Grande Rock
If ever there were a manifesto against electronica's bleeps, blurps, and brainwashed soundscapes and that decried alt-rock's fey pretensions,Grande Rockcould be it. The Hellacopters play kick-ass, butt-stomping rock à laTed Nugentat his most gonzo,MC5at their most coherent, andMudhoneyat their least bratty. The best thing about the Hellacopters is that they pull off their rock caper without a trace of irony; this is the pure dose. These guys were born toRawk!and they know it. Hellacopter fans are largely co-opted by this Swedish outfits outstandingly thunderous and frenetic live escapades: their studio albums somehow never quite recreate the sweat and smell of the 'Copters onstage. ButGrande Rock, their stateside debut on legendary-but-tarnished grunge-rock label SubPop, comes damned close. Just listen to the slabs of meaty hooks, primal vocal screams, raging tornado drum rolls, and ear-searing guitar solos. Unlike their loud progenitors, the Hellacopters know how to keep it short and sweet: the opening track "Action De Grace" ends as soon as it hits it's crescendo--after only two minutes. Most tracks barely clock over three minutes. Yet somehow the boys manage to cram in a hellish amount of rock in that short time. The best song here is "The Devil Stole the Beat from the Lord";Grande Rockmakes the case that the Hellacopters are the horned one's accomplices. No just court of rock could acquit them.--Tod Nelson