After forty years of giant success, numerous arenas packed, having been worshipped by millions and millions of fans around the globe, do MOTORHEAD decide to kick back and enjoy the fruits of the universal acclaim they’ve received? Fuck no. The gang of hellish rock ‘n’ rollers with the workaholic icon, Lemmy, as their master general return with a new release to show that 23 albums in and they can still play ball on top level.
Following the “Aftershock” of their previous album (awful pun, I know) they don’t hold back at all and create another great album. And let’s be honest, when a MOTORHEAD fan hears or reads that one of their albums is GREAT, that’s the only piece of information they really need to dig in. It’s not like you’re expecting variety when listening to MOTORHEAD, their style has been the same since the beginnings, so that word can only mean that most of the songs in “Bad Magic” have the essence of a hit that only this band can write (“Victory or Die”, “The Devil”, “Electricity”, “Evil Eye”) and is guaranteed to rock your brains out.
The rowdy, dirty, bar room brawling sound of the bass and guitar is here, the punkish/proto-metal riffs -that inspired almost every extreme metal legends of the past- are here, the groove and the speed walk hand in hand as always and the southern/blues touches are as always rightly placed to give MOTORHEAD’s creation the unique and special flavor we’ve all grown to love.
Also, how freaking fun is the hostile duet “Tell Me Who to Kill” and “Choking on Your Screams”? Talk about badass, MOTORHEAD have been cultivating the taking-shit-from-nobody since the mid 70’s and they still pull it off successfully! Men of the ages of 52 to 69 and they still give you the feeling that if you look at them in the wrong way you’ll get blasted in the face. Take some notes, kids.
Also, how can’t you love “Till The End” with the self-referential lyrics by Lemmy, one of the most beautiful ballads MOTORHEAD have ever recorded? This song brings me to the main point of this review. We’ve all had our share of good scares with Lemmy’s health those past couple years, and when a few weeks earlier he needed to end a show only a few songs in, everybody thought that was it. But the funny thing with Lemmy is that HE NEVER QUITS.
Of all the things he has consumed over the years, he has been most addicted to rock and roll. It only took him a few days to hit the stage again triumphantly! When I saw the documentary “Lemmy”, his stance on how far you can go with life hit me in the face, because in general he was saying that his choice of a good death would on the stage, staying true to what he loves until his last breath. He has already won in life (big time),yet he is still fighting because that’s his thing! That is why I think “Till the End” is such an emotional and important song for MOTORHEAD.
In a few words, in the 13 songs of “Bad Magic” we have another, amazing rock and roll dynamite, on par with “Aftershock” and on a musical level that you wouldn’t believe a forty year old band is capable to reach. Except MOTORHEAD are one of a kind and the very definition of fighting till the end. The Devil might need Sympathy, Lemmy doesn’t.
[page_title text=”FEATURED SONG”]