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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing short of death could stop Lemmy, August 30, 2006
With all the recent metal CDs coming out recently or soon (Iron Maiden, Slayer, BLS)I got to thinking that Motorhead is about due for their bi-annual release and sure enough, about a week ago I looked it up and saw Kiss of Death to be released today! I didn't hesitate to pick it up.
As usual, Lemmy delivers. As long as he lives and as long as he is putting out music, he will never sell out or change his formula. This can be a mixed blessing, since one Motorhead CD sounds a lot like another, but after 30 years this can pretty much be expected.
Now on to the album... It definitely rocks... and hard. It's fast, heavy and everything else you expect Motorhead to be. However, I am only giving 4 stars because their last release Inferno, which was a masterpeice, is better.
Inferno had more standout tracks than this one, particularly "Suicide", "Life's a Bitch", "In the Year of the Wolf" and "Whorehouse Blues". Those 4 tracks alone made that one of my favorite Motorhead albums. While Kiss of Death has many great tracks, there aren't too many that really stick out at me like those.
Motorhead seems to have an every other album thing going on, at least for me. "We Are Motorhead" is my personal favorite CD of theirs. "Hammered" was good but not as consistent and "Inferno" is up there with "We Are" for me as one of their best.
"Kiss of Death" is great, but for me it all kind of runs together a bit and nothing stands out as much as so many other awesome Motorhead tracks I've come to love. Here's a song-by-song rundown...
~~"Sucker," the opening track, is really good. It reminds me of "On Your Feet or On Your Knees" from Bastards.
~~"One Night Stand" is a great track and has that dirty rock and roll feel like "Born to Raise Hell."
~~ "Devil I know" is an okay track with some okay riffs, but nothing too memorable.
~~"Trigger" has some good riffs but the chorus is a bit repetitive and annoying.
~~"Under The Gun" is one of my favorite tracks on here. It's heavy and has some great Motorhead grooves.
~~"God Was Never on Your Side" One of those rare Motorhead ballads that turn up now and then, I really like this track. For having a voice like bones grinding through gravel, Lemmy can actually sing when he wants to. Great guitar, acoustic and electric, and just songwriting in general.
~~"Living in the Past" Another one of my favorites. The riff is an instant favorite. It's got dark and angry with a an awesome groove. This is why I love Motorhead.
~~"Christine" Not one of my favorites. It's another one of the Bob Seger style rock and roll tracks, but it's really cliche and the lyrics are pretty stupid.
~~"Sword of Glory" I don't much care for this one either. The guitar riff and the chorus are bit annoying for me.
~~"Be My Baby" This one is good, it picks up the pace again.
~~"Kingdom of the Worm" I like this track as well, nice and dark and the lyrics are just plain weird. Good stuff.
~~"Going Down" Kiss of Death ends on a great note. This one rocks really hard and is another favorite on this album.
Overall this is a great Motorhead album. It may not be as great as "We are Motorhead," "Bastards" or "Inferno" but Lemmy can still write, heavy, fast and bluesy rock and roll and should go down into the rock and roll hall of fame. Like Dave Groll said "F*** Elvis, Lemmy is the real King of Rock and Roll"
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another very enjoyable day in the office of Motorhead, September 3, 2006
Being a band who has been around since 1975, and being a band who practically created a whole genre (speed metal) are two fairly astounding feats. Well now, Motorhead can officially add another bragging right to their list. Nowadays, there are very few bands who are twenty-years of age (or more) and still release albums that fans can know what to expect when listening to them. AC-DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Motorhead are all bands who are like that, but AC-DC haven't released a new disc in six years, and Ozzy only makes one per Leap Year. Thus, Lemmy, Phil, and Mikkey are the only consistently active band remaining in that group.
Some would argue that remaining so consistent isn't something to be proud of because it probably means that the band has played it pretty safe and not tried anything new. But look at it this way: Motorhead is the heavy metal equivalent of comfort food. Their albums are reliable, but not in a bad way because fans are never disappointed. After all, most Metallica fans hated "Load," right? Indeed, Motorhead are an old band who won't win any new fans, but they still have lots of juice left in them, and they're still able to kindle the same kind of excitement that they first produced thirty-some years ago.
Motorhead's twenty-third album, this year's "Kiss Of Death," is no different. It's a little short on surprises, but it covers all of the band's well-known and perfected bases, so the songs have a tried and true sound. The album is ripe with all of the Motorhead goods: groovey guitar riffs/leads, speed punk drumming, and frontman Lemmy Kilmister's famous throat cancer vocals and usually earnest lyrics.
"Sucker," bolstered by a propulsive, blistering riff, gets the album off on a strong foot (and would also make a great show starter). Later on, "One Night Stand" and "Under The Gun" are highlighted by great, wailing, ascending guitar solos, and songs like "Trigger" (which also features a classically catchy Motorhead chorus that'll stick to your brain), "Be My Baby," and "Kingdom of the Worm" all sport deep, adherent grooves, making them among the year's top cuts in speed metal. The acoustic tear-jerker, "God Was Never On Your Side" (which is just as depressing as previous ballads like 1993's "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me") also comes to mind when thinking of favorite tracks, and so do the fiery, chugging "Living In The Past," the toe-tapping rhythm of "Christine," and the super fast (almost careening) closer, "Going Down." The bonus material, "R.A.M.O.N.E.S.," is a cool track, but it's not worth going out of your way to get because it has shown up on a couple of other places in the past.
In short, "Kiss Of Death" might not be exactly unpredictable, but it will almost definitely satisfy any fan who buys today's Motorhead albums. And it might not quite rank up there next to "Ace Of Spades," but you should still definitely go ahead and add this one to your collection.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Living Proof, November 13, 2006
Wow, you would have expected Motorhead to have burned out by now right? DEAD WRONG. Kiss of Death follows right behind one of their best albums ever, Inferno. I'd say the only real mediocre Motorhead albums they ever made were Overnight Sensation, Hammered, Snake Bite Love, We Are Motorhead. They ran out of steam a little bit from the late 90's to the early 00's, but once they unleased Inferno it became apparant that the great Motorhead have many more great albums to deliver. Kiss of Death is borderline metal. The riffs on this album kill. If you like Motorheads heavier albums(Sacrifice, Inferno, Orgasmatron), then you will love this. even the ballad(God Was Never On Your Side) is good with a little synth thrown in. Other highlights include Sucker, Kingdom Of The Worm, Devil I Know, Trigger, and Under The Gun. There are still the fast and loud punky rock n roll songs on here, but there is a LOT of heavier riffage than normal. This is definitley a good thing, because Motorhead once again manage to make an album that sounds totally original and fresh. I recommend this album to ANY Motorhead fan of ANY era. It is worth repeated listens, and is probably the best album in rock to come out in 2006. This is the longest running line-up(Mikkey Dee, Phil Campbell, Lemmy), and I think the best. I am still amazed how so much loud and powerful music can come out of three people. This is instant classic Motorhead.
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