.co.uk If Turbonegro's last album, 2003's Scandinavian Leather, saw them stage a guns-blazing assault on the rock mainstream, Party Animals finds these denim-clad Norwegian punks loading up the cannon. This change has partly occurred at the behest of guitarist Euroboy, whose blistering, classic rock-inspired leads and sumptuous studio production skills--seriously: on "City Of Satan" you'll hear the Wagnerian sweep of the Norwegian Kringkastings Orchestra behind the three-strong guitar front line – position Turbo far outside any underground rock ghetto. But this is not the sound of a band going soft. "Death From Above" and "All My Friends Are Dead" ("They got kicked in the head/All my friends are dead") rock with the switchblades-out savagery that's powered this band since the mid-'90s. A couple of friends make an appearance: Keith Morris, founding vocalist of LA punk vets Black Flag and Circle Jerks, shows up on "Wasted Again"; and ex-Queens Of The Stone Age man Nick Oliveri, who adds savage backing vocals to the climactic "Final Warning". This ought to be the album where Turbonegro's sales match their ambition. Seriously – they deserve it. --Louis Pattison
