TNT is the most successful Norwegian Hard Rock band hailing out of the 80s. Obviously axeman Ronni Le Tekrø played an important role with his unique, flashy, fast playing …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE
Despite living in the Norwegian capital, for the most part I had to leave Oslo to attend the biggest Metal shows in the 80’s. The concerts took place in two different arenas on opposite sides of Oslo …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE …READ MORE
While some were drinking eggnog and decorating their Christmas tree, others were already playing with fireworks. And TNT truly lit it up at a full Rockefeller on Wednesday night, December 21st! TNT are one of the few Norwegian bands that can brag about having hits that have made it all the way to the American Billboard list, and even though this was back in 1987, they still manage to make records and sell lots of them now in 2005. TNT has been a busy band over these last years. They’ve changed out their long time bass player Morty Black for newcomer Victor Borge (ex-Autopulver), and also have released full length albums both in 2004 in My Religion, and All the Way to the Sun in 2005. Tony Harnell on vocals, Diesel Dahl on drums, Victor Borge on bass, Dag Stokke on keyboards, and the legendary Ronni Le Tekrø on guitars literary came on stage with a bang. The sound, the production, the lighting, and the atmosphere were 110% all throughout the concert. It was clear that TNT wanted to give everyone their money’s worth along with a very merry Christmas! Starting off with a few songs from last years My Religion, both “Invisible Noise” and “She Needs Me” hit home from the start. Then continuing with their newest songs from All the Way to the Sun were “A Fix,” “Ready To Fly,” and “Black Butterfly.” On the album, these tunes sound a bit more Pop-ish and softer than their earlier releases, but on stage they come across just as explosive as their older hits. The Rockefeller venue had all three floors open for TNT’s concert, but even if it was crowded, it seemed like the mixed audience was in holiday spirits. Both old and young sang along and cheered as …READ MORE
Now most of you out there might believe that the Metal Express staff up here in Vikingville see TNT from time to time. After all, it’s a Norwegian band. Hell no, let me take you to TNT’s first show in Trondheim since May 1987. Now Trondheim is Norway’s 3rd biggest city, I believe, so that will give you an idea about how often The Norwegian Thunder comes out at night. Come to think of it, the band has only done 3 full length shows in Norway since 1987 – and one of them was just a secret warm up in a hotel’s dining room back in 1992… Jay Jay French from Twisted Sister is right when he points out that the winner of “Idol” makes it in 15 minutes and might last just that long. TNT made it in less time back in what used to be their hometown in Norway, much due to the fact that original singer Dag Ingebrigtsen aka DD Dynamite already was a huge star when forming the band in 1982. 16 years later, TNT still moves a sold out crowd in Trondheim. THAT is dedication, faith and proof of quality rock ’n roll, people! Opening with the star himself (excuse me Tony, but in Norway Ronni IS the star of TNT), guitar explosion Le Tekrø takes a few laps around the stage floor while playing the opening chord of “Give Me A Sign”. Diesel Dahl shows his increased biceps and takes off his motorcycle uniform, Tony joins in and starts singing the verse, enter Morty Black on bass, then boom – the show begins with an explosion. “Give Me A Sign” is perhaps not the opener that people want to see, but it works in the dim light and the craziness that Ronni stirs up. …READ MORE
This is only an EP, so no points will be given. As you might noticed, I didn’t say too much about the new TNT tracks when I reviewed The Big Bang, and the reason was simple; I knew this taster, called Taste – at least in Japan, was on its way to my box. And it tastes pretty good, in fact. With Diesel Dahl back behind the kit, I am sure most people expect a full blooded Tell No Tales-era album. Hm, well… Taste certainly hasn’t the drumming heard on Firefly” and Transistor, and a great salute for that. That Frode Lamoy dude was a good drummer, just not the right man for TNT. Dahl on the other side, always was the right man. Still is. (Though John Macaluso indeed is the most talented drummer the band ever worked with.) But TNT never tried to repeat themselves, and while Taste is something for the true diehard old school fans (yours truly indeed included), it’s not a rework of Tell No Tales. It is simply TNT for the future, complete with the melodies, impressive vocals and incredible guitar work we always loved the band for. The songs are not as riff-driven as back in the big hair days, Ronni’s rhythm guitars are a little more in the backseat this time around, but with his and Tony Harnell’s incredibly tasty melodies, this sure is a feinschmekker. The guys walk the thin line between development and keeping the identity of the band very successfully. “Live Today” is perhaps the song that re-unites the old and new TNT best, and therefore a good opener. It has a simple rhythm, with the guitar more or less following the drums and bass, and Tony’s voice is not as high up there as it used to be. The …READ MORE
Here today, gone tomorrow? No, Norwegian rockers TNT, fronted by American voice extraordinaire Tony Harnell, is set to explode again as the guys end their thirties. It’s more like “hair gone, Today ’N Tomorrow”. But who cares? TNT made it quite far back in the late eighties, halfway up the American Billboard 200 charts. With a stronger push and the right support slot, they would have made it all the way up, but nobody wanted this explosive to open their night. A notorious LA band that went number one in 1989 once set the price so high that TNT had to back out of a European tour that would have done them good, they would in fact have wiped the floor with pornstars ‘n golfers. Anyway, the story starts back in 1982, when Dag Ingebrigtsen, a talented songwriter who, together with Torstein Flakne from Stage Dolls, reached number one in Norway with his band The Kids and caused mass hysteria, found teenage guitar wiz Ronni Le Tekro through the grapevine, and released TNT, a hard hitting album with Norwegian lyrics. The song, “Harley Davidson” picked up attention from the underground worldwide, a song that best sums up drummer Diesel Dahl’s lifestyle. He still looks like the toughest kid on the block. Two years later, Dahl, Tekro and bass player Morty Black, who joined in 1983, along with exile-Californian Tony Harnell, put out Knights Of The New Thunder, an album which still is as good as it gets, and the snowball is rolling. But I’ll stop here, you may look somewhere else for the complete story. Frustrated about their ever changing drummer situation (Spinal Tap go home) and the changes in the music business, TNT took a break in the early nineties. In Japan shortly after, where TNT still is highly …READ MORE