MOTÖRHEAD — Bastards (review)

MOTÖRHEAD — Bastards album cover Album · 1993 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Bastards" is the 12th full-length studio album by UK heavy/hard rock act Motörhead. The album was released through ZYX in November 1993. Although drummer Mikkey Dee had played on the "Hellraiser" track from "March or Die (1992)", "Bastards" is the first Motörhead album where he plays on all tracks. While he is only credited as a "special guest" drummer on "Bastards", he would soon officially join Motörhead as a permanent member. This also meant that Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor was now out of the band for good. The rest of the lineup from "March or Die (1992)" is intact: Lemmy Kilmister on bass and vocals, Mick "Wurzel" Burston and Phil Campbell on guitars.

The music on "Bastards" is in the trademark Motörhead no nonsense hard rocking blues based rock´n´roll style with a metal edge, so no surprises there. The addition of Mikkey Dee to the ranks gives Motörhead a new dimention though. His playing provides a harder edge to the band´s sound. "Burner" is probably the best example of that but tracks like "Death or Glory" and "Liar" are also pretty hard edged and heavy. As on most Motörhead albums the standard of all tracks are quite high but not all tracks stand out equally much. In this case the less remarkable tracks are still pretty great though, so songwriting wise "Bastards" is definitely one of the band´s stronger albums.

Standout tracks include the opening track "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees", the above mentioned "Burner", "Death or Glory", and "Liar", the power ballad track "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" (featuring some pretty heartbreaking lyrics about incest and an unusually emotional sounding Lemmy singing the song), and of course the Motörhead classic "Born To Raise Hell" with its infectious chorus and boogie rhythm. It´s also interesting to note that the verse on "We Bring The Shake" features a strong Hawkwind influence.

The sound production is powerful and professional. It´s one of the more polished sounds on a Motörhead album and while I generally prefer the more gritty sounding productions by the band, this sound suits the music well. So upon conclusion "Bastards" is a great quality release by Motörhead and to my ears it´s one of the most remarkable and accessible releases in the band´s discography. A 4 star (80%) rating is warranted.
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