Motorhead – The World is Yours (SPV) Keith Boyd 2.11.11
After 35 years of churning out ear blisters, Motorhead has returned yet again with a solid disc of gut-punching goodness. Formed in 1975, Motorhead rose from the ashes of Lemmy Kilmister’s firing from Space- Rock masters, Hawkwind. Their loss was our gain as the band have simultaneously created and embodied a stripped-down, leather clad Rock- N-Roll monster.

The album starts off with a prototypical riff-fest, “Born to Lose”. It’s a telling blueprint for much of what is to come. Pile driving and fuzzed out bass, pounding drums and absolutely shredding guitar work thunder away while Lemmy croaks his tales of death, war, outlaws and the saving power of music. It never really lets up from there and that’s a very good thing indeed. There are no ballads or quiet moments and for some listeners that pace might feel a bit breathless. To these ears it’s a refreshing brace of adrenaline. A bit like a triple espresso first thing in the morning.

Although often thought of as a Heavy Metal band, Motorhead has always been in fact a stripped down and cranked up Rock-N-Roll group. Over the years Lemmy has made no secret of his love for the classic era of 1950’s music. His side-project, ‘The Headcat’ shows this in high relief where he and the drummer from the Stray Cats take Rockabilly standards and ram some gristle in them.

‘The World is Yours’ is Motorhead’s twentieth release and it ranks up there with their best. The criticism that all their albums sound alike isn’t exactly true and besides misses the target by a wide mark. In this world where we have seen the triumph of a pre-packaged, talent show driven, product tied- in nightmare, Motorhead stands apart. They do what they do and they do it well. Among the highlights are, “Get Back In Line” and “I Know How To Die”. The digital version of the release includes a great acoustic version of the MH classic “Ace of Spades”