|
|
|
 |
| |||||||||
 | ||||||||||
 | ||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||
 The Hellacopters - Rock & Roll Is Dead By Jeff Kerby, Contributor Wednesday, February 15, 2006 @ 5:46 PM
On first glance, this might seem like a great opportunity for exposure, but on second thought, a couple of these dudes look a little skinny and effeminate in the ol’ promotional photographs…you know what that means---better watch out for Mean Man Gene or you run the risk of getting some unsuspecting part of your anatomy grabbed on one of those desperately lonely moonlit nights out on the road. Hell, everyone knows that even six degrees from Gene Simmons can turn into about one and a half if you have long hair and anything resembling a functional rear end---hey, I forgot to mention, these guys are Swedish! The funniest part of all of this is that if they had an “Ass Grabbing Booth” at one of those Kiss Conventions--half of the folks in line wouldn’t be chicks-they’d be dudes waiting for a little five finger love from the fire breathing vampire. Luckily for the Hellacopters though, a band that kicks it out as hard as they do doubtlessly must have the rock gods shining down on them in some form, so here’s hoping they managed to avoid this potentially problematic situation with the head of the School of Rock. If a music fan also takes into consideration the positive Karmic force that goes along with one member of the Hellacopters declaring in an interview that, “I’m not a big fan of System of a Down. I think they should just stop playing music..”, then these factors alone should guarantee that we’re discussing a group that should be on the verge of absolute greatness. True enough--Rock & Roll Is Dead is an example of, if not current greatness, potential greatness in releases still to come.
Before we even start, understand that this record is not a carbon copy of its predecessors Supershitty To The Max or Grande Rock. There is less punk and more stellar musicianship here to be sure. The band’s latest begins with “Before the Fall” which is a two minute and eleven second blast of gunpowder and good times. “Everything’s On TV” follows which, at this point, is the single that most people have already heard from the record. It’s a tune that basically takes on the whole couch potato-zombie culture that pervades society leaving many to experience life through a 32 in. screen glowing in the front of their living room.
No I don't have to go out
“Murder On My Mind” is slated to be one of the featured tracks on this release, but in actuality, it probably isn’t even one of the top seven tunes here. It’s not bad or anything--it just doesn’t seem to take off like some of the other selections such as “Nothing Terribly New” or “Make It Tonight” which are basically Skynard-.38 Special progeny supercharged with an attitude laden backbeat. If that wasn’t enough, I would almost swear that the guitar intro for “Put Out The Fire” sounds like the Dead Milkmen. I’m sure it’s a coincidence and all, but it was interesting hear anyway. The way the band seemingly switches genres within the same track while somehow maintaining continuity within its sound is compelling and demands repeat listens to be sure. When the record concludes with the bluesy-chorus track “Time Got No Time To Wait For Me”, the listener will be no doubt feel as though they have just been rocked by a band currently plying their trade at a level few in the genre today are capable of attaining.
The declaration that “Rock & Roll is Dead” may not seem like much of a stretch to the average MTV viewer or the regular aficionado of the Billboard music charts, but to those who actively seek out music that’s designed to grab your soul and shake it, these brave individuals already realize that although rock isn’t exactly positioned prominently in the public consciousness right now, it does exist-it is just a little harder to find. Sometimes though, even in the bleakest of times, there is a flicker, just a flicker in the darkness that manages to flame up and somehow become something more. For this time and place, the Hellacopters are that flame. They may not be representing metal or thrash or punk or garage music exactly, but the flag this band flies is somehow even more important-the belief that rock music can transcend time and mood and essentially become the auditory backdrop for the memorable moments that become one’s life. The Hellacopters don’t belong to the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s---they belong to now….I can even forgive them for touring with Kiss.
***1/2
Track listing:
tbirdbass - 3/14/2006 6:53:59 PM
|
|
| |||||||||||
Whoopie! These guys once toured with Kiss. 
HOME | MAGAZINE | ON-AIR | DOWNLOADS | CHAT | BOARDS | CONTESTS | STORE | HELP
©2010 KNAC.COM. All Rights Reserved. Link to us Advertise with us Privacy policy