For a hardcore punk band that has admittedly succeeded in doing
\neverything wrong while trying to get it right, 1998 was a year in
\nwhich the members in the band Turbonegro may have been actually
\ntrying to avoid the proverbial apocalypse. A couple of line-up
\nchanges, a commitment to a new image, and a new focus in writing
\nstyle could quite honestly validate Jello Biafra’s (Dead Kennedys)
\nclaim that
\nApocalypse Dudes<\/i> has evolved into “possibly the most
\nimportant European record ever.”<\/p>\n
Historically speaking, Turbonegro had recently developed the
\ntaboo on-stage schtick of being a bunch of homosexual sailor boys,
\nclad in denim, from the Scandinavian port city of Oslo, Norway.
\nWith the songs, and interestingly enough the hits, from their
\nprevious album Ass Cobra carrying the titles “Midnight NAMBLA,”
\n“Just Flesh,” and “I Got Erection,” plenty of enemies lined up as
\nthe band tried to fight for recognition on the popular black metal
\nclub scene in their homeland of Norway. It was the kind of schtick
\nthat had come to define the band’s uniquely death punk sounds of
\nthat time.<\/p>\n
So when 1998 rolled around, the reality of this image was
\ncemented on the band when Levi’s offered promotional dollars in
\nsupport of the
\nApocalypse Dudes<\/i> release. The two new “dudes” that emerged
\nin the band’s line-up were Euroboy (Knut Schreiner), a classic
\nrock-inspired lead guitarist, and Chris Summers, the new drummer,
\nwho both proved to be essential additions as the band blazed a new
\npunk n’ roll path to success.<\/p>\n
Coupled with the atmospheric sounds and opening notes of the
\nfirst track, “The Age of Pamparius,” the whispering of the lines,
\n“From the ashes of this golden age of confusion, the denim recruits
\ncame to be known as the apocalypse dudes\u2026.”, a new sound was
\nborn. Euroboy’s melodic and soaring notes flanked by the opening
\nthunder of Summers’ percussion beats signified more than a new age,
\nit signified PIZZA! As in the pizza served by the keyboardist, Pal
\nPot Pamparius, at his joint in town. Some may call the inspiration
\nof this track silly; I’ll counter by saying it’s a great anthem
\nregardless of your tastes.<\/p>\n
Throughout the album Hank von Helvete, curiously a King Diamond
\nlook-a-like, continuously mainlines 100% adrenaline into a vocal
\nstream that is superbly complemented by the brilliantly constructed
\nlayering of Euroboy’s guitar soloing , Summers drum fills, and Rune
\nRebellion’s rhythm guitar playing. The collective timing of their
\nindividual efforts provides a seamless end result of rock anthems
\nthat can easily be compared to a rowdy rock-n-roll circus.<\/p>\n
While the anthems on
\nApocalypse Dudes<\/i> never cease, admiration should follow for a
\nband that scripts lyrics as racy as their songs names. The
\ncollective musical brilliance of the tunes, “Don’t Say
\nMotherfucker, Motherfucker,” “Rendezvous with Anus,” “Zillion
\nDollar Sadist” and “Good Head” should be respected by the fact that
\nthere obviously weren’t any pre-planned notions by the band in
\ngetting the “singles” to radio. It’s that kind of confidence that
\nunderscores how brilliantly the musicianship complements the comedy
\non this album and makes
\nApocalypse Dudes<\/i> truly one of the hidden gems of the rock
\nand roll underground.<\/p>\n
With Epitaph’s recent re-release of
\nApocalypse Dudes<\/i>, this CD wouldn’t be complete without
\nnoting the bonus material including videos of “Get it On” and “Are
\nYou Ready (For Some Darkness)” and 2002 Quart Festival footage of
\n“The Age of Pamparius” being thrown in.<\/p>\n
This is all the more reason for you to check your inhibitions at
\nthe door, heed Jello Biafra’s advice (as well as this Daily Vault
\nreviewer!), and pick up this release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":26344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6829],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-37573","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-turbonegro","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37573"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37573"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}