Motörhead
Orgasmatron

A riff harder than granite bursts through the front door in one fell swoop and starts the race: it’s the run of "Deaf Forever", a true locomotive that sweeps away any obstacle in its path and drags behind an unstoppable infernal train named 'Orgasmatron'.

That's how, with a real breakthrough, an album begins, "Orgasmatron" indeed, which has no other pretensions than to be devastating from start to finish and to fry the listener's ears, promises that will largely be kept.

A recent lineup change in Ian Fraiser Kilmister’s Motörhead, affectionately known as Lemmy, the only real constant of the band, which, just two years before this album's release, saw the departure of the legendary Eddie Clarke and Phil Taylor, replaced by three new elements, Wurzel and Phil Campbell on guitars and former Saxon Pete Gill on drums.

In 1986, after a break-in period, a work emerges from a tight-knit and full-of-life group, the most destructive since 'Ace of Spades'. After the first mid-tempo track, a true masterpiece of the band that delivers a bestial charge with its relentless rhythm, from which, however, one can also discern the real and only weak point of the album, namely the production and sound, which are really unsuitable, it moves on to a non-stop torrent of intense tracks soaked in that style that all Motörhead fans seek and often manage to find: notably, the carefree "Nothing Up My Sleeve" and the abrasive "Claw", with a battering-ram intro taken directly from "Overkill". With the sixth track, it returns to a more measured tempo, but the quality doesn't drop: "Built For Speed" is a classic, here the guitars sync perfectly with hard-rock riffs while Lemmy asserts, in case anyone hadn’t noticed, that he was born for rock’n'roll, all he needs, and thus was built for speed.

Speed that bursts back in with the seventh track "Ridin' With The Driver", which leads to the grand finale with fireworks: first the well-known "Dr. Rock", rock’n’roll track, obviously weighted just right, not trivial in its lyrics yet catchy, although not one of my favorites; then finally it’s the moment for the title-track, a long ride sustained by a strange "sighing" rhythm that clearly hints at what the name 'Orgasmatron' alludes to. Depicted on the now legendary cover, it’s Orgasmatron himself, obviously personified by the grumbling Lemmy, introducing himself and speaking about him with an even hoarser and meaner voice than usual, delivering an inimitable heavy and underground atmosphere, marred only partly by the usual flaw of the sound, too mushy and "lighter" than usual; the recording quality will instead return excellent with "Rock'n Roll", the following album.

But the ferocity and the overwhelming energy that the four want to convey reach their destination all the same, and the great tracks contained in the record will shine, as always, much more live.

Once again, Lemmy teaches.

'Orgasmatron'

1986

Line-Up:
Ian Fraiser "Lemmy" Kilmister: Vocals & Bass
Philip Campbell: Guitars
Wurzel: Guitars
Peter Gill: Drums

Tracklist:
1) Deaf Forever
2) Nothing Up My Sleeve
3) Ain't My Crime
4) Claw
5) Mean Machine
6) Built For Speed
7) Ridin' With The Driver
8) Doctor Rock
9) Orgasmatron