Consider this: the debate over whether “Kiss Of Death” or its predecessor, “Inferno”, was the better MOTÖRHEAD album has been going on for twenty years now… The band’s eighteenth studio album is also the second to be recorded in Los Angeles under the direction of producer Cameron Webb. “Kiss Of Death” gets off from a dark start – already the opening track, ‘Sucker’, thrives on Mikkey’s thundering and doblebass driven drums and of course on Lemmy’s rough threatening vocals. This album is also very much a Phil Campbell record – once again it makes clear, how far his guitar playing extends beyond the boundaries of Hardrock, Rock’n’Roll and Metal. Whether it’s a quintessential MOTÖRHEAD Rock’n’Roll song like ‘One Night Stand’ or ‘Christine’ or more run-of-the-mill tracks like ‘Trigger’ or ‘Under The Gun’, Campbell plays a major role in giving MOTÖRHEAD their unmistakable, unique sound that sets them apart from everyone else – even before Lemmy has sung a single line – not only through his solos, which mostly have been improvised during the recordings. Speaking of Lemmy’s poetry: until today, everyone agrees that this soulful but endlessly bitter ballad ‘God Was Never On Your Side’ ranks among the best lyrics he ever wrote. To mark its 20th anniversary, the record now is re-released as a new edition, remastered from the original tapes using the so-called half-speed method, which results in a particularly rich sound on vinyl records. Liner notes were written by Classic Rock writer Dave Ling, also paying tribute to the legacy of Phil Campbell. That leaves the three bonus tracks that were added to the re-release: ‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S.’ in the Kilmister-Campbell-Dee version, ‘Whiplash’ originally by METALLICA, but much better with Lemmy’s voice – which already was as a bonus track on the digipak CD twenty years ago – and again the RAMONES track, this time live. Even if completists might take issue with this, these three tracks could have been left out. However, since this is a double CD and a double vinyl LP, there are still two vinyl sides or one CD missing. As additional bonus material, they’ve included an old radio recording of a festival show from the 2007 “Lowlands Festival” in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. As it is often the case with radio-stations, the sound quality of this recording is really good and MOTÖRHEAD power through a very well-curated setlist. Starting with ‘Snaggletooth’, which wasn’t played live often after the turn of the millennium, flows right into ‘Stay Clean’ before moving on to ‘Be My Baby’ a song from the then-current “Kiss Of Death” album and little later on with ‘One Night Stand’ another one on the list. The concert includes two surprising golden oldies, ‘Over The Top’ and ‘I Got Mine’ as well as two songs from “Inferno”: ‘Killers’ and ‘In The Name Of Tragedy’. Funfact: Bootleg videos of this performance have been circulating for quite a few years now, featuring two more songs than this particular recording, which concludes with a pleasantly playful version of ‘Killed By Death’. Lemmy’s rendition stays close to the original but doesn’t go overboard. The record then ends with ‘Ace Of Spades’. Bottom line: if you don’t already have “Kiss Of Death” in your collection, this is a good chance to grab a copy of this one now! Everybody else needs to ask the question if this live recording is worth it having the album several times. But we all know: one can never listen to enough MOTÖRHEAD live recordings! www.facebook.com/officialmotorhead, www.bmg.com