Bad Magic is the twenty-second and final studio album by the band Motörhead released on 28 August 2015, and is the fifth release under the UDR GmbH / Motörhead Music collaboration of the previous five years.
Due to the death of founder Lemmy Kilmister four months after the album's release, the band disbanded after 40 years on the road. Surviving members Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell stated to numerous media that the band was finished.
"When the Sky Comes Looking for You" was the only song from this album to be played live.
Video Bad Magic
Recording
Bad Magic was written and recorded in L.A., and Cameron Webb again produced the album. In an interview Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee told the press that the recording process was different than previously:
"..this time we were in a recording studio writing the album and all playing it together, actually. Before, we used to be in a rehearsal studio, write the songs and then we'd go in and record it one at a time, but here we kind of recorded it live, right away, as we had the song. We used to write very spontaneous, and this is probably even more spontaneous than any [previous] Motörhead [album]. But we really do enjoy the album. And it's a very live, very spontaneous record. I think that works best for us.."
Later Lemmy said the whole album was not recorded live, but they:
"..did about five tracks all together, so that much is true.."
Maps Bad Magic
Critical reception
Bad Magic received a Metacritic score of 80 out of 100, indicating generally positive reviews from critics. Chad Bowar of Loudwire wrote that the songs on the album had a timeless sound, meaning that listeners wouldn't know if they were written during the year the album was released or in the early '80s.
Ray Van Horn Jr from Blabbermouth.net, noted that with Bad Magic, given Lemmy's health problems:
"..[they're] on the verge of what might be [their] swan song...[Lemmy] exhibits the vocal wear and tear of a man whose long-beaten, gravelly pipes are betraying him due to a natural aging process.."
However, he continues that:
"..Lemmy is a freak of nature, and it's great to hear him ralph, croon and snarl with a give-a-damn will to live--you're a total piece of crap if you knock a guy who has given us his all for decades."
Sean Barry of Consequence of Sound points to the song, "Till the End", and writes that:
"..here the frontman relates his story and woes in some rundown pub on the outskirts of town. It also finds Lemmy coming to terms with who he is, and despite all his flaws, pledging to continue living as he has through the remainder of his life. And while the 70 years of said hell-raising show in the way he slightly slurs his vocals, he's just as virile and robust as he was on Overkill.."
Barry ends the review writing:
"..'Bad Magic' feels ancestral; you can feel it in your blood and in your bones. Even for those new to Motörhead, the album will have the power to recharge your love for all things rock 'n' roll. As a band that's been around for generations, Motörhead isn't just hanging around trying to keep themselves relevant. They're partying until the sun goes out and celebrating their own immortality.."
Commercial performance
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 35, No. 2 on the Hard Rock Albums chart, and No. 5 on the Rock Albums chart, selling 10,325 copies in its first week. The album has sold 36,000 copies in the United States as of June 2016.
Track listing
All tracks written by Kilmister, Campbell, Dee except where noted.
Personnel
Motörhead
- Lemmy Kilmister - lead vocals, bass
- Phil Campbell - guitars, backing vocals
- Mikkey Dee - drums
- Jimmi Mayweather and Nick Agee - backing vocals on "Shoot Out All Of Your Lights'"
- Brian May - guitar solo on "The Devil"
Production
- Cameron Webb - producer, mixing, engineer
- Sergio Chavez - engineer
- Nick Agee - engineer
- Mike Sassano - engineer
- Kyle McAulay - engineer
- Michael Fernandez - engineer
- Michael Eckes - engineer
- Robin Florent - engineer
- Kris Fredriksson - engineer ("The Devil" and Todd Campbell on "Victory or Die" and "Evil Eye")
- Motörhead - executive producers
- Lemmy - cover design concept, doodles
- Mark DeVito - cover art direction, design
- Steffan Chirazi - creative direction, booklet design
- Kai Swillus - creative direction, booklet design
- Robert John - photography
Charts
- Regarding French sales, the SNEP gives Bad Magic's highest position as 14.
References
External links
- Bad Magic at AllMusic
- Bad Magic at UDR
Source of article : Wikipedia
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