Aural Fixations

MOTÖRHEAD
Inferno
(Metal-Is/Sanctuary)
Like the inevitable onslaught of fireworks stands before the fourth of July, or a bad penny that consistently turns up, 2004 brings another new album from the unstoppable hard rock juggernaut that is Motörhead. Lemmy and his crew seem to align themselves more and more closely with the metal genre, always the base of the most welcoming and loyal fans of the band, even though the British trio has always had as much in common with punk and bar-band rock & roll as heavy metal. A lot of fans blame guitarist Phil Campbell, who definitely favors certain twiddly fingerings and ultra-distorted tones, but let's not forget: Motörhead is Lemmy's show, always has been and always will be, and there's nothing that happens on a Motörhead record that's not according to his will. As such, Inferno, the trio's umpteenth album, is mostly business as usual, with thundering rhythms, wall-smashing riffs, aggressive lyrics (just check out these song titles: "Smiling like a Killer," "Terminal Show," "Killers" and, of course, "Fight") and the bandleader's distinctive never-met-a-whiskey-bottle-or-pack-of-cigarettes-I-couldn't-consume growl. "Life's a Bitch" combines Lemmy's eye-rolling sense of humor with a typically bludgeoning riff for a new Motörhead standard, while "Suicide" recycles a classic song title ("Stay clean/Be true") for an unusually socially conscious message about resource overconsumption. "Keys to the Kingdom" uses a steady blues-rock groove to highlight a startlingly pessimistic Lemmy pronouncement of gloom and doom that would make Slayer proud. "Down on Me" could almost be accused of being Motörhead-by-the-numbers, but, as with the Ramones and Social Distortion, it doesn't matter much—not even a typically wanking solo from guest Steve Vai can shake the foundations. The group usually fits in a little experimentation amongst the chaos; here it's the good-natured acoustic blues of "Whorehouse Blues," which boasts a nice solo from Campbell and credible "mouth harp blues" from Lemmy. I don't know if I'd call Inferno a classic Motörhead album, but it's solid as a rock all the way through, with a number of really strong tracks. Besides, no one does Motörhead like Motörhead, so who else you gonna call? Michael Toland [buy it]