steve McDonald, was summoned to Norway to produce. Turbo's love of pop harmonies (think Cheap Trick) and glam-rock made for a lighter, Californian vibe on gems like 'Blow Me (Like The Wind)', 'If You See Kaye' and 'Hot Stuff/Hot Shit' - although, the stomping 'City of Satan' warned of falling prey to LA plasticity. 

One of the band's proudest moments arrived on the ensuing tour, when Hank told the long-running XXXX-cert "Aristocrats" joke onstage in Sweden, with the Swedish royal family as the central characters. "It involved incest and shitting," Happy-Tom recalls. The Swedish royal family sued, causing a massive tabloid scandal. Turbo were still getting up noses - the noses just got bigger. 

Turbojugend now has denim-clad chapters all over Europe and America, as well as in Rio, Santiago and Brisbane. One member has painted the whole outside of their house with 'Negro artwork designs. The Hamburg chapter have somehow made Turbonegro the offical band of the city's so-called "pirate" football team, St Pauli, while, at SXSW '07, the Texan chapter laid on a post-gig party for the group, featuring a Turbo tribute band - not even hyped British acts like Amy Winehouse were thus honoured. 

Turbo themselves, however, are probably the biggest fans of their own band. They have created a monster entirely to their own specifications and let it loose upon the world with unforeseen success. It is, they realise, a remarkable beast, approachable on many levels - as a masterclass in punk-rock attitude; a veritable orgy of twisted humour; an exploration of dark, self-destructive philosophy; as formularized performance à la AC/DC/Ramones/Slayer; as ritualized sexual deviancy; and, of course, as ass-shakin', motherfuckin' rock & roll, second to none. Some humourless idiots may get lost in the complexity of it all, but, to go with Sonic Youth rather than Baudrillard: Confusion is sex, honey! So., yes.: why change now, barring the odd tweak of fine-tuning? 

"The thing about formula bands," reckons Euroboy, "is that they start out with a basic idea that catches on. Then, facing great success they try to change or develop. When that doesn't work, they go back to the formula and make record after record that way again. Why bother with the failure bit?" 

Reconvening to begin 'RETOX' in Oslo in February 2006, Turbo's agenda was, Euroboy continues, to "combine the urgency and energy of our early punk records, with our more mature musical understanding since 'Apocalypse Dudes'." Hence 'RETOX'. 

If the last album was back-to-basics, 'RETOX' is full-tilt no-nonsense mindless boogie. In the run-up to recording, everyone had been grooving on ZZ Top, plus the new Eagles of Death Metal record. Stoopid biker rock was the order of the day - hey, 'twas ever thus! 

Each of the 12 songs that made the cut rank amongst Turbo's hottest to date. Opening with the gleefully nihilistic 'We're Gonna Drop The Atom Bomb', 'RETOX' is jam-packed with outsider anthems. Witness the baldie loser "stuck Googling for wigs", who nevertheless heroically rocks on ('Hell Toupee'), and the moving tribute to the obese that is 'Everybody Loves a Chubby Dude' - "I am the lizard king, I can eat anything!" yells Hank. 

The "sound of cold steel slashing through hot leather" comes in part courtesy of John Agnello, producer of The Hold Steady's 'Boys and Girls in America' album, who mixed 'RETOX' with the band in New York. On tracks like 'Welcome To The Garbage Dump' and 'No, I'm Alpha Male', our Nordic heroes sound steely, indeed - tougher than ever before. 

Above all it's the work of a six-piece riffin' machine firing on all cylinders. Throughout, there are touches that will tickle the punk/rock connoisseur - Hank's righteous Johnny Rotten-ese on 'You Must Bleed/All Night Long'; the dinky castanet rattle that follows the "Latino lovers" line in 'Do You Do You Dig Destruction' (FM-friendly anarchism, anyone?). Turbo dig so much music: it's all in there one way or another, but it's way beyond mealy-mouthed shit-speak about influences. It's all them now. 

In a rock world suddenly overloaded with piss-quicks with retard haircuts (they'll go back to their accountancy degrees in two years - fact!), Turbonegro should be cherished for the depth of their commitment. Made between deals, 'RETOX' is self-financed and, in Norway at least, self-released - a massive leap of faith for a band of their stature.

In a global climate of fear, fundamentalism and repression, 'RETOX' also reminds you that rock & roll exists to be fun, funny, liberated and oblivious to its own consequences. When, halfway through 'What Is Rock?!', Hank launches into the refrain "We saved rock & roll" on the band's behalf, it's no joke. In their eyes, it's payback time. "Where is the cash?" they cry. At this stage, if anyone deserves the Zillion Dollars, for services rendered in the most barren and un-rocking of musical landscapes, it's Turbo-motherfucking-negro. 

Andrew Perry, May 2007 

LINE UP

Hank Von Helvete - Vocals

Euroboy - Lead Guitar

Pål Pot Pamparius - Rhythm Guitar

Rune Rebellion - Rhythm Guitar

Happy-Tom - Bass

Chris Summers - Drums

DISCOGRAPHY

COMPUTECH (1989/1990)

Killer Penis

1970 

COMPUTECH + ROUTE ZERO (Straitjacket Records>1989)

Killer Penis

1970

Route Zero

I Want You Right Now (MC5) 

ROUTE ZERO (Straitjacket Records>1989)

Route Zero

I Want You Right Now (MC5) 

HOT CARS AND SPENT CONTRACEPTIVES (Big Ball Records>1992)

Librium Love

Punk Pals

Kiss the Knife

Vaya Con Satan

Hot Cars

Clenched Teeth

New Wave Song

Nadsat Comes Easy

Zonked Out (On Hashish)

I'm In Love With the Destructive Girls

Prima Moffe 

HELTA SKELTA (Repulsion Records>1993)

Librium Love

Suburba Anti-Christ

Armed And Fairly Well Equipped

Vaya Con Satan

Punk Pals

New Wave Song

Manimal

Nadsat Comes Easy

Dark Sercret Girl

Hot Cars

Clenched Teeth

Nadsat Comes Easy

Kiss The Knife (Hand Of Love)

I'm In Love With the Destructive Girls

A Career In Indie Rock

GRUNGE WHORE (Sympathy For The Record Industry>1993)

Grunge Whore

Black Chrome

Timebomb

Pain In Der Arsch, Pocket Full Cash

Six Pack (Black Flag) 

ASS COBRA (Amphetamine Reptile>1996)

A Dazzling Display Of Talent

The Midnight NAMBLA

Deathtime

Black Rabbit

Denim Demon

Bad Mongo

Mobile Home

I Got Erection

Just Flesh

Hobbit Motherfuckers

Sailor Man

Turbonegro Hate The Kids

Imorgen Skal Eg Daue

Raggare Is A Bunch Of Motherfuckers

NEVER IS FOREVER (Bitzcore Records>1999)

Letter From Your Momma

Suburban Prince's Death Song

Übermensch

I Will Never Die

No Beast So Fierce

Destination: Hell

Timebomb

Pain In Der Arsch Pocket Full Of Cash

Hush, Earthling

Nihil Sleighride

(He's A) Grunge Whore

Black Chrome

Oslo Bloodbath Pt. III: The Ballad Of Gerda And Tore

Satan Och Kapitalet (hidden track, CD-only)

Evel Knievel - Why (hidden track, CD-only)

John Culliton Mahoney - Ballad Of Evel Knievel (hidden track, CD-only)

APOCALYPSE DUDES (Virgin Records>1999)

The Age Of Pamparius

Selfdestructo Bust

Get It On

Rock Against Ass

Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker

Rendezvous With Anus

Zillion Dollar Sadist

Prince Of The Rodeo

Back To Dungaree High

Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)

Monkey On Your Back

Humiliation Street

Good Head

DARKNESS FOREVER (Bitzcore>1999)

The Age Of Pamparius

Back To Dungaree High

Get It On

Just Flesh

Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker

The Midnight NAMBLA

Sailor Man

Rendezvous With Anus

Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)

Selfdestructo Bust

Rock Against Ass

Prince Of The Rodeo

Monkey On Your Back

Denim Demon

I Got Erection 

LOVE IT TO DEATHPUNK: BEST OF... (Tilt Records>2001)

The Age Of Pamparius

Get It On

Selfdestructo Bust

Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)

Just Flesh

Denim Demon

I Got Erection

Sailor Man

Rock Against Ass (Live)

Dungaree High (Live)

Prince Of The Rodeo (Live)

Suburban Prince's Death Song

No Beast So Fierce

Timebomb

Librium Love

Armed And Fairly Well Equipped

I'm In Love With The Destructive Girls 

SCANDINAVIAN LEATHER (Burning Heart Records>2003)

The Blizzard Of Flames

Wipe It Till It Bleeds

Gimme Some

Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed

Sell Your Body (To The Night)

Remain Untamed

Train Of Flesh

Fuck The World

Locked Down

I Want Everything

D.I.B. (Drenched In Blood)

Le Saboteur

Ride With Us 

PARTY ANIMALS (Burning Heart Records>2005)

Intro: The Party Zone

All My Friends Are Dead

Blow Me (Like The Wind)

City Of Satan

Death From Above

Wasted Again

High On The Crime

If You See Kaye (Tell Her I L-O-V-E Her)

Stay Free

Babylon Forever

Hot Stuff/Hot Shit

Final Warning 

SMALL FECES: VOL. 1 (Bitzcore>2005)

Volume 1: Feces

The Party Starts Now (Dictators Forever, Forever Dictators)

Toodlepip Fuck (Prince Of The Rodeo 7" b-side)

Prince Of The Rodeo (7" Single version)

Hush Earthling (unreleased & much rougher alt. take)

Suffragette City (David Bowie - 7" Single)

I Don't Care About You (Fear - unreleased)

Sailor Man (re-mix with boosted bass guitar)

(I Fucked) Betty Page (Denim Demon 7" b-side)

Gimme Shelter (The Rolling Stones - unreleased)

Flabby Sagging Flesh (Anal Babes - split 7" w/ A. Babes)

Kaerlighetens Born (Suffragette City 7" b-side)

Kick It Out (unreleased)

Let It Burn (unreleased)

My Hometown (unreleased)

Staten Och Kapitalet (Ebba Gron)*

I Got Erection (St. Pauli version)

Screwed & Tattoed

Young Boys Feet (The Dicks)

War On The Terraces (Cockney Rejects)

SMALL FECES: VOL. 2 (Bitzcore>2005)

Volume 2: Small

Six Pack (Black Flag - He's A Grungewhore ep)

Cop Kennel (unreleased)

No Rule (Leather Nun)

Jeg Will Bly Som Jesus (Kjøtt)

Starship (unreleased)

Just To Get Away (Poison Idea - unreleased)

I'm In Love With The Destructive Girl

Hot Cars

I Walked With A Zombie (Rockie Erikson - unreleased) 

Vaya Con Satan

Zonked Out (On Hashish)

Hand Of Love

Flower Box

Search & Destroy (Iggy & The Stooges)

Route Zero

Let's Go To Mars

U Had It Coming

Cockwork

Love In My Veins

I Want You Right Now (MC5)

Booth Theme

Killer Penis

1970 (I Feel Alright) (The Stooges) 

SMALL FECES: EXTRAS (Bitzcore>2005)

Extras:

1989-1990

'89 Gateavisa

'90 Interview (Puls)

'90 Turboliod press sheet

1991-1992

Straightjacket Records interview (Puls)

Turbonegro on Helta Skelta (Moshable)

'Turbonegro: The Ethnic Music Of Oslo' (Moshable #12)

1993

Stierkampf interview (Puls)

(He's A) Grungewhore review

1994

'Turbonegro: Negromania' (8beat Generation)

Rep-Woodstk

'Never Is Forever' review (Klassek)

1995

'Turboneger In The USA' (Moshable #15)

Turbonegro interview (Flipside)

Rep-US Tour

1996

'Ass Cobra' ad w/ tour dates (Boomba Records)

Turbonegro interview (Orange)

'Fear And Loathing In Oslo' (Moshable #16)

Scene report (Nyetaker)

1997

Show review (Mondo Sonora)

Happy Tom interview (Charakter)

Rune Rebellion interview (HZ)

Hultsfred scene report (Dagbladet)

1998

Feature (Core)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Foetustriel #12)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Fractal)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Freakout - July '98)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Gonzo Circus)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Hard-N-Heavy)

'Disco Mutant' feature (Lyoncapitale)

Turbonegro article (Metal Hammer)

Small feature (Metropoli)

Turbonegro feature (Mondo Sonora)

Turbonegro feature (Music Scene)

Turbonegro article (Musika Aldizkaria)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Nonpok)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Rage)

Turbonegro interview (Rock Hard)

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (Rock MIxer)

Turbonegro interview (Rock-N-Roll Popular)

Schweden

'Apocalypse Dudes' review (The Thing)

Turbonegro article (Tiempolibre)

Show flyer (Sedel Luzern - 04/29/98)

'European Fall Tour' ad (Visions)

Zine cover (Westzeit)

1999

Happy Tom interview (Rock Sound)

Turbonegro interview (OX)

Happy Tom interview (Visions)

Zine cover (Flying Revolver)

'R.I.P.: The Final Interview' (Moshable)

Turbonegro feature (Musika Aldizkaria)

Turbonegro feature (Rock-N-Roll Popular)

Turbonegro interview (Rock-N-Roll Popular)

Turbonegro feature (Rock-N-Roll Popular)

Turbonegro feature (Ruta66)

Various

'84 'Norway Scene Report' (MRR)

Turbonegro interview (OX #30)

Turbonegro interview (OX #26)

RETOX (Cooking Vinyl>2007)

We're Gonna Drop The Atom Bomb

Welcome To The Garbage Dump

Hell Toupee

Stroke The Shaft

No, I'm Alpha Male

Do You Do You Dig Destruction

I Wanna Come

You Must Bleed/All Night Long

Hot And Filthy

Boys From Nowhere

Every Body Loves A Chubby Dude

What Is Rock?!

Back In Denim

Into The Void

LINKS

Turbonegro>www.turbonegro.com

FURTHER LISTENING

The Stooges

AC/DC

Motley Crue