Motorhead-Inferno ****1/2

Brutal isn't the right word, just the first to come to mind. Inferno was Motorhead's 2004 album and one of their heaviest and all time best. Easily the strongest since 1995.

Mikkey Dee proves once again that he is currently the best drummer in all of rock n' roll. His power, speed, sometimes refrain, fills, and all around accuracy make him the man for the sticks! Philip Campbell is no slouch on Inferno either. Some of the best guitar playing of his career can be found here. His dueling lead work with the great Steve Vai on 'Terminal Show' and 'Down On Me' is stunning. But what is most amazing is his acoustic playing on 'Whorehouse Blues.' Then there is Mr. Kilmister. Some of his most vivid and image ridden lyrics ever. Not to mention his vocals are the best they have been since Another Perfect Day. Then his flawless bass playing which needs no introduction.

'Terminal Show' is one of the most intricate tracks the band has ever released as well as one of their best. 'Killers' is among their most intense. The angry protest of 'In The Name Of Tragedy' is classic Motorhead in the vein of the Iron Fist album of the early 1980's. 'In The Year Of The Wolf' might be the groups greatest song. 'Smiling Like A Killer' is Motorhead at their most evil, and intelligent at the same time.

'Whorehouse' shines above all though. It is the song we all knew Lemmy had in him since the beginning and when he finally wrote it he nailed it. Perfect line up for it as well. Top five Motorhead songs easily.

Inferno is really nothing new for Motorhead (with the exception of 'Whorehouse Blues') it is the same old formula just faster and louder. But they nail it (again). If your a fan and looking for yet another solid and great Motorhead album this will make a fine addition. No it isn't an instant classic, and yes they have made better albums; but Inferno won't do any harm to your record collection...except maybe melt all your other albums.

Thanks to Amazon.com, I got a new Motorhead CD, at a much lower price than at simular onling sites, and not to mention the on the spot timing amazon has with diliveries, when the say 3 days, it will be there in 3 days. And Motorhead is an amazing metal band that I have enjoyed listening to for years, The album is awesome, and its worth every pennie I spent on it, "In the year of the wolf" is my personal favorite song from the album. It takes some real musicianship to write such a powerful song, with such intense lyrics.

At this point in Motorheads career, their legacy is secure. Critically speaking, it doesn't matter too much what they do, its not really going to effect what the world in general will remember them for.

So the new albums are just the band throwing more songs onto the giant pile of awesome Motorhead material.

"Inferno" is no different. The sound remains the same, Motorheads still making music thats either the worlds heaviest rock or the worlds most groveable metal. Some of its more metal, some of its more rock, but it all sounds just like Motorhead.

In that respect, it's probably not going to convert people who don't like Motorhead, but who cares about them? "Inferno" is a great album, it totally rocks.

We get some true standouts like "Terminal Show" "In The Name Of Tradgedy" and "In The Year Of The Wolf" all of which are super heavy, rockin' and darn catchy.

The other songs here aren't that far behind, even if they won't be making any of my "Top Motorhead" lists, they certainly are great Motorhead songs.

And thats really what makes this album so great, its consistancy. Its all basically good. Usually there are one or two obviously weak tracks on most of Motorheads albums. But not on "Inferno."

There's no embarassingly bad, ham-fisted ballads or experiments like "1916" or "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" or "Serial Killer." The one 'experiment' on here is actually quite good (its a nice little acoustic blues jam), and they even put it at the end so as not to upset the albums momentum and tick off the closed-minded headbangers who can't enjoy some low-key blues once and a while.

Bottom line: "Inferno" is a top shelf Motorhead album, as good as, if not better than, anything they've done from "Orgasmatron" onward.

Yes it is amazing that Motorhead can still release great material considering that they released the debut album in 1977. Even though there was a short period in which they released two albums that were not up to par (1992's diaster "March or Die" and 1998's "Overnight Sensation")it is amazing that the band is still rocking this hard at this point, and considering their age, its even more impressive. "Inferno" is a fast paced album with the signiture Motorhead sound, which deliever just as hard as they did back in the "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill" days. Even though the album as a whole isnt as good as the two I just mentioned (and what Motorhead albums are??) it still great that they gave such a strong effort, and still to this day have never really sold out there sound (even though they had a major label for 1916 and March or Die, they quickly ditched Sony Records to release the Metal classic "Bastards") Hopefully many rock bands will follow the form of Motorhead and just worrying about releasing great music for their fans, and not trying to get greedy and change their sound just to make a few extra bucks. Enjoy this 2004 release, and hopefully a new release will be ready for us soon, and I am sure the band wont let us down.

Inferno is the latest offering from Lemmy and the boys and they prove to be as blisteringly heavy as ever. The current lineup consists of Lemmy on bass / vocals, Mickey Dee on drums, and Phil Campbell on guitars. No it is not the classic lineup, but this album has an energy and relevance that really pushes it to the same level as some of the bands prime era. Motorhead have been around for a long time and never achieved the fame and fortune that many of their followers did, but this album can stand up with just about any current metal band out there. The playing is downright brutal at times and Lemmy's gruff voice sounds as good (or bad depending on your perspective) as ever. The guitar work by Campbell is very good and Dee is solid on the drums. The album is chock full of great songs, Terminal Show, Killers, In The Name Of Tragedy, Life's A Bitch, In The Year Of The Wolf, and Smiling Like A Killer are all great heavy rockers. The band even closes the album with of all things an acoustic blues number called Whorehouse Blues. Great stuff, and with Lemmy singing it, funny as hell. I don't own a lot of Motorhead on CD, but every time I listen to this album it reminds me that I need to pick up more of their stuff. When you just want to listen to some seriously heavy music and head bang a bit, this album is the perfect prescription.