Hellacopters' High Visibility
Some weasels have argued that the gaunt-rock stab of Sweden's Hellacopters, which more or less recreates classic Motor City mayhem mixed with primal Aussie skid, is a mite too studied. While I would disagree with this meager premise alone, I would go so far as to say that the Copters have actually surpassed their influences. Whereas the MC5 and Stooges only made three albums apiece, this is the Copters' fourth; and while it's true that songs like "How Could I Care" are complete Stooges ripoffs, the band has, I believe, added a great deal to the energy-rock canon, not merely aped past apostles.
Still, these retro tendencies plague them. A woman I know commented about High Visibility, "It's so 70s." But all those ferocious guitar progressions going rk-dk-dk weren't there in the 70s?that's the punk influence these guys have wrought through a Nordic metal experience. Like all great rock the Hellacopters are a succession of what's already come down before, but imbued with a personal quality that makes them unique. It's almost like being from Scandinavia has enabled groups like the Copters and Gluecifer (who hail from Norway) to approach the idiom of rock in a new and fresher way.
Still, the band of late seemed to be losing momentum. After all, the triple whammy of Supershitty to the Max, Payin' the Dues and Grande Rock in fairly rapid succession was enough to send any power-junkie into deep raving fits. So what happened? Months went by, no new Copters album. Or so you thought?because, in the meantime, in the ice-capped regions of their homeland, the Copters actually get radio play and fill stadiums. Based on their sterling homeland reputation, they got signed to the Euro branch of Universal and released this album?which, like the first albums by the Beatles or Clash, never got picked up here by the label's American branch. Now two years later Gearhead has finally put it out in the U.S., and it's a long overdue dose of primal fury like only these guys?and very few others in history?can render.
Check out "Truckloads of Nothin'," which rebounds off the walls like the MC5 in their classic period, but with brazen 70s arena-rock overtones, which also makes it a distant cousin to west coast stoner rockers like Nebula. Which I guess is kind of the point?think of the Hellacopters as kind of a filter for all that is righteous about rock. And since rock in its essence has become a less-than-flourishing subgenre and some may argue an intellectual preoccupation, what could be un-righteous about rock? Especially when it's rendered with this kind of sincerity (studied or not). It's been evident since "Lonely" on The Grande Rock that the Copters are big Kiss fans, but on "A Heart Without Home" they nail it down. But this is what I was saying earlier about how they've added something, because Kiss could've never pulled off the runaway-train ending where guitarists Nick Royale and Robert Dahlqvist whip their instruments into a dueling frenzy. It's just one of many times when these guys completely usurp their influences.
Because this album was recorded in the old ABBA studios in Stockholm, which no doubt the major label funds paid for, the Copters had more elaborate technology to work with. Compared to the ultra-raw texture of their previous opuses, these new embellishments take a while to get used to?but by the time you've listened to the album a few times you recognized the new slicker production for what it really is: a method of adding depth to the band's sound without compromising their basic-rock vitality.
Given this deepening factor, it's impossible to assess this album in anything but glowing terms?High Visibility is a masterpiece rife with engrossing musical moments, from the Deep Purple organ boogaloo in "Toys and Flavors" to the flight-borne BOC-like qualities of "Throw Away Heroes" to the piledriving Motörhead tempo-surge of "Hurtin' Time." Royale, always a great singer, has improved by leaps and bounds on this album, as on the power ballad "You're Too Good (to Me Baby)," which has MC5-style gusto but could easily fit onto the radio alongside the White Stripes. This is where it gets interesting, and the Copters seem more likely than anyone to command the modern-day coliseums. Let it rock.