CD Review: Sami Yaffa’ Satan’s Helpers War Lazer Eyes & The Money Pig Circus (2024)

Former Hanoi Rocks/New York Dolls bassist Sami Yaffa jumps back in the fray with a sophomore effort that’s every bit as fierce, inspired, and rocking as his 2021 debut, The Innermost Journey To Your Outermost Mind. Sporting an even more unwieldy title than previous, Satan’s Helpers sees the Finnish rock ‘n’ roll lifer expanding his musical palette beyond the shambolic crank ‘n’ spank of his previous bands. The title track is a tasty lil’ blues number with slinky guitar and plenty of atmosphere, with Yaffi handling most of the instrumentation. When the song explodes a little more than two minutes in, it assumes dino-rock status with warped vox and monster guitar licks leading the charge. It’s an auspicious way to start the album, kicking the listener’s arse right from Jump Street…

Although “Silver or Lead” isn’t as cerebral as its predecessor, its minimal instrumentation, machinegun drumbeats (courtesy of Yaffa’s childhood friend Janne Haavisto), and overall blustery vibe carries the performance far. By the time that Yaffa and his road-weary touring band hit “Hurricane Hank” they’re running recklessly into whatever battle they can find, the song living up to its moniker with an unrelenting barrage of gang vocals, dense instrumentation, and flamethrower guitars (with Dregen from the Hellacopters lighting the spark). The muted vocals of “Death Squad” are buried beneath an intoxicating rhythm while the mid-tempo ballad “Down Home” benefits from NYC pal Steve Conte’s acoustic strum. Yaffa’s pals like Michael Monroe and Nasty Suicide (the former providing honkin’ sax, the latter incendiary fretwork) add color and noise to tunes like the rampaging, amphetamine “Shitshow” or the exotic “Far Star.” With Satan’s Helpers, Yaffa delivers an unbridled, joyful noise guaranteed to bludgeon even the most hidebound listener into rock ‘n’ roll bliss. (Livewire/Cargo, released February 11th, 2024)

Buy the CD from Amazon: Sami Yaffa’ Satan’s Helpers War Lazer Eyes & The Money Pig Circus

Archive Review: The Hellacopters's High Visibility (2002)

Forget about all those nu-metal poseurs and “modern rock” fops with their Pro Tools-enhanced vocals and vacant rock star riffs. Brothers and sisters are taking it back to the streets, with Europeans like the Hives and the Hellacopters showing we Americans the way back into our garages. Throw in a New York City rock scene that includes the Strokes and the Mooney Suzuki, and it’s cool once again to bang out three chords on your Stratocaster. If you have any doubt, do not fear, for the Reverend would never lead his flock astray! Look no further than the Hellacopters, good fellows from Sweden, and the High Visibility CD, a literal hymnal of all that is holy and righteous in rock ’n’ roll today.

Released overseas a couple of years ago, the good folks at Gearhead Records have recently made High Visibility available stateside for the Reverend’s rock ’n’ roll ministry. Hellacopters’ frontman Nick Royale is one of the genre’s most powerful vocalists, mixing heavy metal energy with Motown soul, while the band raises a mighty ruckus on songs like “Baby Borderline” and “Throw Away Heroes.” The Hellacopters worship at the altar of the Grande Ballroom, with spiritual influences that include the Stooges, the MC5, Radio Birdman, and other acolytes of the joyful noise of the Motor City. Unabashed proselytizers of a ’70s rock aesthetic, the Hellacopters bring the divine word and garage-rock grace to we sinners with massive, feedback-ridden, guitar-driven three-chord hymns certain to have the heathens dancing in the aisles.

Tunes like the romantic blunderbuss “Hopeless Case of A Kid In Denial” or the blustery “Toys and Flavors” strike your ears like a thunderbolt from the right hand of Zeus. The riff-heavy “A Heart Without A Home” will make you forget about the musical wasteland the new millennium has become, the Hellacopters smiting false modern rock idols with a righteous fury. Wait no longer my children! Get thee hence to the local music retailer and obtain a copy of High Visibility by the Hellacopters. The Reverend guarantees that thou shall discover rock ’n’ roll salvation in the grooves of this entirely essential compact disc. (Gearhead Records, released April 20, 2002)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2002

Buy the CD from Amazon: The Hellacopters’ High Visibility