The Hellacopters “Overdriver”
A less gritty and more mature The Hellacopters soldiers on while Dregen recovers.
Swedish rockers The Hellacopters are back with a new smoking album. Due to a hand injury, founding guitarist Dregen has been absent from The Hellacopters since 2023. But the band soldiers on (“Soldier On” is the name of one of the album’s best tracks). Dregen’s place has temporarily been filled on the road by Spanish guitarist LG Valeta who seems to fit in well with mainman Nicke Andersson, drummer Robert Eriksson, Anders Lindström on keys and Dolf de Borst on bass. Dregen’s absence has had an impact on this album. Whether it is a positive or negative impact comes down to how you liked your music served.
Nicke Andersson has always been a ridiculously great songwriter. He is a restless soul who always creates and performs music in one way or another. In some bands and projects, he remains the drummer he was when he first started playing music as a teenager. But here he is a frontman with a guitar. The guy in charge. This is when he gets to shine. Nicke has also produced the album and has thus been able to make his vision a reality without too many obstacles in his way. Nicke has brought influences from all his other bands and projects – the man’s world ranges from death metal to soul – into this new album. And what a glorious melting pot it is. The splendid “Wrong Face On” is perhaps my favourite track. “Doomsday Daydreams” is another immediate standout track.
The album is filled with groovy garage rock with guitar attacks and pop hooks. 2025 marks the band’s 30th anniversary of the band’s debut single “Killing Allan”. They are still relevant. In 2025, their sound is a bit more seasoned, a tad bit more polished than what was the case in the early days. But they are equally good. It is less gritty than the band’s early material (I think they need Dregen back for that). This more mature version of The Hellacopters means that musically there is little difference between this and one of Nicke’s other bands, Imperial State Electric. The good news is that both bands are excellent, mature rock bands with great songs.
The Hellacopters’ new album “Overdriver” will be released on 31st January via Nuclear Blast Records.
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