Motörhead
Motörizer
Steamhammer
Motörhead is a rock’n’roll band—Lemmy will tell you that himself: They have more in common with Little Richard than you think. You could also say that Motörhead is the loudest and heaviest band on the planet and probably will be until the members call it a day. The classic band, formed in 1975 as Bastard, has lots of imitators, but nobody really comes close to its wall of sound.
Motörhead’s latest, Motörizer, delivers on all fronts, with producer Cameron Webb at the helm for the third time and still getting great performances. Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell are writing most of the music, with Lemmy supplying the lyrics and melodies as only he can. Motörizeralso sees Motörhead venture into some progressive territory while still keeping things heavy.The word is that the band and road crew are deaf from years of obscene volume, but I’m most bewildered by the fact Lemmy is still going, after the amount of cigarettes, alcohol and speed he’s ingested. Motörhead is like The Ramones—everyone says they’re a fan but you don’t see it backed up in their record collection. In this day and age, where most people are opting for shitty-sounding downloads, I’d suggest going out and buying this artifact, getting your friends over and cranking it up.
Steve Kokic
categories: Coast pick
This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2008.