MOTÖRHEAD – Ace Of Spades [Classic Albums]

Before Maiden, before Metallica, the M word for Metal was Motorhead. Billed as the loudest band in the world, Motorhead has been pounding the world with its brackish style of Rock ‘N’ Roll for over thirty years. Fronted by the seemingly immortal Lemmy Kilmister, Motorhead raised the bar for bands who wanted to be loud, bands that wanted to be fast, and bands that wanted to be heavy. Playing music that was borderline Punk in the late seventies, the band turned the UK on its ear in 1980 with its release of the classic Ace of Spades.

Eagle Rock Entertainment has released a retrospective DVD of the making of Motorhead’s Ace of Spades. Interviews with founding member Lemmy Kilmister and drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, and guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke tell the story of the making of this classic recording. Slash and Lars Ulrich are also interviewed about their perceptions of Motorhead and how they were influenced by them.

The band takes you through many of the tracks, their meanings, and where the band was mentally at the time. Taylor shows he is still the social misfit, entering on camera wearing a fiendish old man mask and acting childish and obnoxious the entire time. He does eventually sit behind the kit and plays the title track and “Jailbait,” showing us why Lemmy has chosen to ignore his outlandish behavior over the years. Also playing unaccompanied, Clarke demonstrates “Ace of Spades,” “Jailbait,” and “The Hammer.” These two solo performance sections are really the highlight of the show, showing each instrument stripped to its barest form.

For reasons not explained, Clarke’s segments were filmed separately than Phil and Lemmy’s segments, so we never get to see the original line up together. Through the marvels of technology, however, Phil and Lemmy perform a few tracks sans vocals, and Eddie is added digitally from the segment where he recorded his parts. The Eddie image has a shimmering in and out quality, so you are aware that he isn’t actually with the other two, but it is a very cool moment just the same.

Full of funny anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories of not only the making of Ace of Spades, but of the making of Motorhead the band, this in-depth look at one of the most important Heavy Metal bands of all time is an absolute must for those who love Metal music and want to know the history of its groundbreaking moments.