"
This is a very good album.", Lemmy 'sez', "
Put it in your system and your girlfriend's clothes fall off."
Wow, when I read those words, I was intrigued. I knew this had to be the next '
Motorhead' that I purchased, just hoping that Lemmy's words rang true.
'
Sacrifice' is the second, and last '
Motorhead' album to feature Lemmy on bass/vocals, Campbell and Wurzel on guitars, and Dee on drums, seeing as Wurzel left the band afterwards.
But after hearing the first song, I knew that in no way that any article of clothing would come flying off my girlfriend if she heard this (Even though I don't have one, but you catch my drift).
Delving deep into the realm of the darkest corners of their minds, '
Sacrifice' aims to hit you hard and keep you stumbling with its heavy assortment of thick riffs and ripping drums, but while it does that, it never once gives you a truly great musical experience. You're left with the impression that while they aimed to be loud and dirty, and certainly achieved that mark, they lost a good deal of their musical flavor.
What Makes This Album Not As Good'
Well, as much as I don't like to compare a past album to a future one, it feels very well suited here. Take a look at '
Motorhead's' '
Inferno'. It packed a huge punch, was raw and heavy, but it also had a hint of flavor with the talented guitarwork. Here, on '
Sacrifice', its just dumbed down in order to sound heavy. The opener, '
Sacrifice' features some weary-chugging riffs that never really seem to take the song anywhere, and after awhile, with no variation, it feels flat and drawn out. The same can be said for others, such as '
War for War', and for the most of the song on '
Order/Fade to Black', although at some parts the song kicks it up a few notches with some speedy thrash-like riffs. '
Over Your Shoulder' sounds like '
Motorhead' is trying to dig too far into the Heavy category, with riffs based off of so heavily distorted palm mutes. The same thing can be said for '
Dog Face Boy'.
Another thing that tends to frequently bother me while I listen to this is the fact that Wurzel and Campbell can play very well when they unchain themselves, but they are so bland here its enough to make one sick. Not only do all the riffs sound the same after awhile, but also their solos are usually god-awful. A few of these songs don't even have one. The solo on '
War for War', while long, is extremely boring, and after awhile you might not even think it's a solo (but it is) because its played so slow that it sounds like its repeating itself. Others, like the one on '
Sex and Death' are actually kind of pitiful, as it seems like he stays on the same 4 notes the whole time.
The carefree, restless lyrics that once found themselves all over '
Motorhead's' songs are sadly almost non-present here. In their spot are now darker themes. Lines such as '
In you the poison breeds,
Crawling with the mark of Cain', which are off of the title track, seem to pollute and dominate this album.
Is There Anything That Seems to Redeem This Album'
Not all the songs on here are dreadfully boring. '
Sex and Death', while featuring that pathetic solo I described earlier, has a rockin Old-Motorhead feel to it, with its Punk like speed and aggression. Another good listen would '
Don't Waste Your Time', with its nice Bluesy/Southern-Rock guitars and even comes with a piano. '
In Another Time', while featuring a good of heaviness from the other tracks on here, still has a huge groove to it, especially during its chorus. The closer, '
Out of the Sun', has another Old-School Motorhead feel to it, and even packs a slightly melodic chorus.
Lemmy still hasn't changed at all. Which is still a great thing. His voice this time around, however, seems to feel darker and deeper, especially on tracks like the title track and '
War for War'. He still never really goes outside his vocal range of just gruff-talkin, but on the track '
Don't Waste Your Time' he voice really jumps around, giving it some great energy. As I mentioned before, '
Out of the Sun' has a nice little melodic chorus, where Lemmy switches to a more soft-tone talking.
'
Conclusion'
This could quite possibly be '
Motorhead's' most lacking album they have ever released. It has some good tunes here and there, but its not enough to outweigh the repetitiveness and dullness that seems to plague this album. I'd recommend buying this only if you are a die-hard '
Motorhead' fan, cause if you're not, you really need to go pick something else like '
Overkill', or if you want something heavy, well actually something heavier than this, go pick up '
Inferno'. You will far enjoy it over this.
Overall 2/5
Recommended Tracks:
Sex and Death
Don't Waste Your Time
In Another Time
Out of the Sun
