Motörhead – Bad Magic

Since the incredibly out of character 3 year gap between Motôrhead’s “The World Is Yours” and “Aftershock”, Lemmy and the gang have returned to form just 2 years later with their next offering of rock ‘n roll anthems. While the band’s frontman is unfortunately not holding up too well with the live performances these days, “Bad Magic” proves that he isn’t slowing down when it comes to writing great songs. As you might have already imagined, this album sounds like Motörhead. The band didn’t sell out or change their sound after album 2, album 12, and they aren’t doing it now with album 22.

The biggest concern coming into this record would be how Lemmy’s voice is holding up. Though I’ve seen some negative comments about his vocals, I’m not hearing anything bad on this record. He still utilizes an incredibly gruff, largely unmelodic tone in his singing. Obviously his range has decreased since the early records, but relative to “Aftershock” and other recent Motörhead albums, his performance on “Bad Magic” is par for the course. I saw the band back in 2011 and was a bit surprised at how shaky Lemmy’s bass playing looked, but he’s in fine form here, and even plays quite a few impressive licks. Of course, the immense power of drummer Mikkey Dee keeps the band charging forward at a rapid pace, but the star of this album is guitarist Phil Campbell. This album has many of his best lead guitar performances, as there are a ton of solos and most of them display some serious shredding.

Because Motörhead is so consistent with their general sound, the quality of each album usually comes down to how memorable the songs are. Fortunately, “Bad Magic” is quite possibly the strongest Motörhead album in years in this regard. The 1-2 punch of “Victory or Die” and “Thunder & Lightning” kick things off at a rapid speed metal pace and are two of Motörhead’s stronger tracks of the last decade. Immediately after this, the band slows down for something a little more rocking and bluesy with “Fire Storm Hotel”. Subsequent to this song, the band continues offering standard Motörhead tunes, with other highlights including “Electricity” and “The Devil”. "Till The End" is a ballad, and not particularly out of character given some of their other work, but it's nice to change up the formula for a song on each album. For a band that needs to do absolutely nothing and will forever have every metal fan’s respect, Motörhead keeps on delivering the goods!

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Highlights

"Victory or Die"

"Thunder & Lightning"

"Electricity"

Final Rating

4.1/5 or 82%. 

Written by Scott

Hexlust – Manifesto Hexcellente

Hexlust is an American death/thrash group hailing from the great state of Texas. Although the band has been around for about a decade, their first full-length record, “Manifesto Hexcellente”, arrived earlier this year. Enemies of modern thrash should not fear, however, as this album is very true to the old-school Texas thrash sound (one which was consistently more aggressive than many of their other American peers). The riffs on this release would not be out of place on records by Torture, Gammacide, Devastation, or any other number of local thrash bands. Gammacide is also a great comparison for the lead playing, which is incredibly chaotic and gives the tremolo bar an extended workout, but still has the ability to be melodic when necessary.

Hexlust’s vocal approach is designed to complement the insanity of the music. Though the first and last tracks open with a high-pitched scream, the singer spends the majority of the record barking out lyrics in a gruff tone, which brings comparisons to swifter bands like Sadus. This is particularly evident in the most potent track on this release “Toxic High”, where words fly out at unfathomable speeds. The rhythm section on this album does manage to shine more than in other thrash bands. While the production makes the guitars sound quite heavy, it does not let them take all of the low-end, meaning that the bass is audible. In general, it tends to support the rhythm guitar playing, but the sheer speed and tenacity of it is impressive. Likewise, the drumming is built around keeping the tempos high and the energy flowing. There are moments, however, where the drums take the spotlight, such as towards the end of “They Conjure”, which gives the band’s drummer an opportunity to unleash every fill in his arsenal.

On the whole, “Manifesto Hexcellente” is an interesting release because it successfully channels the spirit of the late 1980s thrash scene, when bands were becoming more extreme but without fully transitioning into death metal. There are still numerous elements on this release from the more extreme subgenre, but ultimately, Hexlust root their sound in thrash metal. The band’s songwriting isn’t entirely up to par with some of the aforementioned groups (particularly Torture and Gammacide), but it is above average, particularly when it comes to death/thrash. For this reason, “Manifesto Hexcellente” is a release that needs to be in your collection!

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Highlights

"Toxic High"

"They Conjure"

Final Rating

3.8/5 or 76%. 

Written by Scott

Cain’s Offering – Stormcrow

6 years after the release of their first album, the Finnish supergroup Cain’s Offering, featuring Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius) and Jani Liimatainen (ex-Sonata Arctica), is back with another new record. This time, metal’s best keyboard player, Jens Johansson (also from Stratovarius), has been added to the fold. This lineup is enough to convince any power metal fan that “Stormcrow” is worth a purchase, and fortunately for those of us that went in blind based on the names alone, this album delivers. From the opening epic choirs of “Stormcrow”, right until the beautiful melodic ballad “On The Shore”, this album is a testament to the value of having plenty of experience in the subgenre. As much as I hate using stock terms like “mature”, that really feels like the best way to describe this album, as it is clear that the band members are focused solely on writing great songs, and avoiding cheap thrills to catch the listener’s ear. Make no mistake; there is still plenty of over the top double bass, and some flashy keyboard and guitar playing, but “Stormcrow” does not rely on any of these to make an impact.

The above description may cause concerns that this album is similar the numerous power metal bands who continually mellowed-out and became boring as their discography became larger, but that isn’t the case here. There are a couple of ballads, but even the mid-paced songs are still pretty heavy. The keyboards tend to be a bit more orchestral in nature, and this makes the entire album sound huge, even when a particular riff might be tame (the ending of "Too Tired To Run" comes to mind). Unfortunately this factor pretty much wipes out the bass almost entirely, with a few exceptions whenever there is a verse with no guitars and minimal keyboards, but this isn’t a problem as the big name players are what drive Cain’s Offering. The drumming is very competent, but doesn’t standout at all. It really doesn’t need to though.

As you might expect, Timo Kotipelto is the star of this album. His range is not what it once was, but he knows the sweet spots in his voice and always hits them. He does an excellent job of delivering the power in power metal, but he can also completely own a ballad, as he does twice on this record (the aforementioned “Too Tired To Run” and “On The Shore”). There are quite a few songs where his performance elevates the track to the next level, and these songs tend to be the highlights. Even without him, however, the band still rules. The 6-minute instrumental “I Am Legion” is every bit as potent as the rest of the record, and even though it is near the end of the album and feels beyond grandiose and epic, it never gets tiring.

“Stormcrow” is not deserving of too much criticism. After numerous listens, the only consistently jarring moment is the main melody of “Antemortem”, which sounds far too close to Nightwish to truly be called a Cain’s Offering song. Nevertheless, the rest of the song makes up for this similarity by providing incredibly fun and memorable melodies. Aside from this, I’m always the first to recommend a shorter album, but even the weakest tracks (“My Heart Beats For No One” and “Rising Sun”) are awesome. If anything, this album might not be as obviously catchy as Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica, but it comes back to the idea of musical maturity, and Cain’s Offering has truly achieved it!

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Highlights

"Stormcrow"

"Constellation of Tears"

"On The Shore"

Final Rating

4.4/5 or 88%. 

Written by Scott