It’s undeniable, and if you say anything other you’re either lying for the sake of it, or just downright ignorant, but Motörhead are legends of rock music. Lemmy has individually oozed the rock and roll personality since at least the 70s. The most notable thing around Motorhead though, what sets them out from any other band and makes them instantly recognisable is Lemmy’s vocals. From the year’s of ‘Ace of Spades’, ‘Overkill’ and ‘Bomber’ to the modern day this has been the unwavering difference in their music, mainly because so many bands have tried to recreate their heavy rock sound. For better or worse that pure sound of Motörhead is ever present in their 22nd studio album Bad Magic.
The album kicks off with a heavy dose of that classic Motörhead sound in ‘Victory Or Die’, but this time you can tell that they have had the ability to play with modern tools to get the desired effect, honestly we don’t know whether Lemmy’s voice can really go to the same lengths as it used to, we’ve seen it live, and you can hear it in places in Bad Magic as well. There are some really standout performances throughout the album, ‘Shoot Out All of Your Lights’ for example is a perfect example on how the fast paced rubber burning tracks are still ever present. ‘Till The End’ is more of a melodic offering compared to the other tracks, and is a welcome change to the constant barrage of heavy hitting rock we’ve come to expect from the band.
That in itself lays one of the biggest problems that this album faces. We’ve grown to expect a certain sound from Motörhead , and honestly, a number of the songs on Bad Magic could well have been the same and we wouldn’t have known much of a difference. That’s not so say that the band don’t still have the ability to kick out some cracking tunes, it’s just that for 13 tracks, it could well have had the fat trimmed off a bit more.
The musical ability is undoubtedly incredible, the guitar solo in the aforementioned ‘Till The End’ for example is a testament to the band’s legacy and continued performance, but it does seem like Lemmy’s voice is slowly giving out, which is both sad, yet expected from his long standing abuse to his body, but the band still have the ability to kick out some incredible rock tracks.
