1075. Motörhead / Kiss of Death. 2006. 3.5/5

For as long as I can remember, the general public line about a new AC/DC album has been “oh well, it will just sound like the last one, they’re all the same”. And in many ways that will be true, because the band has their style and they stick to it, because they know they’re good at it, and they know that people will buy it. And that is the main point, they know what their fans like, and so they give it to them. Which is a roundabout way of me coming to review this Motörhead album, Kiss of Death, because if you’ve heard Motörhead before you already know what is on this album. But the best part is… you know you’ll like it.

Kiss of Death utilises the same producer from their previous album Inferno, Cameron Webb, who actively looked to make a more aggressive album. That has flowed on here to their follow up, with the energy that was prevalent on that release once again coming to the fore here. Everything that you hear on this album is quintessential Motörhead and that’s what makes it a good album still. There is something for everyone but more than that there is something for every fan of the band.
You can break the album up into four sections in order to get the best representation of what is gathered here. There are the fast paced and upbeat songs that draw you in, including the scorching opening track “Sucker”, the excellent “Trigger” and “Sword of Glory”, as well as the bonus track on the CD, the re-recorded tribute to The Ramones, simply entitled “R.A.M.O.N.E.S”. These are the four songs that rip along at that pleasing pace that helps makes Motörhead songs great. Then you have the high energy songs, some of which are faster paced and others that are just pushed out there. These include the head bouncing “One Night Stand”, “Devil I Know”, “Christine”, “Be My Baby” and “Going Down”. From here you are faced with the mid-tempo songs, the ones that are paced back in the rock ‘n’ roll section but are no les enjoyable as a result. Here you will find tracks such as “Under the Gun”, “Living in the Past” and “Kingdom of the Worm”.
Mixed in with all of these tracks is the ballad “God Was Never on Your Side”, another of Lemmy’s lyrical postulations on religion and those that lead and follow within the various forms that exist. It’s an interesting song, both musically as it challenges the band and Lemmy’s vocals and takes them to a position that has been tried before by this band but never really successfully, and lyrically as it highlights conventions that certainly can be questioned. As with previous songs of this genre on other Motörhead albums, I think it tends to pull back the momentum of the album at a crucial time, though on this occasion I do quite like the song itself.

Returning to theme of the opening, there is a lot here that will be familiar to fans and the public at large. Mikkey Dee’s hard banging drums are prevalent as always and are still the driving force behind each song. Phil Campbell’s licks and riffs are as potent as the ever have been, and his punctuating solos just as effective. Riding over the crest of the wave is Lemmy’s unique bass sound and vocals that both still give as much pleasure as they did 30 years previous. So come aboard and enjoy yet another terrific release from a terrific band who fought every conceivable change in music over their career and still found their place in the music world.

Rating: “Living in a nightmare, broken dreams, love turned mean, living in the past”. 3.5/5