It’s remarkable to consider, at one point, the NME (then an influential weekly music paper) branded Motorhead ‘the worst band in the world.’ How times have changed because, while the NME now languishes in obscurity, Motorhead are heralded as being one of the most iconic rock bands of all time, influencing both the music and the people who play it, with their fusion of punk and metal, with band main man Lemmy going on to become a rock legend.
Bad Magic was originally released in August 2015 and turned out to be Lemmy’s parting gift to the world because the great man waved goodbye to the rock world four months later, bringing the band to a shuddering halt. Though the album’s opening tracks, ‘Victory Or Die’ and ‘Thunder And Lightning’, showed just how Lemmy was still being able to rock up a storm, despite the illness which ultimately took him from us.
The album is now being re-released as a bonus-packed refresh with the addition of two previously unreleased tracks, ‘Bullet In Your Brain’ and ‘Greedy Bastards’, where Lemmy vents with some savage commentary about the corrupt nature of modern politics and politicians, concluding with ‘greedy bastard, you don’t even care.’ Hearing Lemmy spit out the word ‘bastard,’ you know he means it. There’re also cover versions of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, and the Stones’ ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, both covered faithfully and, whilst the intensity of the Stones’ original is missing, Lemmy had more than earned the right to record anything he wanted.
The release also comes with a live performance of Motorhead’s 2015 appearance at the Fuji rock festival in Japan, with Lemmy’s intro of “In case you think we’re someone else, we’re Motorhead and we play rock ‘n roll,” drawing a favourable response. Surprisingly, given the release of a new album, they perform nothing from it, instead playing a set packed with tried and trusted stage favourites, ‘Damage Case’, ‘Chase is Better than the catch’, ‘Stay Clean’, and concluding with the legendary ‘Ace of Spades’ and ‘Overkill’. Lemmy’s voice shows the occasional signs of wear and tear but the playing is as powerful and intense as any Motorhead gig, a set rammed to the gills with Lemmy’s signature bass playing and the band’s unique ability to fuse rock, punk and 50’s rock ‘n roll into a joyous whole. Motorhead played rock ‘n roll all right and here’s the proof.
If the music on offer somehow isn’t enough for you, there’s also the added bonus of a 45-minute audio interview with Lemmy. Conducted by Robert Kiewik, entitled ‘War, Love, Death and Injustice,’ in it the great man gives his forthright views on a range of topics.
The rock world is a lot poorer for the passing on of Lemmy but, while he was amongst us, his contribution to rock ‘n roll absolutely left an indelible mark. Motorhead certainly wasn’t every rock fan’s ideal but, for what they did, few did it better.
Seriously Bad Magic is out on February 24th via Silver Lining Music
 branded Motorhead ‘the worst band in the world.’){kind=link}