Motörhead
The world is yours

"...I mean, you teach people that the Messiah was the result of the union between the wife of a vagabond (by the way, a virgin) and a spirit? And this would be the foundation of a worldwide religion? It doesn't convince me. I imagine that if Joseph bought this, he deserved to sleep in a stable!..." from "La sottile linea bianca- autobiografia"-Lemmy

So, the year ends with a certainty in the rock field. Lemmy will celebrate his sixty-fifth Christmas on December 24th, and we'll have the band's twentieth album under the tree. Just to maintain traditions.

The Motorhead, you either love them or hate them. Some tag them as chronically immobile, others praise their consistency. You cannot argue against the total dedication to rock of a figure, a living rock'n'roll cult, and recently, even the subject of medical studies focused on his extraordinary longevity, attempted and obstructed by all possible vices. Lemmy with his bass and the Motorhead spend their time recording records and touring, what more can you want from a band that plays rock? The skeptics will call for greater care in record releases, now on a biennial schedule, but Motorhead continue to deliver lessons and this "The World is Yours" is a behemoth capable of crushing the aspirations of any young band stepping into the music world.

No pause during the ten songs and forty minutes of this record. No slowdown or concession to ballads, which were, after all, not so poorly interpreted by Lemmy's cavernous voice. If some tributes to blues appeared in the last works, this time what blasts from the speakers is Lemmy and company's love for the primordial rock'n'roll, with which they grew up.

Rock'n'roll music, winks at the boogie rock of the best Ac/Dc, Scott era and the cheeky and final Bye bye bitch bye bye betrays the unconditional love for Chuck Berry, naturally reviewed at maximum volumes.
Then, when you listen to the more modern, heavy, and dark Brotherhood of man, with a more growling than usual Lemmy, you realize that Motorhead also like to change the game and surprise. With direct and explicit lyrics like the title track that urges everyone to take back the world that has ended up in the hands of a few powerful ones or the heavy criticism on religion that appears in Get back in line, ending with the only certainty, true religion, and salvation: rock'n'roll (Rock'n'roll music).

The rest are, more or less, conventional mid-tempos with the Motorhead brand deeply imprinted with plenty of self-references, like the first single Get back in line, Outlaw or the opening entrusted to Born to lose, while I know what you need travels at a faster pace. Anyway, it's worth highlighting the always remarkable performance of Philip Campbell on guitar and in the solos scattered throughout all the tracks, a guitarist who is always too underrated, and the relentless power of Mikkey Dee on drums, perfect companions of master Kilmister for many years now and the most stable lineup in the group's history.

In times like these, it's always good and advisable to play it safe, even in music. Motorhead have never betrayed. Merry Christmas and happy birthday, Lemmy!