MOTORHEAD - Kiss Of Death
July 15, 2006, 18 years ago
(Sanctuary)
Lem has always been a master wordsmith, with a stunning intellect that confounds those that judge a book by its cover, yet on the new baker’s dozen he cooks up a gourmet batch of goodies, from appetizer through to dessert. ‘Sucker’ comes shooting out the gate like a lost Bastards tune, then comes the clever penmanship. ‘One Night Stand’ is in the style of 4/4, ZZ Top-inspired honky-tonk blues, with the line “I’ve been a slut all my life/wish every night was a one night stand.” Featuring a clean (!) bass flourish, ‘Devil I Know’ is a kiss-off song, proudly declaring, “I may be a dog, but honey you’re a bitch!” As a complete change of pace, there’s the acoustic guitar and synthesized strings of ‘God Was Never On Your Side’, the titular phrase being Lem’s only message. ‘Christine’ is a simple paean to sex, while ‘Sword Of Glory’ is a heady warning to young, gung-ho soldiers. A decidedly industrial screech opens ‘Kingdom Of The Worm’, before falling into standard bouncy Motorhead rhythm, constant ride cymbal courtesy of Mikkey Dee. ‘Going Down’ references former lyrics, including “You can’t mess with Dr. Rock. We’ve got all the aces and we’ve got them up our sleeve.” The disc closes with ‘Ramones’, a song that first appeared 15 years ago, on 1916. After 30 years, it’s amazing how Lemmy can keep it sounding so lively, if not fresh, enough for repeated airings (maybe Chuck Berry was onto something, way back when).
