MOTöRHEAD - Aftershock

Motörhead chose the best title for their new record! Aftershock (2013) is indeed a smaller version of the earthquake they triggered 30-35 years ago with albums such as Overkill (1979), Ace of Spades (1980) and No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (1981)!

In fact, Lemmy has pretty much accustomed us with this sort of aftershocks, every two years, as a sign that the volcano fuelled by Jack, Marlboro and rock'n'roll is still active! Unfortunately, 2013 brought the first doubts about the band’s future, given Lemmy’s health issues - hardly a surprise given the speed at which he has lived his life so far! Lemmy admitted in the latest issue of Classic Rock Magazine that he didn’t expect to live to be 30, not to mention 68! And he also admits that, despite his stubbornness (“Fuck you! I don’t like people telling me what to do, even if they might be right!”), he finally had to give up cigarettes and whiskey. He still wouldn’t give up touring and rock'n'roll for the world (“I’m a roadaholic. When I’m not on the road, I miss it!”)!

This is why Aftershock (2013) shows no sign of weakness. For a first-timer it’s as good a starting point as any other Motörhead album, while a more seasoned listener might have a few very pleasant surprises.

The first of them is Heartbreaker, opening the album and blowing away all fears in 3 minutes, because it seems impossible that someone with a defibrillator implant would play that! But not when that someone is Lemmy!

The second surprise is the excellent Lost Woman Blues, which may seem atypical for Motörhead, due to the slow pace of its first part, leaving exposed the underlying blues and rock’n’roll structure that has always been there! “We are Motörhead and we play rock’n’roll!”, right?

Another pleasant surprise is how many songs will remind you of the first Motörhead albums: End of Time, Do You Believe (similar at one point with Emergency, from the EP St. Valentine's Day Massacre, released in 1980 together with Girlschool), Death Machine - sounds like Another Perfect Day (1983), Queen of the Damned and Paralyzed (which I see related with the famous Overkill).

Of course this doesn’t mean that the rest of the album should be ignored; on the contrary, it contains the usual balance between heavy (such as Going to Mexico) and hard parts (Crying Shame and Keep Your Powder Dry) and even a ballad (Dust and Glass).

I can only agree with Lemmy when he says about Aftershock (2013) that “it’s got everything a rock'n'roll person could wish for.”

Gedi Nota: 9.5