The conflict between quantity and quality is one that every musician at some point find him or herself dealing with, and few have dealt with this in a better way than Ian Fraser Kilmister -– or Lemmy, if you’d like. Having played on a total of 99 releases (did someone mention Megadeth’s 99 Ways To Die?) this is one experienced bastard, and the fresh ‘n’ fruity Kiss Of Death, the 19th full-length release of his brainchild Motörhead, shows this Brit’s still going as strong as ever.
The band’s previous alster, Inferno, was a real smasher, and Kiss of Death shows the band’s 11th line-up surely can be classified as one of its strongest -– once again featuring Philip Anthony “Phil” Campbell on guitars, and Michael “Mikkey Dee” Delaouglou on drums, this is British Metal ’n’ Roll at its most vital. What first and foremost separates this album from its predecessor is that the band shows a far more “Rock ‘n’ Roll” side this time, with obvious 60s and 70s influences in quite a few of the riffs. This is evident already in the opening track “Sucker,” and also in tracks like “Trigger,” and “Christine.”
This, combined with the heavier edge of tracks such as “Living In The Past” and “Kingdom Of The Worms” makes for quite a diverse release (there’s even a touching and emotional ballad in there -– “God Was Never On Your Side”) and makes for a very enjoyable album. However, some tracks are rather on the anonymous side — this goes predominantly for “Devil I Know,” “One Night Stand,” and “Going Down.” The production, however, is top notch… crisper than many of the band’s most famous releases, but still dirty enough not to ruin the Motörhead “vibe,” and this is another convincing release by a very impressive band.
Kiss Of Death shows Motörhead is far from being “Killed By Death,” and “Death AND Glory” definitely goes hand-in-hand this time around.
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