He may not have been the original singer in Turbonegro, but he surely left his mark in the band. His era was the heyday of the band and mostly thanks to him. But, their ways parted twice. The first time because of his excesses and the second because of the lack of them!
Hank even worked at the Norwegian fish boat museum before he got back to music. As you can watch on “The Reserrection” documentary about Turbonegro’s comeback his job was to show around the boats to the guests (there was hardly any) and reveal the secrets of fishing in icy cold Norwegian waters. Musically, he experimented with the supergroup “Dr.Midnight & The Mercy Cult” with members of Marilyn Manson, Satyricon and Apoptygma Berzerk that managed to release just an album, that nobody seemed to pay any attention to. He also had a No.1 in his country with a female pop singer, while he was a judge on Norwegian Idol, but of that ever brought in mind the man who rocked like it was his job in Turbonegro… that’s exactly what happens in “Egomania”! This is a total recall, a return to form, a vengeance, put the all together you get the idea, with Hank doing what he does best and probably better than several others!
This album is a real treat from beginning to end with catchy songs that you can listen to again and again effortlessly. Surely, he doesn’t reinvent the wheel, or gun powder, but it’s a guarantee that the party will last long to the early hours of the morning. Don’t expect sophisticated lyrics, or serious themes. That wasn’t his thing ever. Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll is what he served faithfully all those years. Inevitably the sound is a nod to good’all Turbonegro, well not on every songs, but it’s often. The guitars and the music is awesome bringing out raw power and hairy balls (that’s a tennis reference of course) and that has a lot to do with Cat Casino, who by the way has left the group to return to Deathstars! You should definitely check out “Bum To Bum”, “Wild Boys Blues” (with a middle riff that toys with Ozzy’s “Bark At The Moon” and the epic finale, victory lap “Adios (Where’s My Sombrero”)…
Fun Fact: Hank Von Hell was one of the contestants to represent Norway in this year’s Eurovision. Too bad he wasn’t voted!
