Bad Magic (180Gram Silver Picture Disc Vinyl）＜限定盤＞

トップ・スピードでロック街道を暴走し続けたロックンロールの帝王:MOTORHEAD。彼らにとって結成40周年を記念する作品であると同時に、レジェンド:レミー・キルミスターが遺した最期の作品となってしまった2015年作品『BAD MAGIC』が、4色展開の限定180グラム重量盤カラー・ヴァイナルとなって登場!(シルヴァー・カラー盤、限定盤)

A lot happened to Motorhead -- or more accurately to Motorhead's once and future leader, Lemmy Kilmister -- after the release of 2013's Aftershock, and most of it wasn't good. Lemmy, who along with Keith Richards seemed to be the rocker most likely to survive Armageddon (and why hasn't someone written a comedy where those two chat while foraging for liquor and cigarettes in the wake of World War III?), was abruptly revealed as all too mortal as he found himself struggling with heart trouble, diabetes, and other maladies, and more than a few fans blanched when they saw the widely circulated online video of a weakened Lemmy pacing off stage at the 2013 Wacken Open Air Festival, too frail to complete Motorhead's set. 2015's Bad Magic was the first Motorhead album after Lemmy cut back on liquor and tobacco (and had a defibrillator implanted), and returned to the road, and the truth is the mighty frontman sounds older and weaker for the ordeal. That said, it doesn't hurt as much as you might imagine; on Bad Magic, Lemmy sounds bloodied but unbowed, an ancient soldier who doesn't know the meaning of surrender and will happily run you through with a sword as he draws his last breath. If Lemmy croaks or wheezes more often on Bad Magic than he has before, it suits his tales of foul-minded bastards and their despicable deeds, and it's a fine fit with the bloody-minded attitude that has always been Motorhead's stock in trade. Just as importantly, Lemmy's bass work remains thunderous, as thick and dirty as it was in his salad days, and guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee continue to bring the noise in inspired fashion. Musically, this album brings very little that's new to the group's playbook, but they still sound like Motorhead, something thousands of younger and more agile bands simply cannot do, and if you're wondering if Motorhead can still kick your butt and blow out your speakers in 2015, the answers are "Hell yeah" and "You know it." And if the cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" seems an odd way to end this album, if anyone in metal can sound truly convincing as Old Scratch and oddly charming in his pursuit of evil, Lemmy's in the running, and Bad Magic suggests the man and his band might just be indestructible after all. ~ Mark Deming

結成40周年を迎えた老舗トリオによる22作目。全米22位を記録した前作はブルージーな色味の強い作品だったが、今回はファスト・チューンを主体とする作風で、〈これぞモーターヘッド!〉と言いたくなる出来。スタジオ・ライヴに近い形式で録られたというだけあり、ライヴ感も凄まじいし、6作連続でタッグを組んでいるプロデューサー=キャメロン・ウェブとの相性の良さも窺える。しかも、一気に聴きたくなる痛快な流れの終着点に収められているのは、ローリング・ストーンズ"Sympathy For The Devil"の渋くも毒気と色気のあるカヴァー。
bounce (C)増田勇一