Bad Magic

Bad Magic is the 22nd 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.[1]

Bad Magic
Studio album by
Motörhead
Released28 August 2015 (2015-08-28)
Recorded2015
StudioNRG Studio, Hollywood, California
Maple Studios, Santa Ana, California
Grandmaster Studios
GenreHeavy metal, hard rock
Length42:57
LabelUDR GmbH
ProducerCameron Webb
Motörhead chronology
Aftershock
(2013)		 Bad Magic
(2015)		 Clean Your Clock
(2016)

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 Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee stated to numerous media that the band was finished.[2]

"When the Sky Comes Looking for You" was the only song from this album to be played live.[3] In 2016, the album received an ECHO Award nomination for Best Rock/Alternative International, but eventually lost to Iron Maiden's The Book of Souls.[4]

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.."[5]

Later Lemmy said the whole album was not recorded live, but they:

"..did about five tracks all together, so that much is true.."[6]

The cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" was recorded at the request of pro wrestler Triple H.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Blabbermouth.net8.5/10[10]
The Boston Globefavourable[11]
Consequence of SoundB[12]
The Guardian[13]
Loudwirefavourable[14]
Metal Storm9.2/10[15]
Record Collector[16]
AntiHero Magazine[17]
RockRevolt Magazine[18]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[19]

Bad Magic received a Metacritic score of 80 out of 100, indicating generally positive reviews from critics.[8] 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.[20]

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.."[21]

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."[21]

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.."[22]

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.."[23]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 35,[24] No. 2 on the Hard Rock Albums chart,[25] and No. 5 on the Rock Albums chart,[26] selling 10,325 copies in its first week.[27] The album has sold 36,000 copies in the United States as of June 2016.[28]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kilmister, Campbell, Dee except where noted.

CD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Victory or Die" 3:09
2."Thunder & Lightning" 3:06
3."Fire Storm Hotel" 3:35
4."Shoot Out All of Your Lights" 3:15
5."The Devil" 2:54
6."Electricity" 2:17
7."Evil Eye" 2:20
8."Teach Them How to Bleed" 3:13
9."Till the End" 4:05
10."Tell Me Who to Kill" 2:57
11."Choking on Your Screams" 3:33
12."When the Sky Comes Looking for You" 2:58
13."Sympathy for the Devil" (the Rolling Stones cover)Jagger/Richards5:35
Total length:42:57

Personnel

Motörhead

Additional musicians

  • 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.[60]

References
  1. "Motörhead to release Bad Magic in August". Blabbermouth.net. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. music, Guardian (2015-12-31). "Mikkey Dee: Motörhead is over, of course". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  3. "Motorhead 'When the Sky Comes Looking For You' premier". www.revolvermag.com. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  4. "Germany's 'Album Of The Year' isn't Adele's 25 - it's a Christmas record". Music Business Worldwide. April 8, 2016.
  5. "Motörhead's Mikkey Dee On 'Bad Magic': 'I Know It's A Great Record'". Blabbermouth.net. June 26, 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  6. Childers, Chad (August 17, 2015). "Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister Talks 'Bad Magic' Album, Motorboat Cruise + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. Triple H request
  8. Bad Magic at Metacritic
  9. Deming, Mark. XXXX: Bad Magic – Motörhead at AllMusic
  10. Van Horn, Jr., Ray. "MOTÖRHEAD – "Bad Magic"". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  11. Morse, Steve (August 27, 2015). "Album review: Motörhead, Bad Magic". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  12. Barry, Sean (August 27, 2015). "Motörhead – Bad Magic". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  13. Lawson, Dom (27 August 2015). "Motörhead: Bad Magic review – indecently thrilling and vital". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  14. Bowar, Chad (August 28, 2015). "Motorhead, 'Bad Magic' – Album Review". loudwire.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  15. "D.T. Metal" (29 August 2015). "Motörhead – Bad Magic review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  16. McIver, Joel. "Bad Magic". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  17. Kussmaul, Jake (8 October 2015). "Album Review: MOTÖRHEAD – Bad Magic". AntiHero Magazine.
  18. Roques, Alice (7 October 2015). "Album Review: Motorhead – Bad Magic". RockRevolt.
  19. "Motorhead Bad Magic". Sputnikmusic. 7 August 2015.
  20. Bowar, Chad. "Motorhead, 'Bad Magic' – Album Review". Loudwire. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  21. Van Horn Jr., Ray. "Motörhead – Bad Magic". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  22. Barry, Sean (August 27, 2015). "Motörhead – Bad Magic". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  23. Bad Magic (liner notes). Motörhead. UDR. 2015.CS1 maint: others (link)
  24. "The Billboard 200". Billboard. September 19, 2015.
  25. "Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. September 19, 2015.
  26. "Rock Albums". Billboard. September 19, 2015.
  27. Brown, Matt (9 September 2015). "Metal By Numbers 9/9: Motörhead work their bad magic". Metal Insider. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
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