They like sailor suits, sexual taboos and long walks on the beach — Oslo, Norway’s Turbonegro put the romance in deathpunk

“Gimme death punk baby… and I like it.”
 — Turbonegro, “Get It On.” (Ass Cobra, 1996)
    Oslo, Norway’s Turbonegro is the world’s greatest band. From forging their own rock subgenre, deathpunk — the sordid amalgamation of early punk, hardcore, tinges of Venom-esque heavy metal and ’70s arena rock — to breaking down social barriers via the embrace of sexual taboos and criticizing communal and governmental establishments, they’ve done it all. Hell, they’ve even broken up because of drug addiction, returned stronger than ever and invented the “assrocket,” a rooster-tailing firework billowing from singer Hank Von Helvete’s corn chute.
    It’s no wonder, then, that the world has been chomping at the bit for Turbonegro’s seventh studio effort, Retox. A slimy collection of punk rock attitude, glam-ish riffing and infectious choruses, Retox is as loud, abrasive and indulgent as it is intelligent and infectious. Yet, as guitarist Euroboy relates, despite a stronger leaning towards the big choruses and simplistic beats of his beloved Rolling Stones, Retox is still all deathpunk, all the time.
    “(The album) is deathpunk, but because it’s our genre, it changes as we do,” he notes. “The Turbonegro style is one that has to have fun and be somewhat cynical at the same time. Our lyrics are always intelligent while the rock ’n’ roll is dumb. I wouldn’t say it’s a fine line between clever and stupid so much as dumb and dumbass. We like the fact that heavy metal fans appreciate us while punk rockers do as well. They may be freaked out by parts of us, but that’s a good thing. Overall though, it’s just rock ’n’ roll. (Retox) brings The Rolling Stones into The Ramones.”
    As any Jugend member (the band’s fan club is referred to as the Turbojugend, a sort of Turbonegro Navy to the KISS Army) will admit, with the broad beats of tracks such as “We’re Gonna Drop the Atom Bomb,” “Hell Toupee” and “Do You Do You Dig Destruction,” the Stones are out in full force on Retox. Never ones to downplay their influences though, Turbonegro — rounded out by bassist Happy Tom, guitarist Rune Rebellion, keyboardist Pal Pot Pamparius and drummer Chris Summers — are quite keen on paraphrasing and occasionally outright pilfering riffs from their heroes. For example, the Retox tune “I Wanna Come” is an obvious homage to The Ramones’ classic “Danny Says.”
    “We like to have fun with what we’re doing,” admits Euroboy shamelessly. “We have to entertain ourselves, and that means changing what we do constantly. When we’re writing our music or lyrics, we do it as fans of other bands so we make mention of them in subtle — or not so subtle — ways. As long as we can make each other enjoy what we’re doing, we know that Turbonegro is on the right track. There’s a lot of effort put into our albums, but not as much intellect as some might expect. I think that people find it fun. It’s become a game in some ways. ‘What songs are they going to slip into the mix this time?’”
    As the music industry becomes mired with paranoia over ownership of intellectual property, Turbonegro’s proud display of influences, constant prodding of societal taboos and laissez-faire attitude is invigorating. While there is most certainly more intellect in Retox than Euroboy is willing to admit, the ratio of rock-to-rote is decidedly high in favour of the former. Fresh and fun, fast and fantastic, the only intoxication this effort creates is one of unadulterated enjoyment.
    “That’s the whole point of Turbonegro,” concludes Euroboy. “(We) poke at the underbelly of what people take seriously. People should think more but at the same time, rock ’n’ roll is about getting your kicks or expressing a side of you that you might not otherwise be able to show off. (Turbonegro) is the glitterati Motorhead; the toilet bowl Rolling Stones. We want every show we have to be a party like it’s the end of the world, on the edge of the world.”