Artist: Motörhead
Label: Bronze Records
Released: 1979
Length: 36.48
Rating: 4/5
Sometimes you really don’t know what to think. Just for example: the other day a pop-science special on human evolution was pushing its way out of the TV screen at me, taking a relaxed stroll through the millennia and then smugly painting us at the top of the pyramid, as some kind of dominant being capable of abstract thought and self-reflection. How lovely! Then you suddenly remember Motorhead and every evolutionary theory evaporates, and all the Darwinisms become about as convincing as Draža Mihajlović’s personal hygiene manual. Once skin parasites become a reality, a rocky fantasy world soon opens up before us, where breaking your partner’s bones counts as a peculiar stylistic challenge, and speed-peeing contests and castrating the losers are part of philosophical contemplation at the highest level. Ah, nostalgia!
Motorhead are thus synonymous with perfectly tuned Neanderthal revelry, and Bomber is one of their greatest triumphs. The album is a production phenomenon all its own, full of tricks heaped together and sharpened way beyond all reasonable limits, tailor-made for conjuring up an image of total chaos that brilliantly defines the signature Motorhead sound (we’re talking about the classic Motorhead lineup, of course). It’s a completely unpolished, raw demonstration of the nastiest rock & roll you can imagine, which, ethical and moral questionability notwithstanding, serves its purpose perfectly. Lemmy shines again with his spicy lyrics, which seem never to have cut stronger or deeper. Masterful wordplay juggling, shielded by distorted bass, spits uncompromisingly in every direction, naturally far beyond the reach of the pampered punk protest he’s too often associated with. Bomber reveals Lemmy’s poetic ambitions for the first time, nobly seeping through all spheres of our everyday lives.
Taken as a whole, Motorhead don’t stray from the path they laid out on Overkill with Bomber. What a surprise! If anything, the boys just add a few more decibels! Lemmy and Clarke remain untamed stallions, at times really coming across like first-class cattle drivers without an ounce of sensitivity, whose here-and-there tight playing somehow, by some miracle, stays firmly hitched to the snarling rhythmic undercarriage of “Philty Animal” Taylor. In short, the trio is perfect! So it’s no wonder that, despite the deafening rattle that pounds your ears to exhaustion, it’s hard to resist gems like Stone Dead Forever, Dead Men Tell No Tales, Lawman or Sharpshooter. Thanks to Lemmy’s biting lyrical maneuvers, where the lines “I guess I poisoned my life, it’s better than marrying a wife”, reign supreme, Poison remains a favorite for wedding anniversaries (if nothing else, this time you won’t have to waste money on champagne). And if you’re a fan of the persona and work of Dimitrij Rupel, then All The Aces holds the key to your heart.
Dance nights with Motorhead are always something special, especially when the ferocious “Fast” Eddie Clarke grabs the mic, to the sorrow and horror of everyone present, of course! The bizarre blues of Step Down is hard to digest even for the iron stomachs of the average Motorhead pest who’s used to the worst. Yet another proof that leading the Motorhead squadron isn’t just a matter of primal instinct but also of style, as the toxic cynicism of Talking Head nicely shows, airing out your brain thoroughly. But Motorhead save the best for last, when the trio on Bomber turn their noses 90 degrees and plunge uncompromisingly into a phenomenal adrenaline dive, where Philty gets his latest in a series of visits from kind Auntie Epilepsy, while the other two bravely steer toward doom! A total holocaust that will put the fear of God in you in barely half an hour!
Lineup
Lemmy Kilmister: vocals, bass
“Fast” Eddie Clarke: guitar, vocals
“Philty Animal” Taylor: drums
Production
Jimmy Miller
Tracklist
1. Dead Men Tell No Tales
2. Lawman
3. Sweet Revenge
4. Sharpshooter
5. Poison
6. Stone Dead Forever
7. All The Aces
8. Step Down
9. Talking Head
10. Bomber
