:: Motorhead - Kiss Of Death

Motorhead

Over the last six years, legendary heavy rock n roll outfit Motörhead has managed to find an ever growing consistent groove that saw the band improve and build upon each successive release, with 2004's stunning ‘Inferno’ easily ranking as one of the strongest releases to emerge from the band in well over a decade.
Now with two years since passed (Which was filled by 2005's live D.V.D. ‘Stage Fright’), the trio (Consisting of vocalist/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee) have reunited with producer Cameron Webb (Who worked with the band on ‘Inferno’) and have again duly returned with ‘Kiss Of Death’, which more than maintains the bands high standard of their recent years, if at least for the most part.

After some initial feedback, the speed induced opening cut ‘Sucker’ is an absolute blistering example of Motörhead’s power from the word go, with Dee’s drumming more than adding to Motörhead’s infamous career defining thirty-year wall of rock ‘n’ roll sound, while ‘One Night Stand’ and the Iron Maiden like bass driven sounding ‘Devil I Know’ revert back to Kilmister’s huge swinging boogie groove.

The up-tempo ‘Trigger’, ‘Under The Gun’ (Which features a guest appearance from Alice In Chain’s bassist Mike Inez) and the ultra catchy (Almost commercial sounding) ‘Christine’ are full of Kilmister’s lyrical wit and innuendo (Whether it be sexual, or politically based) put out a befitting blues like rock edge, while tracks such ‘Sword Of Glory’, the stunning acoustic ballad based ‘God Was Never On Your Side’ (Which, amazing enough features a remarkable guest appearance from Poison guitarist C. C. DeVille, and backing vocals from Ignite vocalist Zoli Teglas) and the thrash based/darker sounding ‘Kingdom Of The Worm’ (Which, strangely enough, is the first single selected from the album, and could have easily been lifted from 1995’s ‘Sacrifice’) are centred more around Kilmister’s interest in war and religion. Rounding out the album is the heavy and basic rocker ‘Living In The Past’, the brutally heavy ‘Be My Baby’ and the highly energetic closer ‘Going Down’.

Given the overwhelming praise that was lauded upon ‘Inferno’ (From both fans and critics alike), it’s fair to say that many will view ‘Kiss Of Death’ as a little lacking in places. But having said that, ‘Kiss Of Death’ is another Motörhead album that maintains the quality that the band have managed to maintain throughout the years, and overall, an album that will ensure that Kilmister’s own death defying legendary status will remain intact for some time yet.