Motorhead

"Hammered"
(Sanctuary Records)  

-  "If Jesus showed up now he'd be in jail by next week…" reads the last line of "Brave New World," one of a number of the propulsive points of view as presented only the way Motorhead can. Few can boast their longevity, all the more impressive during Metal music's fading glory during the last decade. In fact I thought they were through after they released their more commercially favorable "March Or Die" or "1916…" and shows what I know, they get nominated for a Grammy for the latter. Imagine, Motorhead and "Grammy" in the same sentence? So here they still are some eight or ten records later, some sixty eight comps and reissues and a few live cuts, still going strong, a model of razor-edged consistency rivaling only the likes of AC/DC… you'll either love it or hate it, expectations, with maybe a few slight deviations, will always be met. "Hammered" then is no different and that's why it will be a success. Lemmy's sharp-tongued lyrics remain the focal point behind their rusty gate of a rhythm section, which through the continued and combined efforts of Campbell and Dee, is destined to swing freely for years to come. While nothing stands far above the expected norm here, the first two cuts revive the harmonic leanings of "Another Perfect Day," they being "Walk A Crooked Mile" and "Down The Line" where unlikely backing vocs and melodic verses come into play; not their best work but a good primer for the Motor-banger primates to sink their teeth into the vintage follow ups, "Brave New World," and "Voices From The War," before returning with the hook on "Mine All Mine," and "Shut Your Mouth." Like their last "We Are Motorhead" that came out in 2000, the production's similarly drawn, Campbell at times kicking out a meatier guitar sound, often down-tuning to increase the pulverization factor-"Voices…" "Kill The World," and the chugging, "No Remorse," and no relation to their classic album of the same name. Proving their lead foot ain't lightened up much between sessions, "Red Raw" immediately opens the throttle and competes on an intensity level of "Iron Fist." There is no changing tempo, no pre-chorus settlement, just balls-out speed excess that tears and slashes with a severity poor Jack could never conceive of! An out of the blue spoken word piece called "Serial Killer" caps off the eleven album tracks-would've fit better as an opener before letting 'er rip, but they opted not to. Two more bonus cuts round it out with the bludgeoning "The Game," WWF star Triple-H's entrance theme, and perfectly suited for intimidation showdowns and body slamming on any level, before ending on a pointless live version of "Overnight Sensation" from an album I never cared much for anyway. Overall "Hammered" hammers the point home in typical Motorhead style-hard, fast, and loud, and Lemmy's voice, aided no doubt by the return of the fu-manchu, more than merely holding up after some thirty years of abuse, in fine skin-peeling form…

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