The Hellacopters are so desperate to rock that they begin “Avenger” with a crescendo, and “Token Apologies” only gets better from there.
Everything that is wonderful about latter-day Hellacopters records is here: melody, groove, and an absolute surety in what they are trying to achieve.
They’ve always had most of that, but they were raw, man. Punk rock.
Let’s wind back almost 30 years to before the internet when things were better. I’ve just bought the second Backyard Babies record. I’m off. I’m running, and I’m collecting just about every record that was released in Sweden.
The postman was trotting down my drive with incredible alacrity, bringing the latest split single, picture disc, or whatever else I’d found via mail order.
But of course, Dregen (BB’s guitar player) was in The Hellacopters at the time, and to call their debut record, “Supershitty to the Max,” seminal is to sell it short.
So here we are.
In 2016, they reformed, with Dregen back in place for the first time in two decades, and “Overdriver” is the second record since their return.
So let’s get it said at the outset: the damn thing is sensational, and if you loved them before, you’ll love this.
“Don’t Let Me Bring You Down” is a beauty—self-critical (and their lyrics were always better than they got credit for) but full of energy. The guitars—though a little more restrained—are superb.
“(I Don’t Wanna Be) Just a Memory” reflects again that “we never had a golden age,” and in a natural evolution from those early days, the melody is all-important here.
The organ and keys work of Anders Carl Lindström (Boba Fett to his mates) can never be underestimated in this band, and the man who also founded Diamond Dogs is back on the supreme “Soldier On.”
“Something stirs in the void,” sings Nicke Andersson—the leader of the pack since 1994—on “Doomsday Daydream.” Really, although the list of things he’s done would be longer than this review, he never sounds better than he does in this band.
Wikipedia reckons they’re a “garage band.” The brilliant “Faraway Eyes” is as close as they get to that here—raucous, like they’re reviving the old days. It’s just that in 2025, they’re happy to follow that up with a ballad. There’s a bit of blues in “Coming Down” too.
As if to emphasize the variety here these days, “Do You Feel Normal” has a bit of a ’60s jangle, while “The Stench” creeps and lurks under its harmonies. It’s a natural evolution for a band of 30 years.
The last one, “Leave a Mark,” is built on Dolf DeBorst’s bass before taking in some Thin Lizzy-style twin guitar and ending with a solo.
For some of us—many of us, maybe—The Hellacopters are one of those bands. A band that shaped the music we love. They have their heroes too (and the influences aren’t hard to spot), but they’ve grown with us and changed over these decades.
“Overdriver” is the result.
Rating: 9/10
REVIEW: THE HELLACOPTERS – OVERDRIVER (2025)
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