Motörhead

My wife’s response when I gleefully announced the arrival of Motörhead’s latest was an eye-rolling moan followed by, “Aren’t they ever going to stop?” Let’s hope not. Bassist Lemmy, supported by Phil Campbell on guitars and Mikkey Dee on drums, never fails to satisfy the admittedly macho craving for music that is fast, furious and LOUD. This one kicks off with a squeal of guitar feedback and the roar of Lemmy’s Rickenbacker bass impersonating the whine of a German Stuka on its way to dive-bomb the “Sucker” who aroused his ire. The following “One Night Stand” features one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll riffs ever translated into digital bits and reintegrated to challenge a set of speakers. But Lemmy is as much social critic as party-monger. As he says in “Sword of Glory,” “Don’t you realize the only way is to see why all those brave men died in vain. If all that slaughter doesn’t make you sad, you’ll just make the same mistake again and again and again.” If you like your rock big, bad and intelligent, get this.