Turbonegro – Scandinavian Leather

Well, I’m going to be honest with you: I wasn’t really excited about this CD, or even had any plans on getting myself a copy. But I saw it there, and decided to get one for myself, and boy am I glad I made that choice. This album by Turbonegro totally took me by surprised. They play a type of hard rock with a mighty mixture of punk rock essence too. There is rarely a song which stops the beat from start to finish.

The opening track is just a introduction called The Blizzard Of Flames. And it is, quite simply, one of the best introductions to an CD I have ever heard. It is melodic and energetic at the same time. Combining smooth drums and guitar work, along with some keyboards and some odd mixes of sounds (like a baseball connecting to a baseball and a Indian chant of some sort). Then right at the end, some vocals, with a distant sound effect, comes in introducing the album perfectly. Truly an amazing introduction.

All of the songs are really well done, with not many which stick out way above the others. Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed (track 3) stands out a bit. Fast paced punk rock, with catchy/cruel lyrics, all about how evil Turbonegro is, and how someone must stop them. The next song starts off so very different from every single other song on the album, Sell Your Body (To The Night) starts off with almost a techno sound. Something you don’t really expect from a band the likes of this. But what do you know? They pull it off really well.

Fuck The World (F.T.W) is their first single I believe, and a very good choice for it.  It is slower then most of the songs on the album, which much clearer vocals. The guitars and bass are much more evident in this track too, with the drums taking a slight backseat, keeping a steady rhythm in the background. The chorus is catchy and very well done. I Want Everything, track 10, is slightly faster. With a bit less evident vocals. The lyrics are all about wanting everything (like the title suggests) and names many of the things they want.

Drenched In Blood (D.I.B) is a more poppier song then most, but with vicious vocals. All about being covered in blood form head to toe. The guitar work is intricate and more persistent then most of the album here. This is probably one of my favorites track on the album. The next song, Le Saboteur, is quite interesting as it is all in French, except for the words “Kill, Kill, Kill“.

Overall, the album is quite good. Although it differs each day on how much I like it. The first day I was in love with it, second I thought it was ok, then third I loved it again. So you never know how you’ll feel about it.