The Hellacopters
Payin’ the Dues (Sub Pop)
by Jon Sarre
This is where it all starts, unless yer onea those “first record’s always the best” sorta purists, then The Hellacopters debut, Supershitty to the Max is the leap offa the second tier balcony like they usedta do at Who shows, and this here slab, Payin’ the Dues, is a “strong sophomore effort,” or “post-heavy metal revanchist bullshit” (but only the latter if yer also a garage-rock traditionalist like Tim Warren from Crypt Records). Most people who flipped over the ‘Copters did so sometime after Payin’ the Dues appeared in ’98 (tho’ this record’s conveniently been unavailable at a non-import price until now), the band’s relentless worldwide touring created that all-important “buzz,” something that alcohol replicates, albeit in a different manner, so the point is enough drinks plus a dangerous rock band that can solo (yeah, solo) will probably make three-quarters of club-goers with disposable income to blow actually believe they’ve seen God (and maybe buy a t-shirt to boot). It’s the solos, y’see, they made Clapton God for a while (and J Mascis for a minute or two), so whither Payin’ the Dues…
It’s a fine record, okay, with all the stuff ya probably heard the Hellacopters were all about, but mebbe ya didn’t catch in Grande Rock, which is cuz that’s their “professional” record: the grunt’n’grime of the sound of bottles gettin’ broken in front of the Marshalls (and if no one can hear ’em, did they really break?), all the “baby, you’re so…” put downs/philosophical observations over too many drinks, infatuated shout-outs at the Devil, comic book Joseph Campbell quests for “action” (“Twist Action,” even), maracas clattering death rattles like a Dylan line I forget but think it came offa Highway 61 or Bringin’ It All Back Home which, anyway, Bob’ll understand cuz he usedta do back-up handclaps for Bobby Vee (or so swears Metal Mike Saunders), brontosaurus catwalk shake appeal drums buried deep in the mix so there’s more room for guitars and solos, solos, solos during vocal parts, solos during solo times, so many solos they’ve got a list of “who solos when.” Still, it ain’t fronted vaudeville shtick like Kiss and, for what it’s worth, Nick Royale and crew are probably better songwriters than the MC5 (tho’ I still don’t see the Detroit Rock Heyday comparisons, unless yer talking Nugent; AC/DC via the oddly long shadow of the Supersuckers being a better reference any day). If The Hellacopters made a deal with the Devil, it was probably a better one than the ‘Suckers made, which, for now, is strictly incidental, but a few years down the road, who knows? And ya know SubPop was smart to unleash Payin’ the Dues on the ‘burbs before these hairy Swedish Rock-Gods-in-waiting embark on the inevitable Satanic Majesty’s Request, y’know, the ill-conceived… uh… art record.
(www.subpop.com)
