Turbo is a heavy metal band from Canada releasing two albums to date – ‘Fast As Fvck’ (2020) and ‘Broke & Ugly’ (2024)…
…featuring a grittier, sleazier, and thrashier attitude than the band’s debut! ‘Broke & Ugly’ is eight songs and thirty minutes of traditional heavy metal with generous dollops of glam, groove, punk and hardcore – the four-piece metal band from Halifax (Canada) comprising Evan Frizzle (vocals, guitar), Lindsey Dicks (guitar), Henry MacDonald (bass) and Sylvian Coderre (drums). ‘Broke & Ugly’ roars into life with the abrasive fast-paced ‘Ruthless Forever’ – an in-your-face attitude making itself very well known! And quickly too, the band a no-holds-barred, unstoppable metal machine who’ve just lit the fuse to a tonne of fireworks – so come and join me to watch – or rather listen, to the explosive music ignite the night sky! A boisterous start from the Canadian metallers, the band stormed on with the even faster-paced ‘Ignite The Night’ – the howling throaty roar of singer Frizzle lacerating the ears of every listener, fan and follower!
A devastating opening brace to break the silence, Turbo – by name and by nature – is a powerful, speedy, and highly energetic band with (apparently) no limit to their all-conquering, all-consuming brand of heavy metal! A brand that motors on faster than a bullet with a terrifying scream enraged and full of anger courtesy of the all-out headbanger ‘No Savior’. And a glorious sing a long style chorus that surely makes ‘No Savior’ a dead cert to be included in a live set, ’cause every concert goer is gonna be screaming “don’t need no saviour, I’ll burn here forever, I ain’t no saviour, I’ll burn here forever” as loud as they can! Fuck me what an experience that’s gonna be! The unforgiving pace and power are maintained with the red hot scorching ‘Scorpio Garbage Fire’, Turbo keeping the album’s incredible intensity level extremely high – some may say too high! But can it ever be too high? Course fucking not – carry on boys! And carry on they do, ‘Pissjugs And Rattlesnakes’ entering the fray with just as much, if not more bombast than every other song heard so far! The band are a relentless machine with all its settings turned up to maximum, and (apparently), no off switch!
And what’s that I hear now? It’s the classic gallop of traditional heavy metal that’s what – ‘Nothing To Nowhere’ planting one foot firmly on the old school heavy metal monitor to romp by like it’s the nineteen eighties all over again! And I should know, I was a teenager during the decade of discovery, invention and evolution, Turbo perfectly recreating a forty year old sound, adding the band’s own special ingredient – a shit tonne of sleazy grit! Just imagine what the resulting mix of Iron Maiden, Skid Row and Cinderella would sound like – and that’s exactly what you have right here! The title song ‘Broke & Ugly’ buzzes into life like a chainsaw operating at full speed, Turbo mimicking the cutting sound made by the saw’s teeth grinding against wood! And yet there’s an immense melodious intent that keeps ‘Broke & Ugly’ (the song) on the side of heavy metal rather than thrash! That being said, Turbo‘s fanbase is likely to be made up of metallers and thrashers, the band’s music straddling the border between traditional, and thrash metal!
And roaring to a finale and a half, ‘Down In Mexico’ rounds off thirty blazing minutes of all out attitude, anger and humour! Yes readers – humour! And I realise I’ve not mentioned it before, mainly because the ‘Broke & Ugly’ (the album) rollercoaster has been a non-stop rampage of raucous romps! All eight songs on offer hurtle by at incredible speed, vigorously rocking the heads back and forth of every listener, fan, follower and (ultimately) concertgoer! ‘Down In Mexico’ is the fastest song on the album, a turbocharged thrash come sleaze come traditional metaller to plant smiles a mile wide on the faces of everyone!
Overall, a raucous barrage of foot to the floor, gritty heavy metal that hits hard and kicks harder.
TRACKLIST
Ruthless Forever
Ignite The Night
No Savior
Scorpio Garbage Fire
Pissjugs And Rattlesnakes
Nothing To Nowhere
Broke & Ugly
Down In Mexico
Turbo: Facebook
Release Year: 2024
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Category: Album
Country: Canada
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
