Motörhead - Kiss of Death (2006)

So we are into album number 18 out of 22, and I gotta be honest, I am struggling to find things to say in the beginning of these reviews now, simply because it is Motörhead, what you hear is what you get. It might also be because the albums are starting to blend into each other, missing some distinct personalities. It is something I expected going into this band's discography, but I gotta say, there are surprisingly a lot of variety still in these albums, even if these later records are more... faceless (or in other words, as grey as that poster).

Not to say that "Kiss of Death" lacks any personality or distinct feature, it just does its job and continues on the slightly heavier path that "Inferno" started. The only difference between them is the quality of the songs, a department where "Inferno" really shined. "Kiss of Death" definitely have some quality songs in here, but they are not as great or memorable, which does confirm a statement I made in a previous review, that the quality of a Motörhead album ultimately rests on the impact of the songs.

That obviously does not mean that the songs on "Kiss of Death" are pure trash, most of them are just not too memorable. But there are several really enjoyable songs in here that entertain in classic Motörhead manner. "Sucker" is just another great opening track by the band, a ripper that gets things going quickly, while "Devil I Know" is pretty standard, but has some fantastic one liners that are so typical Lemmy in its humour, like "I might be a dog/but honey, you're a bitch". Lemmy's serious side gets to shine too in the song "God Was Never On Your Side", a well paced ballad that is a nice change of pace in the middle of the record. Definitely one of their stronger ballads. We also get a return of Doctor Rock, who first appeared in "Orgasmatron", in the adrenaline filled "Going Down", a strong finisher (unless you listen to the version that has a remade cover of "R.A.M.O.N.E.S").

But as said before, there are not too many songs in here that are too memorable, being lesser versions of other Motörhead songs. They are all enjoyable songs, for sure, but it is not easy to remember them, even after several listens. I think the most memorable of the bunch is "Kingdom of The Worm", just because of its strange lyrics and very, very heavy style. It is an interesting tune, but it is kind of confusing as well. I am also confused on how one song from one of the Tony Hawk games sneaked its way into the setlist, and called itself "Trigger". It is fun and all, but Motörhead playing skate punk? Just weird.

So this album does have a lot of stuff going for it, several different songs that contribute different things, from speed and heaviness to fragile ballads, but it does not really come together in the end. It is a bunch of songs that are fairly decent, but the inconsistent quality is hurting the album pretty bad. Still, I like "Kiss of Death", and even if none of the songs might be worthy of any top ratings or so, they are still fine. A harmless album that fills the silent void in your soul for a little while, until you find a record with a little more meat.

Songs worthy of recognition: Going Down, God Was Never On Your Side, Kingdom of The Worm

Rating: 7/10 Suckers

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