Turbonegro Want You To Discover Them, Not More Eminem

01/29/08 7:30pm

by Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack)

After the unabashedly excessive American rock stylings of their last three records, Turbonegro have reverted back to the gritty, lean punk rock they fostered in their formative years. The Norwegian quintet's latest album, Retox, focuses the fury and makes it their most digestible listen in ages.

"You have to compare Retox to our last three albums — Apocalypse Dudes, Scandinavian Leather and Party Animals — where we wanted to bring punk rock out of the squats and into the arena level, prove that punk rock could be made into a well-produced rock 'n' roll genre," explains vocalist Hank Von Helvete. "Having done that, we felt that it was time to bring things back to basics again and take things back to the roots of our own music. I think we managed to do that with Retox."

This statement is instantly evident with one listen to Retox's stripped-down approach. The band's sound is compressed to match the fiery punk attitude found on such older classics as Ass Cobra, and they sound as vital as ever.

"We planned to go back to those times and bring back what we used to be about earlier," says Von Helvete of Retox's direction. "It tried to show people where we come from.

"We recruit all these young kids, and a lot of them weren't even born when Ass Cobra was out. When we were kids, we discovered lots of great bands — great albums, classic, milestone albums from the late '70s and early '80s. We realized that the kids today don't really have many albums like that to discover. We tried to make one, so if you're this fucked up, punk kid, you can discover Retox instead of yet another Eminem album."

Turbonegro's reversion to their punk roots paralleled Von Helvete's personal disillusionment with — and his subsequent rediscovery of — the punk lifestyle.

"Years ago, I felt very distant from the punk I used to be," he recalls. "Now I'm starting to realize that I'm entering the era of aging in my life.

"I'm more and more desperately craving the punk thing that life was all about when I was a kid. I think it's more like a desperate attempt to stay young. The good thing is I become more and more like the 'Fuck the world!' punk I used to be, and that helps me to stay different. It keeps me from becoming conformed, becoming a scared, angry old man."

It's interesting to see the band, who've been staples of the Norwegian punk scene since the late '80s, embracing the lifestyle well into their thirties — an age when a lot of people's rebellious instincts are crushed under the weight of jobs, kids and suburban housing.

"A lot of people who took part in youth movements like that feel like they're obligated to grow up and leave that behind," says Von Helvete, somewhat sadly. "To me, that feels like a big betrayal, to become what you were opposed to. A lot of people say that you are supposed to become what you're opposed to, that rebelling is just a part of your youth. What's the point of rebelling then, if you're just supposed to cancel the riot when you're 30?

"When you're a kid, you see all these things that are wrong with the world and you want to change it. Then suddenly you grow up and don't want to change it, you want to become a part of it? That's treason, in my eyes. So I just want to bring back, in myself, that punk attitude again."

Von Helvete maintains that Turbonegro will always be trustworthy to the disaffected kids who look up to them, much like the band members did in their adolescence.

"I never trusted grown-ups when I was a kid," he says, only half-jokingly. "I promised myself, 'When I grow up, I want to be somebody the kids can trust.'

"I hope our fans can trust us."