RELEASED BY : UDR GmbH
RELEASE DATE : October 21, 2013
GENRE : Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
LINK : https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMotorhead
Line Up:
Ian Fraiser”Lemmy” Kilmister
Phillip Campbell
Mikkey Dee
Tracklist:
Heartbreaker
Coup de Grace
Lost Woman Blues
End Of Time
Do You Believe
Death Machine
Dust And Glass
Going To Mexico
Silence When You Speak To Me
Crying Shame
Queen Of The Damned
Knife
Keep Your Powder Dry
Paralyzed
As the lowly arms of mortality attempt to wrap themselves around the weathered and abused body of the now 67 years of age, larger than life Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, it’s business as usual for MOTORHEAD. Amid health scares and the fear of having to cancel tours, Lemmy and his cohorts have managed to find the time and the desire to write and record an all-new album titled AFTERSHOCK, their 21st, coming three years after the highly regarded THE WORLD IS YOURS and it stacks up pretty darn well.
Obviously by now, nobody expects any massive revelations from a MOTORHEAD album. AFTERSHOCK is yet again a set of dirty, no frills, fuzzy rock ‘n roll that is best played loud alongside a bottle of Jack Daniels in a dank, smokey room. Let it be said though that LEMMY himself sounds like he hasn’t aged a day and his unique and widely-known voice is absolutely perfect for this set of rollicking tunes. The most decipherable difference with this album is that is a bit less “metal” than the last couple of albums and decidedly more along a standard hard, bluesy rock formula, of course with a sprinkle of punk rock sensibilities like always. Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee do a great job here too as usual, and just motor along like a well-oiled machine.
Traditional MOTORHEAD rockers like HEARTBREAKER (which at the beginning sounds like it’s going to be THE GAME pt. 2), COUP DE GRACE, DO YOU BELIEVE and CRYING SHAME could slot into just about any other MOTRHEAD album easily and will all have long-time fans heralding the continued success of one of rock music’s most reliable bands. Then there are a couple of tunes that offer up slight variations on the formula. For example SILENCE WHEN YOU SPEAK TO ME, which is definitely distinguishable as a Lemmy tune, but featuring a riff that recalls ALICE IN CHAINS early mini-hit MAN IN THE BOX. Then you have KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY which could have easily been written by AC/DC. DUST AND GLASS is another interesting tune, featuring a much slower, brooding feel. It comes right in the middle of the album which serves as a great interlude and an opportunity to catch a quick breath before the next onslaught. Standing out even further however is LOST WOMAN BLUES, with it’s slow, drawling blues feel mixed with a surprisingly vulnerable sounding Lemmy vocal. In what almost feels like an apologetic stance, the song picks itself up at the three minute mark and spends it’s last minute building toward a more expected sound. Die-hard MOTORHEAD fans will find other songs on AFTERSHOCK to consider favourites I’m sure, but for me, this was the highlight of the entire album.
I think by now, if MOROHEAD haven’t grabbed you, there’s not much point in trying again with AFTERSHOCK, but for long-time fans of the band and their style, this album is a must-buy.
Written by Zeezee
Ratings Zeezee 8/10
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