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Jun 22, 20234 min read

Motörhead — Inferno (2004)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟  𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…


19 years ago today, the world was ablaze with Motörhead's “Inferno”!



On this day (June 22) in 2004, Motörhead released their seventeenth full-length studio album, “Inferno”. It was their eighth with the Steamhammer label, and second under Sanctuary Records and its subsidiary Metal-Is in North America and certain territories.


Background:



“Inferno” was Motörhead's first album with Cameron Webb producing. Webb told Joel McIver of Classic Rock Presents Motörhead in 2010 that he had wanted to make an album with the band for years and met them for dinner at the Sunset Marquis Hotel to discuss the possibility of working together: "I talked about how I wanted to make a really heavy record with them. That was a mistake, because Lemmy likes to play Rock 'N' Roll – he doesn't like to play heavy music – and he called me on it."


Nonetheless, the band and Webb produced Motörhead's heaviest album in years. In an interview for the bonus “Inferno” DVD, drummer Mikkey Dee states that Webb "pushed us a little more. He wasn't intimidated by our Rock Star moods". Lemmy added, "That was a great thing, 'cause Mickey can be really intimidating and so can I, and Phil can be really violent." Not only did Webb find unity in the band in terms of recording, he also understood Lemmy's bass sound, which had a lot more gain than low end. This was mostly attributed to Lemmy's hearing loss as he liked his songs to have a "brighter" sound and would always tell Webb to turn down the bass. This created an issue during recording and when Webb complained to manager Todd Singerman, he said, "dude, your ears are different. It's just the way it's gonna be. You're going to find a way to talk to Lemmy into doing things." Eventually, both Webb and Lemmy were able to resolve this matter; one of the ways was to turn on the subwoofer after Lemmy had left the studio.


The band explained that they made “Inferno” the same way as all their other albums – at the last minute – by renting a big rehearsal room in Los Angeles and writing songs for about six weeks and, after a week break, recording them while they're still fresh.


The album's closing song, "Whorehouse Blues", was somewhat of a departure. A Country Blues-style song, it was distinguished by acoustic guitar by all three members, with Lemmy adding harmonica towards the end. Dee explained his switch from drums: "I've been playing guitar all my life a little bit, because guitars have always been around, so it's nothing spectacular in my eyes." He added: "It's quite fun to walk onstage and do that song. And we definitely surprised the audiences."


Filming of the video for "Whorehouse Blues" was due to take place in a Stringfellow's club, but Peter Stringfellow objected to the song title and its associations, and withdrew any involvement. With 24 hours left until the shoot, they found a club in Ealing.


Joe Petagno, long-time sleeve artist for the band, said of the album cover; "When I first decided to do the “Inferno” cover, I had the idea it should be Mars, the god of war. But I wanted to take the original three chrome heads I had created two years earlier and show it in the process of being formed at the foundry. Being poured, the molten metal, which goes through down the centre of the picture. It also formed the sword in the new logo. It's also an axis mundi, the centre of the world, which holds the whole Mars planet together. It's a circle, Mars is almost exploding. There are these soldiers coming in from the sides, which is very much like Iraq or any other hotspots in the world. At the same time as this Mars exploration shit was going on on TV... Great. Millions of people are dying, there's water on Mars, I'm so fucking happy. It came about because I was irritated about "Can't we just figure it out?... all the hypocrisy yet again, all the bloodshed, all the stupidity... it's in that cover. It was kind of a comeback to the “Overkill” and taking a second shot at it, really."


"In the Black" was featured in the 2009 video game Brütal Legend.


Critical Reception:



Guy Strachan praised “Inferno” in Terrorizer as "the best album that Motörhead have ever recorded".


However, James Monger of AllMusic chided the band for "churning out the same record over and over again".


"There are tinges of the Blues here, of Punk and of Metal", wrote Ian Winwood for MOJO, "played by a band whose sharpness and precision is these days often overlooked."


In 2011, Motörhead biographer Joel McIver wrote: "Inferno” was a blast from start to finish. Its bottom-heavy, modern sound suited the songs perfectly; it was almost as if, without realizing it, Motörhead had stamped their identity on the album more honestly than on any other album for at least a decade.”


Lee Marlowe of Classic Rock Magazine stated in 2013 that "Killers" "is as catchy as anything in the band's vast catalogue: a strident stand-out on one of the strongest albums they've done", while "Whorehouse Blues" "makes perfect sense".


Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to the “Inferno” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/inferno/1446494623


Click this link to watch the official music video for “Life’s A Bitch”: https://youtu.be/vD0VJV6srao


Click this link to watch the official music video for “Whorehouse Blues”: https://youtu.be/6fQc57t7VSA


Click this link to follow official Motörhead page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMotorhead


Click this link to follow the official Lemmy Kilmister Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLemmy/


Click this link to follow Mikkey Dee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikkeydeeofficial


Click this link to follow Phil Campbell on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Phil-Campbell-Official-358205020926167/


Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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