Motorhead - Bad Magic review

A lot changes over the course of 40 years...oh except for Motorhead, and on their 40th Anniversary album, Bad Magic, they're trying very hard to be as loud, brash and gritty as ever, with the consequence being a rather old and worn out sounding Lemmy Kilmister.

After four decades of shouting something has to give, and in this case it's Lemmy's voice. It's been well documented how ill he's been and from pictures online it's easy to see too. On Bad Magic there's nothing lacking in the music department - far from it - every song sounds as original as it's possible for a Motorhead track to be, but there's a real lack of oomph in the vocals. It's been said that on the final mix the producer actually had to boost the volume on Lemmy's vocal track because it wasn't audible enough over the bass, drums and guitar, which is obvious when you listen to the album because it's clear how much pressure his voice is under.

Normally the vocals/lyrics are make or break for me however with Motorhead, a band not exactly renowned for about clarity when it comes to vocals, I think I can look over it because of just how good the musicianship is. Phil Williams is spectacular on lead guitar and Mikkey Dee demonstrates his prowess behind the skins, keeping up with and adding to the insane drive that Lemmy offers with his un-bassist-like, chord/rhythm playing technique.

Motorhead, much like AC/DC, have been labelled by many as bands whose songs sound very similar one to the next, and this album follows that with just a few exceptions. The first of these exceptions being The Devil, which uncharacteristically to every other Motorhead song ever recorded, features a 'stop-go' rhythm as I'd call it, in that there is actual silence between notes in the chorus. Another thing to point on this track is that is has a guest guitarist in Queen's Dr. Brian May, and one things for sure, he doesn't mind getting his heavy on! It shouldn't be a surprise when May shows his musical flexibility but it's nice to hear him shred on a neck and not associate the ensuing genius with a previous track we've heard a thousand times before on commercial radio.

The other exceptions will definitely please the more rock than metal fans of Motorhead. Till The End is almost a hard rock ballad, starting slowly and building to a crescendo of classically Motorhead proportions. As well as this there is the album closer, an uncharacteristic cover; The Rolling Stones's 'Sympathy For The Devil'. Having heard Guns N Roses' abysmal attempt to cover one of the Stones' most well known tracks, I was more than pessimistic about yet another hard rock/Metal interpretation. However, I will report that it's not anything like as awful as Axl and co's version and in fact I quite like it. Lemmy's distinctive grunt fits very well with the depressing war/devil lyrics and the trio stay very true to the original structure, just adding traditional Motorhead grit and drive.

Verdict 3.5/5
Well it's typical Motorhead for three quarters of the album so normally I would only give that 2/5 or so. But on this occasion, with the added musical depth of two rockier tracks I'm happy to move that up to 3-3.5/5. I'm still not convinced by Lemmy's vocals, and there comes a point where you have to say no more, but the production team have done just well enough to mask his frailty enough to produce a good heavy rock/Metal album. I do feel the time is coming though when Lemmy will have to say no more and either scout for new vocal talent or end the band as is, although I don't think that's fair on Phil Williams or Mikkey Dee.

It's difficult to say how Bad Magic will be received by hardcore Motorhead fans but, knowing Metal fans, I think it'll still hit the spot.