Kiss of Death (CD - 2006)

It's been said that the only things certain in life are death and taxes. One can safely add Motorhead to that adage. The famed trio led by the iconic Lemmy Kilmister released its 23rd album with 2006's KISS OF DEATH. Giving the people what they want straight and true, Motorhead unleash their patented blend of blazing speed-metal riffage and punk-rock attitude across the album's 12 songs. And while KISS OF DEATH occasionally strays from Motorhead's classic template (most effectively on the gritty, surprisingly heartfelt lament "God Was Never on Your Side"), Lemmy certainly wasn't sleeping in class the day they taught that loud and fast is the rule (see: "Sucker" and "Going Down"). In fact, for some time now Mr. Kilmister has been principal of the whole school.

(Note: The North American version of the album contains a bonus re-recording of "Ramones," Motorhead's tribute to their kindred spirits from New York City.)

In the metal community, there are two veteran/legendary bands that, whenever they release a new album, you know pretty much what you're going to get. We're talkin' 'bout AC/DC and Motörhead, of course. While the former band now takes several years between albums, the latter cranks them out on a much more frequent basis, as evidenced by the arrival of 2006's Kiss of Death (which arrived barely over two years since 2004's Inferno). The fact that the hard-living group is still at it is an astonishing feat unto itself, but when you realize they're still keeping pace with the younger acts -- when it comes to touring and recording -- it's even more impressive. As expected, Kiss of Death contains quite a few new numbers that will sound right at home in the set list, nuzzled between "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill," including the album-opening "Sucker," as well as "One Night Stand" and "Christine." And following in the footsteps of the surprise acoustic ditty on their previous album, "Whorehouse Blues," comes another similarly styled track, "God Was Never on Your Side." Yet, overall, there are too many songs that sound like run-of-the-mill modern-day metal (such as "Living in the Past" and "Sword of Glory"), rather than the classic Motörhead sound you'd expect. Still, a mostly good Motörhead album like Kiss of Death easily manages to slay most of the fly-by-night foolers that are currently being showcased on the airwaves. ~ Greg Prato minimize