No Big Shock...Motorhead's "Aftershock" Is a Metal Masterpiece

"Aftershock" is Motorhead's 21st studio album. Digest that tidbit for a second. Twenty-one albums. Music trends come, go, then resurface in the spirit of what's old is new again so for any band in any genre to be able to say it's put out 21 albums is nothing short of miraculous. What much less surprising is that "Aftershock" lacks one solitary dud track. "Heartbreaker" has all the power riff goodness guaranteed to whisk you back to their '80s days and then cause you to do a double take, asking yourself, "Hey wait a minute! There's no real difference between then and now. As usual Lemmy abrasive chops screech with all those hard days on the road that he's accumulated over the course of a career that to say it's been an enviable run is about as well duh as claiming the sky's blue (storm cloud days notwithstanding) and the grass is green (Texas may get a pass during summer months because the color of grass, at least where suburban lawns are concerned, is more likely to be brown). "Coup de Grace" channels brute metal strength. This is definitely an example of a track that makes one think of the '80s metal days. Lest we forget the band can get bluesy with the best of 'em, "Lost Woman Blues" is your open and shut case. The song comports itself with a definitive strut. It knows it's got the best grind of any of the metal pretenders in the room. Why be afraid to flaunt what's an ample gift, right? "End of Time" goes into all out ear assault mode from the onset. Props of course go out to Phil Campbell for the unapologetic barrage of guitar wizardry. If Lemmy's the stone that does make Phil the undisputed sorcerer. Speak of Lemmy he's not shy about getting excited over his belief in the power of rock 'n' roll. The potent "Do You Believe" is pretty gleeful, if Lemmy does in fact have that giddy emotion in his psychological bag of tricks. I praise him for being a no bullshit kind of guy. In a world where much supposedly adult discourse is ladled with enough bullshit to successfully sink the Titanic, it's a breath of alcohol-enabled fresh air to hear Lemmy tell it like it is. You know something? I see why Lemmy is an easily acquired taste. Getting someone to be straight with you is some impressive gift. "Dust And Glass' produces a quintessentially metal line. Being that metal has never exactly been one to steer clear of dark corners who out there could possibly be shocked to hear Lemmy to claim we're born in pain, end in grief. How uncompromising can you get. Mikkey Dee lets it rip from every conceivable angle of his drum kit. Although he's not the original skins basher his prowess could easily convinced newbies and vets alike that's he's been with them since the dawn of Time. "Aftershock" won't allow you to get complacent about what you're digesting. It's as if they're insisting, "Today's music is too half-arssed! Let's show today's young ones what true artistry is really all about!!" Lemmy doesn't know how to cut a toothless record. The result is a victory for anyone who needs to let off more than a slight bit of steam after an exhausting work day, argument with the wife and/or kids, you name it...Get set to tingle with fiendish delight. "Aftershock" is primed to buckle your knees, rearrange your brain cells and, if a few dishes fall to the floor with a penetrating crash, that's the added bonus telling you the masters were hard at work. No bones about it...this is a masterpiece of epic proportion.