Turbo-Awatar

Metal Mind
2001/2009



There have been several bands going by the name Turbo, but this Turbo hail from Poland and formed way back in 1980. They started out with a classic metal style, but quickly switched to thrash and stuck with that sound until they broke up in the early 90's. Almost a decade later they reformed and this was the first album after reuniting. Right away it's obvious that they chose to mainly skip the thrash style and go for a more mid-paced classic metal style which is actually closer to their roots. At times they remind me of John Bush-era Anthrax only with an even thicker sound and stronger bass lines. I know that some fans didn't openly embrace this album because of the change in style, but quite honestly they handle it very well. It's direct, heavy and to the point. Hearing this now it's a shame I didn't hear it when it first came out. It's also quite possible that Turbo are underrated for sure. Not everyone handles different styles well, but these guys are highly capable of handing differnt sounds. Even though it's primarily straigh metal here there are a few thrash moments tossed in for good measure. This re-issue includes four bonus tracks. Two of the four are cover tracks and they do a fantastic job of putting their own brand onto Deep Purple's "Burn" and Dio-era Sabbath's "Neon Knights". A fine album and a good job on the re-issue as well.