With prevailing winds in the music industry pushing a plethora of poisonous sounds through every radio station, there becomes a sudden outreach for a new sound. For instance, my favorite band in the world Good Charlotte, are taking over the air waves and brining the punk scene to its choking half witted death.These new punk bands, if you even would like to call them that have turned into the worlds newest boy bands. They have taken the sub-culture that was such a special and unspoiled sub-culture and have seemingly eradicated punk rock.
If you are starving for something new but at the same time isn’t new, Turbo Negro has re-released their album “Apocalypse Dudes” on Epitaph records. This album was recorded in 1994 and when punk still was a blossoming sub-culture or at least still had not sold itself out to a bunch of pre-pubescent, Hurley wearing, girls. Turbo Negro is from Scandinavia as are such acts as The Hives, Sahara Hot Nights and Bombshell Rocks. There is such a unique and vibrant sound that only Turbo Negro can conjure up with their twanging guitars and crunchy bar chords. Turbo Negro consists of lead vocalist Hank von Helvete, lead guitar Pal Pot Pamparius, bass Happy Tom, and Chris Summers on drums.
The album just carries itself on and on with axing lyrics and guitars that make you feel like the state of music only turned bad in your nightmares. It’s rare that a band can seemingly pop up out of its grave and fit in perfectly with what’s missing at this moment. Turbo Negro brings together raw and infused lyrics some that at times don’t make much sense but in the context of the song just feels right. “Prince of the Rodeo” had minimal success on the modern rock radio stations, but when it hits your ear whether or not you’ve heard the song, it will sound familiar. This track is really kind of twisted and morbid but its catchiness and its pure sense of timing and manor all run together like clock work. This also holds true to “Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)” this song is Foo Fighters-esque with its beginning mantra. This songs bleak and harmonic on set is quite effective as the it picks up and becomes Andrew W.K.’s meal ticket. The rawness to every track makes the album almost dated in a good way. Kind of like how Sublimes “40 OZ. To Freedom” has that dated nuance to it. It’s a feeling you get from listening to an album that makes it seem like it belongs to a certain genre or time period.
My overall satisfaction with this album is very pleased. With the name Turbo Negro I expected a bunch of African-American’s playing skin-head-punk with “Kill Whitie” being their lead single. I was proven wrong and gladly so, theres just no room left for black supremacy punk rock anymore. This is a must for all those kids who still want hear music that has originality and personality.
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