smell the smoke and see the flames - 'cause this show is for you!! In   2000   the   german   rock'n'roll   band   Tasco   &   His   Troublemakers   found   themselves   without   a   guitar   player   after   another   of   their shambolic   tours   when   they   encoutered   the   Norfolk-born   musician   Ben   Wood.   The   untamed   youngster   cocksurely   accepted   their offer   on   the   spot,   following   five   years   of   touring   and   hilariously   misadventurous   rock'n'rolling.   2003   they   released   Tasco's terminal   album   What   Are   We   Doing   Here?   and   ineradicable   Tasco-tunes   like   'I   Can   Tell'   you   can   still   find   in   the   set   list   of   the   Ben Wood Inferno every once in a while. 2001   the   Troublemakers   added   another   musical   imposter:   the   maniacal   Jack   Shepherd   took   over   the   piano   keys   and   soon became   a   close   comrade   of   Ben   Wood.   They   both   shared   a   sound   devotion   for   black   &   white   movies   and   garage   rock'n'roll. Before the year was through the odd pair had founded their own voodoo circus act The Woodbrothers. In   2002   this   very   band,   meanwhile   a   five-piece,   released   their   eponymous   debut   album.   Sound   engineer   Rainer   Holst   (also working   for Australia's   genuine   rock'n'rollers   Rose   Tattoo   and   German   comedian   Oliver   Kalkofe)   was   in   charge   of   the   production. 'Bad Minor Bo', the sinister opener of the album, was soon set to kick off every show. Also the   conjuring   final   track,   the   highly   dramatic   'Fire   Of   Love',   became   an   inescapable   anthem   of   the   band   and   is   still   part   of   every Ben Wood Inferno concert. 2004,   after   high   flying   tours   with   blues   and   funk   heroes   like   Dr.   Feelgood   and   Albie   Donelly   &   Supercharge,   the   tightly   awaited follow-up   album   Stranded   was   the   output   that   would   set   new   standards   for   the   band.Songs   like   the   mighty   'The   Red   Eyes   Of   The Blues'   and   the   panic-stricken   'Motor   Mouth   Babe'   became   constant   psycho   murderers   in   the   sizzling   set   till   this   very   day.   The latter   was   the   definite   choice   to   be   the   album's   single   release   and   marched   straight   through   from   german   radio   and   telly   stations onto DJ turntables of dingy night clubs. The   following   year   Ben   Wood   left   the   band   and   moved   back   to   the   UK   to   write   new   material.   Following   a   theatre   engagement   in Luxembourg   in   2006   he   met   local   guitarist   General   Paul   Vincent,   the   man   who   would   become   a   vibrant   influence   on   his   musical approach   and   the   one   monolithic   comrade.   With   Ben   Wood   now   on   lead   vocals   they   founded   the   zany   gypsy   punk   band   The Hoboscopes.   Their   shows   received   immediately   highest   saluting   press   reviews.   "I've   never   seen   something   like   that!",   claimed Doro Popp of Popp-Concerts after visiting one of Ben Wood & The Hoboscopes tremendous live shows. In   2007   this   band   recorded   the   album   Yours,   which   left   the   critics   with   an   open   gob   behind.   This   quirky   hybrid   of   rock'n'roll   and punk'n'polka   is   honoured   to   be   a   unique   jewel   in   the   musical   scene   to   date.   The   whirling   'Upside-Down   &   Inside-Out   With   You'   or the   experimental   tango   trotter   'With   Her   Love   (Tango)'   are   still   outstanding   contributions   to   the   set   list   of   the   Ben   Wood   Inferno. "Ben   Wood   looks   like   a   mixture   of   Nick   Cave   and   Blixa   Bargeld   in   their   unhealthier   lifetimes   [and]   in   turn   sounds   a   kind   of   like Robert   Smith.   Appears   to   be   a   wild   mixture?   It   definitely   is!",   commented   the   musical   press.   Further   touring   with   greats   like   The Shanes or 44Leningrad made the Hoboscopes and their audience go wild every night. 2008   Ben   Wood   readjusted   himself   for   the   ensuing   years,   focussing   againon   theatre   and   film   acting   as   well   as   writing   prose   and poetry with just very rare rock'n'roll appearences as guest musician. After   refusing   serveral   requests   to   re-establish   his   rock'n'roll   act,   in   2012   the   times   eventually   had   changed.   Ben   Wood   slipped   a borrowed   bass   over   his   shoulder   and   found   in   guitarist   Alex   Webber   a   young   and   eager   collaborator   to   form   the   first   incarnation of   the   Ben   Wood   Inferno.   The   name   relates   to   nothing   less   than   Dante's   masterpiece   and   is   chosen   to   be   the   first   of   a   three   part rock'n'roll   damnation   and   emphasizes   that   one   day,   after   the   transforming   into   the   Ben   Wood   Purgatory,   we   will   have   to   face   the final act: the Ben Wood Paradise. Whatever this may sound alike... A   sold   out   debut   show   in   2013   gave   some   new   swing   to   Wood's   rock'n'roll   universe.   This   resurrection   gave   way   to   the   best   Ben Wood   stage   shows   ever.   "With   his   Inferno   the   universal   artist   Ben   Wood   invites   everybody   to   a   wild   musical   ride   -   and   the   name sure suits it best. Wood is ingeniously pulling the focus. Don't you miss it!", journalists judged subsequently. Shortly    afterwards    Ben    Wood    relocated    to    Vienna    for    a    mind    twisting    stint    with    Memphis'    Maestro    Tav    Falco    &    His Unapproachable   Panther   Burns.   In   the   end   of   2014   General   Paul   Vincent   was   asked   to   rejoin   the   band. And   sure   as   hell   the   multi- talented big hitter brought a hitherto unknown stability to the Inferno's core. 2015   the   band   toured   with   London   legend   The   Godfathers.   By   then   the   time   was   right   to   compile   the   band's   first   Best   Of   album, filed   of   under   no   other   name   than   The   Fire   Of   Love   and   span   material   from   the   years2001   till   2009   including   four   previously unreleased   tracks.   By   spring   of   the   same   year   the   over   all   most   charming   Italian   drummer   Vigilante   The   Beast   took   over   the   drum stool   and   completed   the   vibrant   triumvirate   till   this   very   day   to   its   best   line-up   ever.   The   acknowledgements   of   the   international press   were   soon   to   come:   "Live   furore   [with   the]   Ben   Wood   Inferno:   a   wild   show,   wild   songs   and   an   impressed   audience   were   the results."   Enthralled   of   this   new   drummer's   energie   the   band   spontaneously   recorded   their   first   live   bootleg,   entitled   flames   baby flames !!, which was released by the end of the year. Ongoing   adventures   on   the   road   took   place   in   2016:   supporting   once   more   The   Godfathers   and   additionally   the   Canadian colleagues   from   Big   John   Bates,   followed   by   further   infernal   headliner   shows   in Austria,   Germany   and   Slovenia.   Furthermore   the band   finished   writing   the   tracks   for   the   first   Ben   Wood   studio   album   in   seven   years.   In   November   the   band   headed   to   Vienna's Primitive Studios to lay down nine new tracks under the supervision of producer Daniel Schatz. In   February   2017   the   band   signed   in   with   the   german   label   Sumo   Rex   /   Broken   Silence   which   successfully   hosts   punk   and   polka heroes   Ivan   Ivanovich   &   The   Kreml   Krauts   and   The   Shanes.   After   a   quick   spring   shake   tour   through   Germany   and   Austria   the Inferno   released   the   single   Blues   Ex   Machina.    The   title   track   revealed   to   be   the   most   progressive   song   in   the   band's   repertoire   so far. A   rompin'   stompin'   swamp   blues   tune   throwing   its   arms   and   legs   around   you   while   a   randomized   gantry   of   motorizing   psycho guitar   assaults   keep   drilling   holes   into   the   structure   till   the   sane   mind   snaps.   The   EP   also   features   Willie   Dixon's   50's   mojo   tune '(I'm   Your)   Hoochie   Coochie   Man'   with   a   life   threatening   lapsteel   guitar   played   by   Elsa   Tootsie's   Artur   Nutz.   As   an   ex   ante   release to   theforthcoming   album   we   find   on   Bluex   Ex   Machina    all   the   zany,   crazed   for   fuzz   and   blues   dripping   notes   and   tones   - enshrouded in a unique cover sleeve drawn by the late New Orleans blues pianist and singer Champion Jack Dupree. While   shooting   a   video   clip   for   the   single   sad   news   reached   the   band   -   longterm   friend,   early   days   patron   and   rock'n'roll   rarity Tasco passed on to the next sphere aged 70. May he go on grunting and snorting, happy and kind as ever wherever he is now! By   the   end   of   the   year   the   band   heralded   the   release   of   their   staggering   studio   album   Wilder   Wilder   Faster   Faster   -   a   full   blast   of death   mocking   and   devil   defying   sound.   Notably   the   intimidating   opener   as   well   as   the   caustic   claustrophobic   seven   minute closure   of   'Trashedy'   presented   the   band   at   their   sizzling   peak   of   creativity.   Beside   the   well-known   spectral   and   schizophrenic lyrical   humour,   the   militant   mockery   on   tunes   like   the   sardonic   'I   Never   Liked   You   Anyway'   are   rock'n'roll   renegades   that   once more reveal Ben Wood as a master of wrath and an unbowed cynic. "Actually   we   wanted   to   call   the   album   'Wilder   Wilder   Wilder   Faster   Faster   Faster'   but   then   again   -   we   didn't   want   to   show   off   too much...",   bow-wows   the   agitating   singer.   Albeit   the   press   reported   that   they   obviously   would   have   affirmed   this   alternate   title: "Ben   Wood   incarnates   cruelty   and   ferocity,   screams,   prays   and   curses.   A   mad   man   and   creative   musician   who   creates   super- energetic   ideas   and   multiple   orgasmatrons".   The   following   album   tour   turned   out   to   be   the   largest   the   band   ever   did,   performing in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and France. Spending   the   best   of   2018   on   the   road   the   Ben   Wood   Inferno   proved   to   allconcert   attendants   that   they   would   have   burned   this band's singer if he would have been born 500 years ago. In   all   this   allarums   and   excursions   in   2019   they   released   the   killer   diller   follow-up   album   The   Real   Thing .   Ten   dripped   in   curare tracks   delivered   in   full-force   scale   rock'n'roll   -   groovier   and   funkier   than   the   band   has   ever   sounded   before   and   topped   with vocals   brought   to   you   by   deafening   explosions   of   temper.   With   heartsore,   love   and   sex   as   the   gist   of   the   lyrics   you   experience Ben Wood and this combatants spreading havoc like madly marauding Cupids. This   fifth   studio   album   was   produced   by   the   congenial   Lucas   Wiltschko   (who   worked   with   former   Kaiser   Franz   Josef-guitarist Sham   and   British   guitar   legend   Albert   Lee)   at   LW   Sonics   Studio   Vienna.   Also   the   album   presents   a   veritable   list   of   guest musicians:    greats    like    Prof.    Sebastian    Jiro    Schlecht    (former    Get    Well    Soon)    on    organ,    the    incredible   Amour    Fou's    singer Scharmien   Zandi   and   sound   magician   and   drummer   Stefano   D'Alessio   contributed   their   nothing   less   than   impressive   share   on The Real Thing. From   autumn   2019   on   the   band   presented   their   new   album   on   tour   through   Germany,   Austria,   Italy,   Czech   Republic   plus   for   the first   time   Japan.   "It   was   rock   and   roll   to   feel   each   other.   Somehow   the   Ben   Wood   Inferno   is   the   best   DEATH!",   judged   the   japanese press. And you wouldn't argue about that would you? In   spring   2020   the   first   single,   the   devout   Herman   Brood-homage   Never   Enough   (Herman) ,   was   released.   Shooting   the   video   clip brought   the   band   to   Amsterdam   where   they   managed   to   grin   themselves   up   to   the   rooftop   of   the   Hilton   Hotel   -   to   the   very   same place the great and late Herman Brood threw himself off in 2001. Rock'n'roll romanticism andtheatrics par excellence! The   following   year   the   album's   second   single,   the   psychedlic   tune   Unreal,   was   released   and   presented   that   songwriter   Ben   Wood, himself   either   angry   or   sardonically   amused   by   everything,   bursted   once   more   forth   via   a   literate   lyricism,   mingling   gloom   and glee,   in   a   way   that   would   press   progressively   harder   on   the   nerve   of   how   far   he   could   eventually   go.   "[Ben   Wood   Inferno] presents   itself   like   a   creeping   self-laceration,   as   if   Dr.   Frank   N.   Furter   himself   descended   from   planet   Transsexual   to   join   this spectacle.   The   qualities   of   this   band   unfold   especially   on   stage:   a   rock   and   roll-musical   with   anarchy-effects",   heralded   the reviewers. 2022   announces   the   release   of   the   believe   it   or   not   even   a   tad   stronger   than   ever   album:   on   Psychomania   we   find   the   BWI drawing   wildest   rock'roll-collages   in   anti-pastel.   Circling   around   various   vicious   synths   sounds   the   triumvirate   celebrates   to connect new wave- and trashelements at full blast. Produced again by the fabulous Lucas Wiltschko with various guests contriutions from e.g. the gorgeous Sonja Maier from Austria's latest cry Baits. "Would   you   allow   me   to   say   that   sometimes   I   feel   like   a   dog   before   an   earthquake?   I'm   already   howlin'   way   before   other   people know what is going to happen", contemplates Ben Wood himself - before getting ready for another infernal touring schedule.