Its A Revolution – Podcast – Episode 40

Its A Revolution – Podcast – Episode 40

Join us for this week’s instalment of the RPM Online Podcast Episode 40 no less. This week’s show opens on a sad note with the awful news that 60ft Dolls drummer passed away recently so it seemed fitting that we kick off with the awesome ‘Happy Shopper’ from ‘The Big 3’ album. I witnessed the band at the peak of their powers when they played to a packed-out house in the next village on the same road effectively that we broadcast from. A band that should have been as big as the Manics no question about it but alas they burned brightest rather than fading away, this one is for Carl may he rest in peace.

After such a sad note to begin with the show starts with the original kick-off and the most excellent Turbonegro cover of The classic ‘The Party Starts Now’ released in 2005, this is how to do a cover version deathpunk style. After Martin reviewed the Love Fiends album recently we had to include this Banger ‘Jimmy (Is An Agent)’. Power Pop done superbly.

Great to have UK Hardcore legends Chubby & The Gang ready to drop their new LP ‘And Then There Was One’, to loosen the juices they’ve dropped this new single ‘Theres A Devil In The Jukebox’ which is going down a treat at the pumphouse HQ. October seems so long away.

Cherry Red are continuing their tradition of releasing double album CDs of classic releases and this time its GBH so ‘Sick Boy the single version is our pick of the pack. Out in months time the band still play to this day with the same power and aggression.

A classic reissue with a superb mix was The Replacements ‘Tim: Let It Bleed Edition’ which came out a few years ago. ‘Kiss Me On The Bus’ (Ed Stasium mix) is our pick from this stunning box set that is well worth the price. Packed with goodies for the fair ear The Replacements always do quality reissues and this might well be the pick of the pack. Now if only they were to do some more reunion shows that would be most excellent. As far as remixes or remasters go this is night and day with the original release probably only outdone by the recent Senseless Things remix /remaster.

Another band we love at HQ is The Hillbilly Moon Explosion and with their most recent album getting a repress and launch in a few weeks it seemed right to play one of the best songs off the album ‘1979’ check em out. ‘Back In Time’ is a fantastic addition to the band’s catalogue and an underground band who have bazillion of plays on YouTube if you want to get a flavour of what to expect.

Now a band we’ve played before The Cavemen have a new album out and thankfully it’s more of the same from our favourite New Zealand reprobates. ‘Cash 4 Scrap’ is all killer and no filler (possibly because they don’t hang around long enough) They do a great line in zero fucks lo-fi garage punk even if this is the slowest song in their repertoire.

The first half of this week’s offerings is the brand-new single from the one and only Marilyn Manson who by the sounds of it is right back on form. With a new album hopefully in the pipeline being released on nuclear blast records it’s one to look out for.

With all the unrest around at the moment, it seems appropriate to drop this last live recording of the late great Joe Strummer when he did the firemen benefit and got Mick Jones up to blast off the cobwebs of ‘White Riot’.

Janes Addiction have been getting some great reviews from their live shows and having the four original members back in the fold ‘Imminent Redemption’ sound right back on form for the Californian rockers. Lets hope this new album is of the same strong output. It would be great to have them back making a noise and upsetting people.

Swansea upstarts Monet are busy recording their second album and after a quality live performance recently celebrating 30 years of Repeat Magazine/Records it would be foolish not to add them to the roster of excellent bands to look out for. We’ve also asked Richard to pop down to HQ and host the podcast with us so fingers crossed that comes off soon. Repeat are the kind of people we want to align ourselves with as we all sing off the same hymn sheet. Love Music Hate Racism.

Another band who played the Repeat party was West Wales noise makers Lacross Club and it might be the first song we’ve played twice but ‘Welsh Weather Heather’ is so good we could play it most weeks, get an album done gents those songs might go off if you leave them.

Chris informed me that Sepultura covered the New Model Army and I had to check it out as I didn’t know that one but they bloody well did. Good solid effort but not a patch on the original and hopefully they’ll play this when I go to see them in a few months, next up is ‘The Hunt’.

The Bellrays have a new album coming and its a banger so we’re playing ‘One More Night’ before they head off on a US tour with Social Distortion. One of the finest voices in garage rock no doubt about it. Another band to write a song influenced by a riot is The Damned who deliver ‘Thanks For The Night’ with Vanian on vocals as opposed to the Captain but regardless of who is singing this was and is a classic.

Tubthumper Dunstan Bruce has signed a contract with Heavy Medication Records to release his ‘Fucking Expensive’ single so it would be rude not to give it an airing. The penultimate track is an unreleased single from the late 70s by The Vibrators who have captain Oi reissuing ‘V2/pure mania’ and ‘Bad Time’ is the tune showcases just how bloody good The Vibrators were another very underrated band from the late 70s.

We end this weeks show with with another new song this time from the awesome Peter Perrett who dropped the news of his pending album and then released the first video off the record and what a banger to sign off with. ‘I Wanna Go With Dignity’ is a swashbuckling slice of classic Perrett. Adios amigos til next time.

Various Artists – ‘Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed’ (No Label)

Various Artists – ‘Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed’ (No Label)

Limited to 1000 copies and released in May ‘Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed’ is a wholly independent release for one of the finest underground Punk Rock Garage bands ever to grace the earth. Not many other punk rock band, that never was part of the mainstream, left such a footmark like Turbonegro did. Bars in Mexico and Spain are named after the band. The Turbojugend, the fan club of the band, is only comparable with the fan clubs of old rock giants such as Motorhead or Kiss with as many hipsters wanting the levi denim with their name on it as genuine lovers of the band and boy are the Turbojugend a loyal lot.

There have been many tribute records made so why not another one from a bunch of bands many of us are familiar with and some new ones no doubt? In the very best DIY manner, this album is not released by a label and will be distributed by the bands only. The drawings of Hank and Tony on the sleeve have been made by Warren Mancini, a tattoo artist from the USA. The layout has been created by Javier Villalpando. Javier already created the TUR30NEGRO lettering for the band’s 30th anniversary in 2019. So who and what’s on it?

Familiar to regular readers will be the likes of Christmas, The Dwarves, Stacy Crowne & Scumbag Millionaire. Opening up the album is a truly brutal “knocked out of the motherfuckin’ park” take of ‘I Gotta Knife’ from the zero fucks given combo that is Christmas. A band that got what Turbonegro was all about and carried the very same DNA coursing through their veins. That’s how to open a tribute album and make the listener sit up and pay attention. Bosh! job done.

How to follow that up? Ah, I know Scumbag Millionaire. Yup, ‘Just Flesh’ is a clap of thunder that scorches your speakers. Taking the spirit of the song and turbocharging it to the max. This is sounding like a top tribute already and we’re only two songs deep. I reach for the volume this deserves to be turned up louder as a sleazy ‘Du Mongo’ makes my skin crawl for all the right reasons as its creepy crawl through my speakers. Hang on it’s The motherfuckin’ Dwarves putting their sleazy slap on ‘Blow Me (Like The Wind)’ like only the Dwarves know-how. Dripping in sex appeal and slithering through the broken glass floorboards of some damp dark dungeon this is a blast and exactly how a tribute album should roll.

Notable bands I’ve not heard before would be CatEater taking on ‘Hurry Up And Die’

Stacy Crowne gets the tone spot on for their romp through ‘Humiliation Street’ getting the thin line between Street Punk and big glorious Glam Rock. I am quietly glad the bands stayed away from a lot of the big-ticket turbo tunes and went for deeper cuts. I know there are a lot of top trumps with cult bands seeing who can pick the most obscure to cover but I don’t think that’s the case here the songs are treated with the right amount of respect and bands have taken ownership in their styles which is fantastic.

‘Selfdestructo Bust’ from Alarmstufe Rot is a riot whilst Deviltrain walks on the sleazy wild side with ‘Rendezvous With Anus’. Syff takes a buckin’ bronco ride on the frantic smasher that is ‘Prince Of The Rodeo’ delivered with an air of “have some of that” and in keeping with the rest of this album is a top turn. Hell even Christmas main man Max delivers a sleazy ‘Everybody Loves A Chubby Dude’ Feed Me Feed Me, Feed me more of this more like, inject this sleazy punk rock right into my bloodstream.

The Dogs dish up a romping ‘Armed And Fairly Well Equipped’ with parping keys added to the thuggish riff for good measure. Finally signing off this monumental tribute is a Schreng Schreng & La La with a Haunting ‘Sailor Man’ in the style of Johnny Cash and his American recordings style twisting your Mellon in true Turbo style.

Listen, I know there will be detractors of tribute albums but Turbonegro was way out there with the greats of the underground and the original lineup with Hank was a very special band to many many people the flame will be kept burning as long as bands like these keep rolling out records as good as this one. Get it, listen to it, investigate the bands that deliver the goods and then bow down to Turbonegro and all who sailed in her for they were an exceptional band and they spawned many fine bands who followed in their footsteps and continue to do so. Buy It! Then check out the bands who make this such a great record they deserve your support.

Pick it up Here

Author: Dom Daley

The Boatsmen Interview Exclusive

The Boatsmen Interview Exclusive

Whilst the world is still in the grip of this Pandemic it’s always great to have a distraction from the daily grind of life currently under restrictions and social distancing and not being able to get out there and spend time with like-minded music lovers.  However, one thing this damn virus hasn’t stopped is the release of great rock and roll records and one of 2021’s most impressive releases so far is without a doubt the awesome new album from Swedens The Boatsmen so with our masks on we made contact with the self-confessed kings of Party Rock and Roll and fist-bumped before we engaged in the chatter that matters.  Welcome to your new favourite band kids please be upstanding for The Boatsmen…

 

Give us a bit of background to the band?  You formed in or around 2008 when the first demo came out but didn’t get around to releasing the debut album in 2013 right?

That’s right, we started out wanting to be a contrast to a lot of the other bands around at the time. The Boatsmen is about letting loose and doing exactly what you feel like, just for the fun and the thrills with no boundaries. Stop taking yourself so seriously, stop overthinking and psychedelick my ass. During our first years, the focus was more on partying than recording. After a while, though we had mastered the art of partying to its full extent and got to work with our first album.

 

 

Where is the band from in Sweden? What’s it like for music there?

Yes, the band is from Örebro in the middle of Sweden and we grew up with a great music scene with bands like The Accidents, The Peepshows, The Strollers and The Pricks. When we started the band however the scene had been losing some action and we felt the responsibility to show the kids how it’s done.

 

 

I’m curious as to where the name comes from?

The band is named after the dog “Båtsman” (“Boatsman”) in the Swedish 70s kids show Saltkråkan. We thought a logo with a big anchor as the T in the middle would look cool.

 

Who were your influences?

We have a big mix of influences but we have a steady ground in the old 60s garage music with band such as The Sonics and Music Machine but with the rock action from MC5 and The Stooges, some boogie from The Hurriganes and Eddie Meduza, and a whole lot of punk approach from bands like GG Allin, The Damned and Ramones. But the main influence is good songs in general. Of course, we listen to and love the Scandinavian rock scene with bands such as Turbonegro, The Hives, and The Hellacopters. Reigning Sound and Henry Fiats Open Sore are two other favorite bands.

 

 

Let’s get up to date with the new album just released on Ghost Highway and Spaghetty Town.  How did that arrangement come about did you tout the new record around or specifically target these guys?

We have worked with Ghost Highway before and we really like the stuff they put out and the way we work together. They also got American Spaghetty Town on this boat and we like many other bands dream of the US so we are really happy about that.

 

 

 

Where was the new record recorded?

We recorded ourselves in our rehearsal room/studio, Super Studios, that we have together with our friends in V8 Interceptor.

 

How has it been since Covid hit the globe?  Sweden didn’t strictly enter a lockdown is that right?  We there live shows then?

The main difference in Sweden compared to most other countries is probably that the lockdown is more about  “recommendations” than laws. No public gatherings with more than 8 people allowed so no shows.

 

Who writes the songs in the band and how do you come to the finished record?  Is everything done before you enter the studio?  Did any of the writing get changed much when you started recording?

The last record we rehearsed a lot before we went into the studio and recorded everything live, all songs in one weekend. This time we pretty much recorded every song as soon as it was made, less rehearsing. We jam the music up together and all the lyrics/poetry are written by lead singer Håkan.

 

 

What about how long it took to get it finished from the start of the process?

Martin the drummer moved to another city so we just met during weekends and partied and recorded. It took almost two years because we really like to party.  Also, we were waiting and hoping for the pandemic to be over before putting the record out, but eventually, we had teased ourselves too much and had to release it.

 

 

Live shows.  Are there any plans to come to Plague island the UK and bring the noise?

We would love to bring our rock’n’roll circus to the UK as soon as we can!

 

 

 

 

The Boatsmen profess to have a good time all the time.  What constitutes a good night out with The Boatsmen and where do we sign up?

Just write to us on Facebook, Instagram or theboatsmen@mail.com and we´ll start out with pizza and beer and end with beer and pizza.

 

I can’t get a copy of ‘City Sailor’ on vinyl any chance of a repress?  I’m sure when people hear the new album the back catalogue will be in demand.

There´s a discussion about a repress and we hope we can get it done soon.

 

 

What has the band done differently from album to album?  The new one is so good you seem to have hit a rich vein of form did it feel good when the songs were finished?  Having had some distance from finishing recording and releasing is there anything you’d have done differently?  What’s the process for The Boatmen.

For every record, we have had a different approach just to keep it fresh and not to do the same thing over again expecting a different result.  This record we did everything ourselves, even the cover design, so maybe next record we’ll do nothing ourselves.

 

Talk us through the songs on the new album.  Obviously, there are some reoccurring themes but are there any hidden depths we need to know about?

First off is the track “Action Delivery” and it’s about the anxiety and excitement of playing in a rock band that believe they´re the best. Next up is “Friday Night Forever” and that song is summed up in one of the lines of the lyrics: “Close your eyes and close your ears, be shitfaced don’t face your fears”. “Blame It On Me” was the first single from the album and it’s about the fact that everyone already thinks we are fucked up drunks, so if you do anything bad you might as well blame it on us. “Thirst Song” is a love song about a drunken relationship. “Saved By Rock” is about the fact that rock’n’roll saved us from boredom, sobriety, and virginity. “Even The Good Times Were Bad” is about how the times you thought then were good times can look like from behind. “I Don’t Wanna Lose This Time” is about not wanting the weekend to end. “When I’m Drunk” is about the superpowers you get when you’re drunk. Everything good that I have achieved in life I have done while being drunk. “Big Waves” is about remembering that you are the captain of your own ship. “Clap Canon” is a Swedish expression that describes when someone is really drunk. We have with our magic linguistic capabilities turned it into a story about making the audience clap their hands to keep the band on fire. “Gimme Your Money” is about the fact that alcohol is very expensive in Sweden. “Better Man” is what I keep telling my wife every day that I’m going to be. After Party In Hell is about the fact that if you end up in hell for doing the things you like I’d rather go there already.

 

 

What next for the band?

We would like to tour the world, but since the world is closed down right now we’ll release a bunch of music videos and do stuff online to keep the people’s thirst and hunger up until we can bring our exploding rock’n’roll chaos to your town! Cheers and thanks for the interview man, keep up the good work!

 

Verses The Boatsmen review Here

Buy the record from Ghost Highway Records or in the US at Spaghetty Town Records

You can pick up your merch from the bands Bandcamp  or visit their website Here

 

 

Stacy Crowne – ‘We Sound Electric’ (Savage Magic Records)

Stacy Crowne – ‘We Sound Electric’ (Savage Magic Records)

I’m not a massive believer in fate or why things happen but I was asked to give a record a listen and possibly review it.  The dilemma I had was it was originally released late 2019 but hey the world has been on stop for some months anyway sure I’ll listen.  Then when I was putting together the pictures and links for this review I got a message from a label and asked if I’d ever heard a band named Stacy Crowne.  Now here’s where it gets spooky up until a few weeks ago I hadn’t but they did a split with a band I love (Christmas as it goes) and I reviewed the single last month and was really impressed with the sounds coming outta Stacy Crowne and then things snowballed The singer got in touch I played the record and then the label got in touch over something else entirely and bang as I type I have one of those boxes pop up whilst I’m spinning the record on my laptop its only Stacy Fucking Crowne! now that might just be a coincidence but we all know the evil powers of Rock and Roll and how they work so it might well be a sign and horns up for the band because I took it as the rock and Roll Gods telling me to turn the fucker up and band out my review and let everybody know how damn good this slice of Hard Rockin’ action is!

Strap yourself in kid this might get bumpy! From the opening ring of the overdrive, this is most definitely in the same ballpark as the scene back a couple of decades that had Gluecifer and The D4 ruling the roost along with Hellacopters and a hint of Supersuckers and Turbonegro.  If anything this is understated which is a shame (I missed it when it was released)  because opener ‘Oblivion’ sets the tone but by no means is the standout track maybe its the loosener opening couple of shots to accompany the big one and you have to build up to that nobody dives straight in or you’ll crash and burn but its got all the vital ingredients to Rock and Fuckin’ Roll but ‘White Lies’ adds the tambourine which is nice as the band cruise through the gears with a song not a million miles from Captain Poon and Biff Malibu its loud got a cool hook and plenty of punch but remains cool as without a bead of sweat on their brow nor a hair out of place this is good no I mean Good!

There’s always time for a bit of Boogie along the lines of Backstreet Girls ‘Tightrope’ with a really tight chorus with layered BV’s almost power-pop wearing big boys leather gloves and mirror shades if you know what I mean? and the keys added really lift it.  Great track.

When they just want to rock out they do so with consummate ease (‘Some Equals None’) they add some neat bass runs on ‘Get Loaded Now!’ Basically if you ever hankered after a record that has loud guitars but not for the sake of it loud and ever wanted riffs and plenty of crash bang wallop then ‘We Are Electric’ is an album you have to hear. The title track or ‘We Are The Rest’ delivers in spades and throw in some of that dirty rock that bands like American HEartbreak or The Four Horsemen touched upon but also delivered great records.

 

If I had to pick a standout track then it would have to be ‘Lovebite’ sure it sings from that classic Gluecifer hymnsheet but damn it’s a good song with gang vocals and laid back verses it’s quality and some splendid guitar playing, especially on the breakdown. It only leaves the power ballad of ‘Too Easy’ to cruise off into the sunset.  Only joking its not a token power ballad but it is like one of the Hellacopters road movie tunes, a little more laid back than the others maybe, and with some dueling guitars noodling for good measure its been a blast.

I’m only gutted I didn’t pick this up late last year but hey we can’t be on top of everything and I’m glad I’ve had the pleasure of playing it over and over now.  I won’t be making that mistake again.  Just buy it.

Buy ‘We Sound Electric’ Here or Here 

Website / Facebook

Author: Dom Daley

Various Artists – ‘A Fistful More Of Rock & Roll, Vol 3’ (Screaming Crow Records)

Various Artists – ‘A Fistful More Of Rock & Roll, Vol 3’ (Screaming Crow Records)

A Fistful More of Rock & Roll, Volume 3 contains Twenty Six of the best Rock n Roll bands from all over the world! Originally slated for release in January of this year manufacturing problems and a pandemic pushed it back to July 31, 2020. Although all the bands/songs are sweaty, beer-soaked denim dripping Rock n Roll, Available on CD and gatefold double LP.

Liner notes from Producer Sal Conzonieri of Electric Frankenstein.

A Fistful MORE of Rock & Roll – Volume 3 continues in the same tradition that the original 13 volumes of A Fistful of Rock ‘n’ Roll did from 2000 to 2007. 

It’s the Return of the Return of Rock ‘n’ Roll,Call it what you like Action Rock Punk n Roll does it really matter? It’s Straight down and dirty, Loud n lustful, Action Rock revolution, High Energy Punk Rock ‘n’ Roll yadda yadda yadda.

Action Rock, Punk N Roll, Hard Rock now we’ve established that you can actually call it what you like if its good I’ll give it a spin and if it’s not then no thanks I’ll pass.  This new age of “Action Rock” is churning out records at a rate of Knotts and for the convenience of keeping all these alternative bands under one umbrella, I happen to think its in rude health.  Having covered a lot of these bands over the years I find it warming that they’ve been brought together  thanks to the super hard work of Sal.

Starting in the late 80s and early 90s, a worldwide Rock revival / New Rock Revolution sprang up, from Scandinavia to the USA to Australia to Wales. Spontaneously, around the world, a group of bands developed this new sound, such as Poison Idea, Action Swingers, Bullet Lavolta, Big Chief, The Fluid, Blue Hippos / Otto’s Chemical Lounge, Celebrity Skin, The Kings of Oblivion, Flower Leperds, Fearless Leader, The Lazy Cowgirls, The Donnas, The New Bomb Turks, The Didjits / The Lee Harvey Oswald Band / The Gaza Strippers, Dwarves, Zeke, Supersuckers, The Hookers, Nashville Pussy, Easy Action, Trash Brats, Candy Snatchers, Adam West, The Cherry Valence, Jakkpot, The Upper Crust, Speedealer, B-Movie Rats, The Stitches, The Humpers, Rocket from the Crypt, The Superbees, The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, Zen Guerilla, The Murder City Devils, The Mud City Manglers / The Cheats, D Generation, Electric Frankenstein, The Black Halos, The Spitfires, Danko Jones, American Ruse, TV Killers, Dumbell, Temporal Sluts, Thee STP,  Aerobitch, The Pleasure Fuckers, Safety Pins, The Nomads, Puffball, The Rockets, The Hives, Gluecifer, The Flaming Sideburns, The Hellacopters, Backyard Babies, Turbonegro, The Onyas, The D4, The Datsuns, The Powder Monkeys, The Panadolls, Mustang, Hoss, Teengenerate, Supersnazz, Jet Boys, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, and so on, that were all featured on the first series of the “A Fistful of Rock ‘n’ Roll” compilations.

Today there is a whole new generation of young bands and (cough, cough) not so young bands delivering the goods and knowing exactly where the action is.  they have built upon what the previous bands started, keeping Punk Rock ‘n’ Roll alive and full of high energy. Thus, a second series is necessary to document this: “A Fistful MORE of Rock & Roll”; No mistakes at all when I say this is one of the loudest compilations and no quarter is given not even an inch.  Side one pairs up Deathtraps with Egyptian Gay Lovers both playing loudly but both offer something quite different from each other. As far as Deathtraps go they’ve just released an excellent album full to the brim of loud rock and roll and a leap in quality from the first which was pretty impressive as it goes.

Flexx Bronco opens up side two with a cool rocker ‘Heart on the Floor’ and again it’s sounding quite different from the Elvis meets Danzig rock of Nevadah and ‘Iggy Dog’ but I have to admit I have a soft spot for the most excellent Drippers record ‘Solitary Speaking’  rumbles along like a freakin’ steam train heading for oblivion.  A quite ferocious cut for sure. Then to follow that with Randy Savages Rockin’ and a rollin’ on their single Guilty of Nuthin’ is an exceptional burst of energy and how can anyone not get behind that guitar solo!

Of the bands I’ve never heard before Joecephus and the George Jonestown Massacre is one with a bit of a mouthful but fear not Rockers the guitars are slung low and the energy levels are in bloom. Moving away from the Punk n roll attitude of a band like Randy Savages you have The Dirty Denims who pray at the altar of DC and all things ROCK!

There are some bands I’ve not heard anything from in quite a while and to be fair bands like The Cheats are kicking serious backside as is Dog Toffee someone I’ve not hear anything from in a while and they sound excellent as do East Coast Low another new one on me and their solid thump.

It might be an idea to listen to this in healthy chunks so as to not overwork your brain and to give your speakers a chance to recover.  Projeckt Daghouse  are kicking up a hellish racket but they are overshadowed by a band I’ve championed since hearing their debut. Poison Boys have got the lot from the pretty faces going to hell. But trying to pick a favourite side is like being forced to choose between the kids.  But don’t tell anyone but the last record is freakin awesome such is the quality of songs on offer.

It’s fair to say I’m impressed and this is right up there with the best for sheer quality and like I said earlier the amount of hard work that went into making this project a reality and all these cool bands delivering the goods on mass is a real Boon to the scene. An honour and a feather in the caps of those who get featured and being associated with such a quality compilation.  I hope Sals turned his attention to volume 14 and I look forward to hearing who and what is on offer because this is only the beginning of the second wave. Now if only this virus would be kind enough to fuck off and let us get back to live shows maybe we can see some of these bands in the flesh tearing it up around the stages of the world.

Pre-orders and limited edition purple vinyl available exclusively Here

Author: Dom Daley

HANK VON HELL releases new single ‘Disco’, from the forthcoming album

HANK VON HELL releases new single ‘Disco’, from the forthcoming album

Larger than life. Totally outta control forever and ever. Once again here to shake your ass, the true master of raucous rock and sexual shock. The infamous Norwegian who partied not to have fun, but in order to create destruction and havoc.

Two years ago, the legendary and former frontman of the denim demons Turbonegro was back for real with his solo debut Egomania, a record that immediately satisfied the needs of his rabid fanbase who had waited eight long and lonesome years for this punk icon to return from the world of films, musicals, cookbooks and the rest.

And, guess what, now the reinvented Hank von Hell has an ever stronger follow-up and it’s stocked with all the action, danger, debauchery, hooks and riffs you’d craved for, a large and swaggering sound designed to penetrate us all.

The title is ‘Dead’, and as the title indicates the album represents an even darker side of Hank von Hell than the one that we have learned to love. “I actually wrote this album and the concept of it, probably ten or fifteen years ago”, he says. “My life hasn’t really been the “sunny side up” all the time, so this is my way of expressing that. The idea of the album came about when I was a in a really creative and hectic mood last year, and I basically turned every single dark period of my life into music”.

 

LISTEN TO ‘DISCO’ HERE:
https://smarturl.it/HvHDead

To celebrate this newfound inspiration and lust, Hank brings a party of favorites and friends onboard. Tom Dalgety, whose CV includes “Prequelle” by Ghost, “Rammstein” by Rammstein, “Sorceress” by Opeth, and many more, produced and co-wrote three tracks (“Blackened Eyes”, “Forever Animal”, “Disco”). “An absolutely amazing experience. Tom knew exactly what I wanted, and he even pushed my limits to way beyond what I’m used to.”

ALBUM PRE-ORDER:
Among the guests we also find his good friends Cone McCaslin and Dave. Baksh. These two Sum 41 members not only co-wrote “Radio Shadow”, they also perform on the track. “It turned out fantastic,” says Hank. Last but not least, the powerful singer is very proud of another contribution. Actor Frankie Loyal, from HBO crime drama “Mayans M.C”, is narrating the whole album. “I’ve always wanted to have a narrator on previous albums I’ve made, but it never really fitted until now. It really makes the entire album into one big epic saga.”

And, of course, heard all over “Dead” are invaluable band members Jean Genus, Jones Kelly II, Mr.O as well as trusted co-writer A.W. Nine.

Hank Von Hell has done an extensive touring following his comeback in 2018, each night showcasing his charismatic stage presence, explicit banter and eagerness to make out with pretty much everyone.

Supersuckers – ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Steamhammer/SPV)

Supersuckers – ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Steamhammer/SPV)

When I first discovered Supersuckers back in 1999 (yup I admit I was a tad late to the game) via their inspirational ‘The Evil Powers of Rock N Roll’ album I really did believe that Eddie Spaghetti and the boys were like something approaching the second coming. They were an integral part of a hugely important and influential underground scene, and along with bands like Backyard Babies, Turbonegro, Toilet Boys, Nashville Pussy and Gluecifer, Supersuckers became one of those “go to bands” for those of us eager for a dose of proper punk rock ‘n’ roll music.

 

Fast forward two decades and after many ups and downs all the way Supersuckers are still thankfully very much a going concern. Granted frontman/bassist Eddie Spaghetti is the only remaining member from that ‘Evil Powers’ album, but just being able to write that is a huge positive in itself given his battle with stage 3 throat cancer just a few years ago.  Standing alongside Eddie since his return have been Marty Chandler on guitar and Chris Von Streicher and on 7th February 2020 they unleash their 13th studio album in the shape of ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’.

 

Those familiar with Supersuckers’ past two records (2015’s ‘Holding The Bag’ and 2018’s ‘Suck It’) might be wondering which path the band have wandered down to record ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ given that the trio are as equally at home writing country tinged laments as they are penning skin shredding punk rock anthems, and when you also discover that this album was recorded in Willie Nelson’s Texas studio you of course might be forgiven for assuming it would be very much a set of songs soaked in Southern influences. But hold your horses right there folks because ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ is very much a rock ‘n’ roll record, albeit its one that at times sees something of a shift in the Supersuckers sound that I for one was certainly not expecting.

 

So, of the dozen tracks included here two are cover versions. First up is a rocked-up version of Allen Toussaint’s boogie-tastic ‘A Certain Girl’ and then there’s a faithful retelling of Michael Monroe’s ‘Dead Jail Or Rock N Roll’. It’s the ten originals where the real sonic surprises lie though. Take lead lyric video and album opener ‘Ain’t Gonna Stop (Until I Stop It)’ for example, this track (along with ‘Deceptive Expectation’) really do sound so much like outtakes from ‘Tattooed Beat Messiah’ that I’m scouring the accompanying PR sheet half expecting to find a Manning co-write, and these new song writing influences don’t stop there either, as both ‘You Ain’t The Boss of Me’ and ‘That’s A Thing’ make me wonder if Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn might have somehow been tempted out of retirement for one last throw of the dice, and these tracks alone almost have me half tempted to dub this album ‘The Evil Powers of (other people’s) Rock N Roll’.

 

The Supersuckers sound of old is still very much still alive and well though, especially in the shape of the hook laden ‘Getting Into Each Other Pants’ and the furious ‘Bringing It Back’, whilst the swaggering ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ sounds like its fallen straight off a New Orleans bar stool.  Elsewhere ‘Last Time Again’ bears all the hallmarks of the sonic overload I saw the band deliver live at Helldorado back in 2018, leaving the heavy as hell duo of ‘Die Alone’ and ‘Ain’t No Day’ to walk a line somewhere in between ‘Going Blind’ and ‘Metropolis’ in the deeper cut album track department.

 

Whilst ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ might not be the career-defining album I was so hoping for its still very much a fresh shot in the arm to a Supersuckers sound that some less clued-in people are still to discover, and who knows perhaps the tip of the hat to ‘Tiger Feet’ that is ‘That’s A Thing’ might just be what’s needed to deliver the mainstream success the band so justly deserve.

Buy Play That Rock and Roll Here

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Author: Johnny Hayward

 

 

 

Cockroach Clan – Songs About Blunt Knives and Deep Love (Fysisk Format)

Cockroach Clan – Songs About Blunt Knives and Deep Love (Fysisk Format)

One of Norway’s most legendary bands, (that you might be forgiven for never having heard of them, Right? Right) anyway Norway has a good history of knocking out some fantastic bands and a lot of them have been mentioned here on RPM.  Backstreet Girls, Turbonegro, Gluecifer, Good Bad the Zugly, Razorbats, and of course Mayhem.

Well, these punk/hardcore veterans are fronted by Billy Cockroach, one of the first vocalists of Mayhem he performed on the 1987 album “Deathcrush” under the moniker of Messiah and they offer us well-aged vintage punk rock full of cheerful aggression and infectious tunes. throwing in Mayhem is a bit of a red herring because its nothing like Deathcrush this is polished positively glistening in the production stakes compared to that Black Metal demo.

‘Songs about Blunt Knives and Deep Love’, has only taken 22 bloody long years to reach our ears kinda puts Axel to shame with his Chinese Democracy. They’re being heralded as one of Norway’s most legendary bands, it basically consists of new recordings of old hits as well as a handful of new tracks and a cover of Mountain Goat’s “Going to Georgia”. It started out as an idea from producer Hugo Alvarstein (The Good the Bad and the Zugly, Raga Rockers, etc…) Who suggested the band go rehearse their best songs from the 1990s then call him up and he’d take em into his studio and get them recorded and give the songs the justice they deserve. To be fair he’s clearly a man of his word and has recorded one hell of an album..

The band started out as far back as 1994, building a loyal fan base and a reputation of being a riotous live band along the way. Compared to the bands two previous offerings this one is the dog’s bollocks and one that should rightly exalt them to the top table of punk rock.

Having honed the tunes by sharing the stage with acts like The Toy Dolls, Discharge, UK Subs, The Exploited, Cock Sparrer, Anti-Nowhere League, Vice Squad and GBH through the years, now it’s about time they put their hat in the ring with a bunch of songs that justified their boast of being up there with the best of them.

The album begins with a cover, ‘Going To Georgia’ and it drops its music bombs right square in the middle of the speakers with it’s spoken/sung verses holding up rather well over a musical backdrop that just crackles along with a joy and sound of a band just killing it doing something they love for the love. ‘You Have A Bun’ is a breath of fresh air as it has plenty of bounce and whilst the vocals are aggressive (often quite shouty) what did you think he was going to sound like? Ian Gillan? that’s the thing its aggressive as fuck but it sounds content and dare I say it – Happy at the same time, oh and the production is great and really lifts the songs.

‘Fantasyland’ has a little bit of Thin Lizzy in those dueling guitars on the intro.  I did a little momentary gasp on the intro of the piraty ‘Three Wishes’ as I thought we were getting some h ho ho shanty music but worry not me hearties it was only a false intro. Still, it’s quite piraty its the good end of piraty.

‘On An Island’ is just a banger with its head down its one foot in the Motorhead camp and the other, say, Argy Bargy – Imagine that? To be fair the middle part of the album isn’t fucking about and gets stuck in like The Adicts on a good day.  ‘Facts On The Wall’ is Ramones rapid with a dumb yet happy melody and ripping solo this is shaping up to be an excellent record.  ‘Necktie Party’ has a bit of a Crass vibe about it. These boys and these songs would go down a storm at somewhere like Rebellion Festival.

A lot of the pace and tempo of the songs remind me of a Norweigan Sham 69 and none more so that ‘Do It Again’ which is one of the highlights of the record on the breakdown it’s like vintage high jinx Damned who always threw in some cool off the wall melodies in fact there are plenty of influences I am feeling here more than ripping off a band they dance to their own tunes and just let their influences just bleed through..

With twelve songs on offer, I would highly recommend you at least give these cats the benefit of doubt and check em out and once you do that I’m sure you’ll be convinced.  Great album I’m glad has seen the light of day and hope it’s given the band the energy and drive to do it all again except to say next time don’t leave it so fucking long. – Buy it!

 

 

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Twelve days of Christmas – A look back at 2018 with RPM – June

Twelve days of Christmas – A look back at 2018 with RPM – June

 

Not Just your regular summer, no sir, this one is hot! and its only getting hotter!

June 2018

 

Whilst May was relatively quiet (slang) June was positively bristling with releases and live shows for the RPM crew and the beginning of the festival season was open.  But we couldn’t mention June 2018 without a few tributes to fallen comrades in Rock and Roll.

Firstly, Heavy Drapes frontman Garry Alexander Borland passed away the first week after returning from Holland after a really successful show at Rebellion over there.  Garry’s passing was a huge shock to people close to him obviously but his passing was also felt in the wider alternative community with his band on the verge of much bigger and better things what with the up and coming decent billing at Rebellion UK and their debut album ready to go so its only right we record this moment and pay tribute to Garry.  May he rest in peace.

Another sad passing was that of  DJ Fontana who was Elvis Presley’s drummer for many a year, Dominic Joseph Fontana was responsible for laying down the backbeat on almost 500 songs with the king which is no mean feat and a really impressive CV by any standard also it’s only right we recognise his contribution to music.  Rest in Peace DJ.

Sadly a third influential musician passed away in June this year, none other than Nick Knox the second but longest-serving Cramps drummer. Nick joined the band from the Electric Eels and occupied the drum stool from 1977-1991, Knox toured with the band and appeared on some of the Cramps’ best recordings, ‘Songs The Lord Taught Us‘, ‘Psychedelic Jungle’ and ‘A Date With Elvis’. Rest In Peace Nick Knox the man behind Lux and the man behind the shades.

Sadly the fourth person to pass away in June was none other than West coast punk rock legend Steve Soto of The Adolescents. Steve was originally the bass player in Agent Orange back in ’79 he then served as bass player in the Adolescents until passing.  the most recent album ‘Cropduster‘ being his final piece of work and easily one of 2018 finest albums.  The band went on to tour the summer around Europe with stand-in player and dedicated the set each night to Steve where they had a backdrop replacing the band’s logo and replacing it with SOTO at Rebellion in August Tony Reflex dedicated the show to his bandmate in a touching speech and subsequent performance that was electric and memorable,  Rest In Peace Steve 54 is way too young. 

 

Right hopefully onto much happier matters for the month of June 2018. With Festival season in full swing Fraser headed to Download and watched The Bronx, The Hives and Turbonegro show the festivals other acts how Rock and Roll was meant to be delivered to the people. elsewhere it seemed like the world and his Mrs were off to see the Rolling Stones play some enormadome or should that be a field?

IT might have cost the GDP of some countries to get close enough to see the band measure up to the size of a subbutteo player but it has to be said nobody was disappointed in either the performance or the setlist the band was knocking out on this leg of the tour. Jagger was ever his peter pan like self careering from one side of the huge stage to the other like he was a child with more energy than most performers more than half his age and some.

Nev decided he’d bowl darn London way and take in what Camden Rocks had to offer.  Basically, all the pubs of any note and the dive bars, as well as the more famous landmarks such as Dingwalls, Electric Ballroom etc throw, open their doors to live Rock and Roll for the day and if you have a wristband and there’s room at the inn then uh, you’re in! Just wear some comfortable shoes and a stage planner.  You might just happen across your favourite new band or someone you’ve been meaning to catch and hey presto there they are. (Deep Breath time) This year Nev caught The Ramonas at the Dublin Castle – Dirty Thrills at The Underworld Talia Dean in Brew Dog then back to the underworld for Sonic Boom Six and some knees up skanking ska which went down rather well with Nev. It wouldn’t have been right had our roving scribe not caught Urban Voodoo Machine down at the lock where the place to be was indeed Dingwalls then to finish off a marathon of live entertainment it was Camden Assembly for some Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors before the Rifles was a curtain call for Mr Brooks but he wasn’t banking on bumping into Paul-Ronny Angel either so his night wasn’t quite over!

Not wanting to be a party pooper Nev still had to take in Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds playing the All Points East Festival along with an impressive support cast of Patti Smith, St Vincent and Courtney Barnett.

Ben went to Rambling Man Fair and enjoyed the performances of such heavyweight rockers as The Cult and also managed to catch RPM favourites  Jim Jones and The Righteous Mind as well as the real mock rockers Steel Panth..Nah I can’t type it sorry folks I’d be doing RPM a disservice even mentioning them. anyway, Ben also managed to take in the large club gig of the month that was the triple-headed Britrock Must Be Destroyed touring carnival that featured a rotating line up of Reef, The Wildhearts, and Terrorvision. there were multiple dates to be fair and it was decided on the day how the running order would play out. I reckon each band made new fans on the night as reports were coming in of all three raising each others game and an excellent way to tour. The night Ben had in Leeds also saw Dodgy added to the lineup.

 

Our intrepid European correspondent or one of them Craggy got to see Repetitor live at Kabinet Muz, Brno I said Craggy got to see Repetitor in Brno…oh forget it he enjoyed it anyway said it was one of his highlights of the year to be fair.

Now with a sharp intake of breath June was positively overflowing with album releases that would bother top tens come the end of the year. Just a few of those contenders has to be The Interrupters with their ‘Fight The Good Fight’ that saw them leap up the rankings with a fantastic collection of tunes that was shaking up not just fans of the bands previous two albums but new music fans who heard one of the many potential hits on the radio or tv with the album set to just keep on selling and selling we are looking at the next big thing as they won’t be playing clubs for much longer.

Getting Tim Armstrong in to produce the record is a great move as the guy oozes class and knows his way around a ska-punk record and if he had a hand in any of the songwriting or arranging then boy pat yourselves on the back because the infectious ‘A Friend Like Me’, ‘Shes Kerosene’ and the awesome ‘Got Each Other’ are three reasons why this record will deservedly be in many ends of year top 3’s and rightly so..

Elsewhere June saw the release of London Towns Portuguese legends The Parkinson’s return with the LP ‘The Shape Of Nothing To Come’ that confirmed that these gentlemen still had it and it was a fine return to the fold in every way. Now expanded to a five piece you can take the boys out of punk rock but you can’t ever take the punk rock out of the boys and that boys and girls is a fact. the Parkinsons still have the chops.

Another couple of worthy mentions in the albums released in June has to be Smash Fashion and their ‘Rompus Pompous’.  Which has gone down a right storm at RPM as they’ve really hit their stride on this one and joioning them would have to be Nottingham’s The Speedways with the fantastic slice of power pop that is ‘Just Another Regular Summer’ the brains behind the idea to write an album was Matt former guitarist of The Breakdowns he’s since formed a band after the success of the record and has played  a number of shows and next year they’ve already planned some shows in Spain and London.  It really is power pop perfection and a record we highly recommend.

The old school shouldn’t be forgotten either because June was also the month when the phrase you can’t teach an old dog new tricks was debunked because The Uk Subs once again released a new album ‘Subversions’ of some of their favourite songs by other people – sure a cover album.  there might well be some you could see coming but there are others on the album that you would never have seen coming. 

Over in NYC the birthplace of hardcore and home to some of the best bands around Madball made a new record they put out in June 2018 and the brutal ‘For The Cause’ was unleashed on the world and immediately felt at home with the RPM crew.

Finally a mention of records released in June this time for the magnificent London power poppin’ punk rockin’ Los Pepe who released their long playing Greatest Hits on Snap Records! it came with a CD of the album and they also got to knock out a single this month as well which was nice. Don’t get me started on singles that appeared this month because ther were plenty with my pick of the pack coming from the Randy Savages who were ‘Guilty Of Nuthin’ .

 

Helldorado – Klokgebouw, Eindhoven – 17th November 2018

Helldorado – Klokgebouw, Eindhoven – 17th November 2018

Billed as an incredible rock ‘n’ roll freakshow there will never be any chance of Helldorado being done for false representation. With over 30 live bands, live wrestling, burlesque acts and a whole lot more besides the 40 odd Euros I shelled out for early bird tickets made me feel like I’d bagged myself one of the gig bargains of the year. But would it really live up to my expectations?

Arriving at the Klokgebouw (an arts/theatre venue in a huge multi room warehouse complex situated on an industrial park within a bicycle kick’s distance of PSV’s ground) with about half an hour to spare before the doors were due to open this gave one or two of our travelling group the chance to walk off their fragile states following the previous night’s Turbojugend meet up in the city’s Café The Jack (steady on Daley there were no retrievers in sight here) which had proven to be as colourful an introduction to the city as the Glow art event that was also taking place that same evening.

After finally making our way through the airport style security (which was done as quickly as possible by very friendly staff who seemed to be able to speak a multitude of languages all at the same time) I finally made my way into the venue and hit the main Cobra stage just as Prima Donna were launching into the 2nd song of their set.   With just 30 minutes on stage there was no time for banter or messing about so Kevin Preston and his prima donnas (ouch) just do what they do best and play a set packed full of infectious rock ‘n’ roll anthems largely drawn from their excellent ‘S/T’ album. A better sound mix (something which you’ll see becomes of a recurring theme throughout the day) might have drawn out some of the band’s poppier saxophone driven moments but at 1pm in the afternoon, warming up a largely still hungover crowd, the boys did mighty fine indeed. Now make sure you catch them on the road with Danko Jones right now!

Moving over to the adjoining Lion stage for a little bit of fun with Cirque Du Mort’s Trashy Pandas and it’s somewhat confusing to discover that after travelling all this way this UK troop’s lead hostess speaks with the broadest of Welsh accents. Alright butt. Then just as The Devils (no not the Nick Rhodes pre-Duran act) prepare  to take to their makeshift stage in the middle of a wrestling ring situated mid dancefloor one of our group (whose been on a proper walkabout around the complex) points out we best make our way over to the Tarantula stage as it’s a tad smaller than the other two stages and the buzz surrounding the arrival of The Hip Priests complete with their very own trashy panda on lead vocals might just see us left out in the cold (and boy was it cold outside) if we’re not sharpish. On our way over though we just have time to check out the doom drone of Monolord on the Cobra stage which on another day in another venue might have inspired me to throw my horns in the air, however today I’m all about the Priests. 

Getting into position a few rows behind the Spasm Gang diehards who follow The Hip Priests all over the globe the most rewarding thing for me (and I’m sure the band too) was to glance around and see the venue was indeed fully packed out. If ever there was a reason for this band to exist then there really was no time like right now to fully deliver on their musical promise. With the Fuck Cancer t-shirted Von Cruz dedicating their set to Kathy Rocker this just seemed to light their fuse as they sped off through a set littered with career defining tunes that just exploded right in our faces. The ever present ‘Instant Delinquent’ got the first proper pit of the day going whilst in ‘Zero Fucks Given’ I still say the band have the best Stooges song Iggy never wrote, and it’s not just me that thinks this as the crowd literally hollered the song’s title back at them during the extended coda outro. ‘Stand For Nothing’ might be the ironic(?) title of the band’s soon to be released fourth studio record, but for the thirty minutes spent in their company today they stand for everything, so cheers to you guys you really are muthafucking superior.

It’s almost impossible to get my bearings after such an incendiary set so I drift between Death Alley and The Rock N Roll Wrestling and then Vintage Caravan (none of them able to get anywhere near what had preceded them) and in the meantime I also manage to somehow miss The Dahmers (who talking to someone later were apparently excellent) altogether. Bollocks!

It was the lure of witnessing Nicke Andersson back behind a drum kit (for the first time since his days spent with the mighty The Solution) playing with Lucifer over on the Cobra stage that dragged me out of my stupor, and as the band unfurled its very own fringed tops take of Psych-Doom I suddenly started to have flashbacks to a few years back when a good mate of mine made me watch Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats and Witchcraft back to back at Hellfest and I honestly thought I’d just woken up in 1972. In many ways I feel Lucifer are perhaps not unlike an Andersson’s Night for the Scando-Doom generation, and whilst I personally don’t dig it the many people around me who headbanged constantly throughout the band’s 45 minutes set treated them like headliners in waiting. I’ll stick with my Blues Pills LPs thanks.

Price pointing their merch at 10 and 15 Euros a pop the muthafuckin’ Dwarves really were living up to their rock legends tag long before they had even played a note today. It’s simple acts of punk rock genius like this that see most people either sporting or carrying a cross-boners themed item of  merch by the time the band hit the Cobra stage, and initial dodgy sound aside Blag and his gang of reprobates simply could do no wrong as they stampeded their way through the likes of ‘Way Out’, ‘Sluts Of The USA’, ‘Back Seat Of My Car’ and ‘Devil’s Level’ leaving me with barely time to take a gulp of my beer between the classic tunes crammed into the set list this afternoon. With added human fireball, smurf and a bevvy of lovelies providing visual stimulation for a mosh pit seemingly set on self-destruct (especially during a frenzied ‘I Will Deny’) the only thing that was really missing was more tunes from the band’s superb ‘Take Back The Night’ LP. Then again when you’re as good looking as these fucks you can do whatever the fuck you want and still end up being one of the best bands of the day.

Moving back to the Lion stage for the highly anticipated return of Supersuckers, out on the road promoting the (almost) 20th anniversary of ‘Evil Powers Of Rock N Roll’, it actually took me 2 or 3 songs before I realised this was the same band that totally blew me away all those years ago. The current 3-piece version of the band seem to favour the type of flat-out wall of noise approach to gigs that Motorhead pretty much made their trademark, and to be honest it all kind of goes over my head, especially early doors. Couple this with an Eddie Spaghetti who is obviously trying to warm up and not over stretch his voice (for obvious totally understandable reasons) I simply found the whole thing very frustrating indeed. Yes of course the band still soared majestically when they aired the likes of ‘Born With A Tail’ and ‘Pretty Fucked Up’ but I’d be gobsmacked if anyone went out and bought a copy of ‘Suck It’ as a result of hearing any of the songs aired from that here this evening, and that’s a crying shame because it’s actually a very good album.

Jogging back over to the Cobra stage to find Zeke were just about to into ‘All The Way’ from their ‘Hellbender’ LP the packed out room then proceeded to just totally lose it. This being my third time of seeing the band on this tour meant I knew what was about to come and the odd beer shower was an almost welcome relief from the already oppressive heat being generated by the Olympic sized pit moving at pace stage front and centre. With side stage also packed full of other bands all keen to experience the Zeke-effect it was reassuring to finally put to rest the urban myth that Nick Oliveri and Blind Marky Felchtone were in fact the same person, Oliveri screaming most of the band’s back catalogue from the wings like their number one fan whilst the more eagle eyed amongst us also spotted Austin Rocket from The Hip Priests revealing himself as a closet KISS fan by singing along to the Zeke-ified version of ‘Shout It Out Loud’. If you’ve seen Zeke live yourself recently, you’ll get what I mean when I say they are impossible to critique, they just are muthafuckin’ Zeke end of.

With prospect of the night turning into a progressive/psych type of affair if I hung about in the main stage areas to watch DeWolf and then Kadavar, I instead plumped for the much more sensible (and less satin flared) option of checking out Nick Oliveri – Death Electric back in the Tarantula stage. Backed by his Dwarves bandmates and dedicating his set to Todd Youth, from the opening ‘Tension Head’ to the final chords of ‘Millionaire’ what we were given tonight was a simple lesson into why Nick is so badly missed by Josh Homme in his now piss weak stadium filling version of the once great band. I could have listened to this stuff all night but with barely an hour before the first of the two!! headliners were set to take the stage it was time to finally catch my breath.

Chatting with friends old and new in the food concourse for the best part of that hour the highlight of which involved us people watching two lads trying to get a 12” record into a 10” locker that eventually ended up with said record being bent slightly in half in order to get it in (yeah I’m still cringing writing about it here) it was thankfully the sound of Rich Knox’s kick drum heralding the arrival of  Danko Jones over on the Lion stage rather than the snap of an LP that brought us back into reality with a bump.

Now having mentioned how off the mark the sound had been for a number of bands earlier in the day the immediate thing that impressed me when I took up my place on the barrier for Danko was just how clear and powerful it now was. Could the curse of Castle Donington have made its way all the way to the Netherlands? Oh, what the hell, I’d last seen the band about 5 or 6 years ago at Hellfest struggling a little bit to get a reaction from an audience only looking to throw devil horns and headbang but here at Helldorado Danko Jones (the band) really were in their element, plundering their extensive back catalogue to keep people dancing and humming their tunes long after their hour long set had ended. ‘The Twisting Knife’, ‘Had Enough’, ‘Play The Blues’ and of course ‘Sugar Chocolate’ (which took me right back to 2001 and the band’s  debut UK support slot with Backyard Babies) were all present and with Danko (the frontman) on top form banter-wise tonight really was theirs for the taking and just like with The Hip Priests earlier in the day it was absolutely fantastic to see a band with originality high on their menu (even if it’s the bits they steal from other bands) getting the reception they so justly deserve. Karma indeed!

Having released an album that has caused some pretty diametrically opposite reactions from their diehard fans the Turbonegro of 2018 have certainly come a long way since I first saw them live back in the early noughties playing a small club in Birmingham promoting their then reunion LP ‘Scandinavian Leather’. However, whilst I’m man enough to admit to quite liking ‘RockNRoll Machine’ it’s the distinct possibility of Queen covers (something they have been doing more recently) being played that found me entering into this Cobra stage headline set with more than just a bit of unease. I shouldn’t have worried though because here tonight the band blended the post-Hank and pre-Tony years into a set of high-octane stadium rock that must have had even the out and out haters of ‘RocknRoll Machine’ nodding along. I mean how can you sing along to the likes of ‘Wasted Again’, ‘All My Friends are Dead’ ‘Get It On’ and ‘Back To Dungaree High’ and then not also be drawn in by the likes of ‘Hurry Up & Die’ or the hilariously titled ‘Hot For Nietzsche’ (the pereft counterpart to the band’s love letter to Van Halen’s ‘1984’ that is ‘Chrome Ozone Creation’)?

With an encore consisting of 2 more classics from ‘Apocalypse Dudes’ (‘The Age Of Pamparius’ and ‘Selfdestructo Bust’) before the ultimate vinegar stroke of ‘I Got It Erection’ was dispatched to send some of us off into the cold night air night, I’m not entirely sure where all the anxiety I had about seeing Turbonegro in 2018 came from, they are still the same fun loving bunch, they’ve just polished the whole thing up a bit that’s all.

So as the party raged on hard well into the wee small hours back at the Klokgebouw I walked back to the hotel reflecting on the fact that with hotel, train and gig tickets plus flights, this trip worked out around £275 for each of our party. That’s for a weekend in a fantastic city we’d never been to before, the chance to meet some great new mates plus catch up with some great old ones, plus watch a shit load of superb bands in the process. I just know I’m gonna wake up feeling like I want to do it all over again next year. That’s because you gotta live life people – take some risks- because you never know what you might discover just around the corner even on an industrial park somewhere near PSV Eindhoven’s stadium.

Thank you Helldoardo for being so fucking amazing!!!!!

Author : Johnny Hayward

Helldorado