463. Motorhead / Hammered. 2002. 3/5

Backing up after an excellent live album release as well as a thoroughly more aggressive and heavy album in We Are Motörhead, as well as fighting off two best-of compilations that were released in competition with each other, and the threesome of Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey had plenty of positive vibes heading into the writing and recording of their next album. The only question left to be answered was how would the material going forward sound in comparison to that which had been in the past.

One wonders just how influenced the music on Hammered was on what was happening around the band at that time. All three members in various interviews have mentioned how Phil and Mikkey flew into LA on September 10, 2001 to start writing for the album, and the following day saw the various attacks now known as 9/11. A quick listen to the lyrics on some songs as well as the titles leads you to believe there was quite a bit of that going on in their heads.
For whatever reason, the songs here are not as aggressive in musical tone as those from the previous album, and while I find that disappointing because I found it to be excellent there is still plenty to like here. In essence they return to the more natural rock ‘n’ roll formula that the band prefers than the outright heavy metal sound some people crave (myself probably included). I’m never quite sure if I like the experimentation with Lemmy’s vocals and the layered harmonies in the opener, “Walk A Crooked Mile”, but I still like the song. The same with “Down the Line”, but both opening songs are just a bit too samey, with the same riff running for the whole 4-5 minutes of the song. It does get a little repetitive. Both “Brave New World” and “Voices From the War” have a better pace and gallop about them and are more fun to listen to as a result.
“Mine All Mine” and “Shut Your Mouth” and “Dr. Love” have that rock formula to work on, but “Kill the World” and “No Remorse” have a more sinister sound about them, and one I can get on board with as well. To finish off the album we have the fastest song of the track list, as “Red Raw” races along and allows the band in my opinion to showcase the best of their wares. This is my favourite song on the album and does tend to allow me to overlook some of the weaker parts that come before it. This is followed by the spoken word track “Serial Killer” that also has the wrestler Triple H involved. On some versions of the album this is then followed by “The Game” which is the song that he used as his entry to the ring, and which Motörhead occasionally performed live at big events for him.

Over the course of their long career, one thing Motörhead has not been afraid to do is release new material. They have done it more often than most bands of a similar vintage, and they consistently put out albums that challenge their fans. Some may think this a strange thing to say, but it is accurate and you can see it in the various ratings of their albums along the way. Not everything they have done has pleased the critics or the fans. Hammered is another better-than-average release from this band, and while it may not have the same things that draws me so heavily to their previous album it has enough to ensure that fans of the band will again be pleased they have made the effort to listen to it.

Rating: “Don't say nothing shut your mouth, out of time work it out”.  3/5