Motorhead, 'Motorizer'

Backstory: Three decades after the band’s debut and now 20 albums in, Lemmy Kilmister and crew are still kickin’ out an ugly mix of blues, ‘50s rock, thrash and punk. Yes, they patented an original sound, but does the world really need another Motorhead album?

Why you should care: To answer that rhetorical question: yes and no. The band hasn’t progressed musically since the early ‘90s, when albums like “1916” and “March or Die” threw in an occasional ballad, pop-metal anthem, Ramones tribute song or mainstream collaboration (Slash, Ozzy). Here, outside of “Rock Out” (and yes, they do add “with your cock out”), there’s actually even less melody than usual, with several tracks (“Buried Alive”, “Time is Right”) that churn along without any real hook or, it seems, reason to exist. When the band does mix it up, during the anti-war “Thousand Names of God” or grungy “One Short Life,” it’s almost a relief. Hey, even near-perfect one-note musical assaults need to mix it up a bit (AC/DC, you listening?)

Verdict: The band can play, and the songs still hit very hard. But they don’t quite have the same impact as before—which has more to do with the lack of surprises than any loss of musical chops.

X-Factor: Another no-big-surprise: the album’s only real anthem, “Rock Out,” was chosen as the theme for an upcoming WWE pay-per-view (“Unforgiven”).

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