Brace yourselves, people – Turbonegro are back. After a five year gap since 2007’s ‘Retox’, the Norwegian punks have released their ninth album, ‘Sexual Harrassment’. The album sees the return of rhythm guitarist Rune “Rune Rebellion” Grønn after five years, as well as the addition of drummer Tommy “Manboy” Akerholdt, replacing Tomas Dahl, and new vocalist/percussionist Tony Sylvester, a.k.a ‘The Duke of Nothing’, who replaces long-standing member Hank von Helvete. The three are completed by lead guitarist Knut Schreiner and bassist Tomas Seltzer, the band’s remaining original member.
Certainly, out of the newcomers, Sylvester has the biggest shoes to fill, but over the ten tracks he does complete justice, from ‘I Got A Knife’ all the way through to ‘You Give Me Worms’, his rough, aggressive pipes giving Turbonegro the same edge and bite that Hank did on the previous six releases. Akerholdt’s drumming provides a great foundation for the songs, and the Schreiner/Grønn partnership sounds just as good as it ever did. Notable tracks are the aforementioned opener, which is a fast-paced rocker that really stamps the band’s authority back into the alternative world and ‘TNA (The Nihilistic Army)’, the lyrics Don’t you feel too old for this? I don’t! a defiant message that Turbonegro are far from dead and still having too much fun to call it a day; the use of piano on some of the tracks also gives the album a real Use Your Illusion Guns N’ Roses feel about it as well, particularly on ‘Mister Sister’.
It isn’t a perfect record – there are sections within songs that seem quite sluggish, and ‘Tight Jeans, Loose Leash’ could have been dropped without much disappointment, but you can’t take away from the fact that, in the face of adversity, Turbonegro have steadied the ship and are continuing in the true punk fashion of not giving a toss about what the masses think they should do, by producing an album with sharp edges all over it. Welcome back guys, you have been missed.
Rating – 8/10
Track listing:
1) I Got A Knife
2) Hello Darkness
3) Shake Your Shit Machine
4) TNA (The Nihilistic Army)
5) Mister Sister
6) Dude Without A Face
7) Buried Alive
8 ) Tight Jeans, Loose Leash
9) Rise Below
10) You Give Me Worms
Links:
Website: http://www.turbonegro.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TurbonegroHQ
Twitter: @TurbonegroHQ