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
Norwegian Hair Metal legends TNT are back with a new, polarizing album. A poor choice in XIII‘s lead singles will probably doom the release, which is a shame as this album does have many flaws but also contains some high-points that could potentially rank up there with some of TNT’s finest moments. The real standout performance here is that of new TNT vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara. Hailing from Spain, his voice is a perfect fit for the not-easy-to-fill shoes of this act’s previous singers like Tony Harnell and Tony Mills. Bulsara’s voice reaches those wonderful, stratospheric tones with ease and he delivers a genuine and passionate performance. Where some of the vocals falter is in the lyric department. Songs like “Are You Ready For Some Hard Rock” and “Tears In My Eyes” are so predictable, they’re almost boring before you even hear them. That’s one of the biggest problems on XIII; much of the writing sounds phoned-in and uninspired. The fact that Ronni Le Tekro’s guitars are sometimes buried doesn’t help things, and even some of his solos sound as if he recorded them in his sleep. All that being said, there are still some brilliant moments on this album. There are several fantastic ballads. “Where You Belong” and “Sunshine” both let Bulsara really explore his vocal range and the results are fantastic. The latter of those two features some pedal steel guitar, which surprisingly fits in perfectly with the vibe of the track, before setting up one of Le Tekro’s better solos of the release. “Fair Warning” is another nice surprise. It starts out with a dirty, infectious groove and keeps things interesting with a refreshing song structure and some nice, organic guitar lines. All things considered, this is probably one of the weaker TNT albums, but as many …READ MORE
Ronni Le Tekrø, best known as the axeman with Norwegian hardrock band TNT and as a solo artist, just released the second album in his “Mein Ampf” trilogy: Mein Ampf II. Metal Express Radio is happy to give away 3 “Mine Ampf II” vinyls! To enter the contest simply name the track containing your all time Ronni Le Tekrø solo and post it as a comment on the bottom of this post. The winners will be drawn Nov 6th. The albums will be shipped free of charge. Check out the interview we did with Ronni before the release of the first Mein Ampf album Here is the video for “The Way We Feel” taken from Mein Ampf I
Metal Express Radio’s Stig Nordahl caught up with the guitar wizard from TNT, Ronni Le Tekrø, to talk about his new solo album, Mein Ampf, the two sequels that are planned, the videos for the album and the current plans for TNT now that singer Tony Harnell is back.
Ronni Le Tekro about his first album in a trilogy Mein Ampf and the status for TNT.
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
Drummer “Wild” Willy Bendiksen is one of Norwegian Rock’s grand old men. When he teamed up with his friend and guitarist Ronni Le Tekro (TNT) some years ago, they most of all wanted to have fun. Through numerous performances playing cover songs, the jolly two and their fellow musicians have sure spread the joy. A while back, they figured with all the fun they’ve had so far, why not write some originals? … and so it was. The baby is called Camouflage and features 9 original songs and 1 good old cover. The album offers a diverse mix of styles. The people making up this band all have CV’s to prove their skills in ditto styles, and it seems they have come together to pour from their vast experience to serve up a jolly good album for at least all familiar with the individual members of the Gang itself. Still, the album is mainly in a Classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal flavor. First act out is “Goliath.” It has a strong Tekro identity with its super tight and heavy main riff. This identity also colors the solo, which has that typical Tekro “twang.” Other than this, the song is somewhat like a “Yellow Submarine,” suffering from over-repetition of not very interesting themes. With “Burn The Puppet,” the intensity is kicked up a notch. The main riff is mighty cool! The arrangement also adds a neat dynamic texture to the verse, which would have been anything but dreadful without this! Most of all, the duet style vocals by main singer Jan Thore Grefstad is incredibly annoying in the long run. With the vocals mixed somewhere into the background, one is tempted to think the producers were not happy with the vocals either … Title track “Camouflage” almost sounds like Jimi …READ MORE
Carnivora is a new Norwegian band that started as a solo project by guitarist Tore Moren in 1999. After making some demos and getting the band members together, the recordings finally started in 2002. JUDAS is indeed an exciting album. They mix up a lot of good ole 1980s mainstream Heavy Metal with more contemporary Metal and harder guitar riffs, and you’ve got to just love when bands do that! This album has a very “live” sound to it, but at the same time you could get by with playing Carnivora as background music at home in almost any setting (well, maybe not when you’re having your in-laws over for dinner?!). Singer Michael Eriksen has a really good voice, even though he needs to focus on his pronunciation more so to hit it big outside of Norway. Hey Michael, it’s not pronounced “traveLED” just because it’s written that way! His voice resembles Tony Harnell (TNT) and Joey Tempest (Europe), especially when they’re hitting their high notes. Guest artists on this album are: Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind), who sings on “State Of Fear And Hate,” and Ronni Le Tekrø (TNT), who plays guitars on “Soaring On.” Carnivora has a great guitar player of their own, but bringing in Ronni Le Tekrø for “Soaring On” was a pure stroke of genius! Of course, any Ronni Le Tekrø fan can pick him out of this crowd (but didn’t he play the same thing during his instrumental at the TNT concert at Rockefeller, Oslo in March?)! Drummer Hellhammer (known from Mayhem) does a great job on all tracks except for the one where he really had his chance to show off, namely the instrumental song “Instrubrutal.” Doubtfully intentional, but his performance on this song makes you think of someone playing circus drums! Hopefully …READ MORE
Tony Harnell and Ronni Le Tekrø about TNT’s comeback album My Religion , getting Diesel Dahl back in the band and Tony still living in the states while playing in a Norwegian band. by Stig G. Nordahl