MOTORHAD / THE WORLD IS YOURS
Posted by justgotwicked in Music News, tags: 35 Years, Ace Of Spades, Anthem, Dee, Drummer, Fist, Groundbreaking, Guitarist, Handful, Kiss Of Death, Lemmy, Lyrical Approach, Memorable Album, Nwobhm, Phil Campbell, Rock N Roll, Rock N Roll Music, Second Half, Steam, Turning Point
You can sum up The World Is Yours in one word. Motörhead. There is nothing groundbreaking about this album, nothing jumping out at you as the most memorable album you’ve ever heard and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be for Lemmy and company. Why change a formula that’s worked for so many years this far into the game when the formula has always made for fist pumping rock ‘n roll with the undeniable Motörhead trademark? Twenty albums and 35 years in, Lemmy still sounds just as fresh as ever which most bands can’t say about a decade of work.
The World Is Yours begins with ‘Born To Lose’ which sounds like it should be on 2006’s Kiss Of Death while having the catchiness of anything off of Ace Of Spades which definitely isn’t a bad thing. Maybe it’s just me, but for some reason almost every opening track Motörhead has written has an anthem like feel to it that is just readymade to open their sets with. ‘I Know How To Die’ and ‘Get Back In Line’ pick up on the Motorizer sound again while maintaining Lemmy’s straightforward lyrical approach and a good old fashioned 70’s NWOBHM tempo to it. The chorus of ‘Devils In My Head’ reminds me very much of ‘Devil I Know’ off of Kiss Of Death coincidentally enough which gave me this feeling like I had already heard this song before upon first listen. ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Music’ falls right back into the anthem category as Lemmy’s ode to how great rock ‘n roll really is. Guitarist Phil Campbell also gets his first real chance to shine on the album here with a sound very reminiscent of Slash’s early work. This also becomes the turning point of the album. The first half of the album is very good and very much on par with the last handful of releases. The second half is where the album picks up steam and sets it apart from any other release. Phil and drummer Mikkey Dee show off their stuff much more in the second half as well by deviating from the mold with some nice little spots to show that this isn’t just Lemmy’s band. ‘Waiting For The Snake’ is probably my favorite song on the album. Lemmy makes me wonder if he’s also met most of the women I’ve ever known here: “You sleep like an angel baby, but I know you’re truly crazy.” Lemmy then reaches down a little bit deeper in ‘Brotherhood Of Man’ in a way that would make Randy Blythe quite proud. His vocals make it the darkest and most unique song on the album as it sounds like he’s narrating the apocalypse from the side of the devil. ‘Outlaw’ starts off with a very metal intro even if they hate being called metal, and then the whole song chugs along very nicely with a fast, catchy solo that leads into quick, crisp lyrics as if James Hetfield and the gang helped write this one. ‘I Know What You Need’ retains the up tempo sound but retains the unmistakably Motörhead sound even if the vocals were to be omitted. ‘Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye’ closes out the album in memorable fashion even if you can already guess exactly what the song is about. There’s definitely a few times that I wish this song had been written twenty years ago, but at least I’ll have it for the next twenty or so.
For as much as I absolutely adore Motörhead, I’m not going to jump on and say this album is a 10 out of 10 because it’s a solid 8 pretty much like everything else they’ve done. It’s rock solid from top to bottom which is the most important thing for any Motörhead album to me. To rate this album a 10 would mean that about 14 of their 20 previous albums would also be considered perfect and that’s obviously not the case. The album is brilliant in gapping the bridge between classic rock and punk rock of the 70’s with the modern day metal, but that can also be said about the majority of Motörhead albums. By saying that it’s a solid 8, it’s not an album that I will tire myself of by listening to over and over for the next six months. Instead it’s an album that will go in rotation with the rest of their catalogue for the next fifty years or however long I can retain my hearing. And as it’s going right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lemmy were still belting out catchy tunes about rock ‘n roll and crazy women by then.
