February 17, 1999

Everything Louder Than Everyone Else

So maybe there are falconry displays that say more about modern life than a [B]Motvrhead[/B] live album - there's little that says more about rock'n'roll....

6 / 10 So maybe there are falconry displays that say more about modern life than a Motvrhead live album - there's little that says more about rock'n'roll.

Recorded last November in Hamburg, 'Everything Louder Than Everyone Else' is another holiday snapshot of the metal monolith for the devoted fan, rough as a rocker's chin but a fine testament to the shaky virtues of longevity. Just listening to Lemmy (and his distinctly non-classic line-up) rampage through 'Killed By Death' is enough to make you hoarse, while 'The Chase Is Better Than The Catch' and 'Ace Of Spades' instantly turn human skin to denim.

All the time, your mind is filled with Lemmy, head back and bass down, shaking his hair like a Pantene ad gone hideously wrong. "Mo-tvr-head! Mo-tvr-head!" chant the crowd. "Yes, I know," he replies patiently. And he does. Rarely has one man had such flagrant disregard for the niceties of larynx or aorta, and you can hear that here in all its gargling charm. But that's the way he likes it, baby. He doesn't want to live forever. Thing is, on this evidence, the chances of death - or anything else - ever killing him seem very slight indeed.