The Hellacopters and The Hellacopters

The Hellacopters

Grande Rock (Sub Pop)

The Hellacopters

Payin' the Dues (Sub Pop)

In an age where cries of "Rock & Roll Is Dead" dominate musical discourse, it's a pleasure to hear a band that transforms the most overdone elements of Seventies shock rock into something that makes your fingers twitch out invisible air guitar solos. Stockholm, Sweden's Hellacopters mine the sonic nihilism of the Stooges along with the anthem rock posturing of Kiss to create music that's unfailingly predictable, yet something more exciting than that of umpteen other bands running on empty dreams of million-dollar decadence. Maybe it's the group's mellifluous knack for dueling solos that flow over and under the beat like thick maple syrup. Grande Rock, the Hellacopters first release on Sub Pop (the band's initial albums are only available as imports), is bookended by "Action de Grâce" and "Renvoyer," both of which nick the same Stanley/Simmons riff with impunity, yet the fivepiece supplements Kiss' lockstep with fret action more akin to Brother Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith. This makes their music feel like an undulating soundtrack for storybook promiscuity. Other worthwhile chapters in Grande Rock include the aptly named "The Devil Stole the Beat From the Lord" and the strip-worthy "Lonely." Although Payin' the Dues was just released in America, it originally came out in 1997, and is a slightly angrier, more punk-influenced effort both in production and attitude. "Where the Action Is" and "You Are Nothin'" burst out of the gate with all the teeth-kicking potential of a mad calf scramble. The lyrics are noticeably stoopid and the singing is an afterthought, but the Hellacopters' hyper-dynamic take on big dumb rock vaporizes the significance of this observation. The American version of Payin' the Dues includes a second disc of the band playing live, which proves only the suicidal should follow the Hellacopters on a bill. The live songs were recorded in a Vancouver nightclub, but the band plays with Budokan ferocity. Few who hear this raw power will want to miss the Hellacopters' next visit to town.

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