{"id":121047,"date":"2023-12-29T13:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=121047"},"modified":"2023-12-29T13:38:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T19:38:00","slug":"flush-it-friday-30-years-of-bastards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/flush-it-friday-30-years-of-bastards\/","title":{"rendered":"Flush It Friday – 30 Years of Bastards"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A look at Mot\u00f6rhead<\/strong>‘s biggest smallest record.<\/p>\n

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Some 30 years ago, in November 1993, Mot\u00f6rhead released their 11th studio album Bastards<\/em>. My older brother got it pretty soon after that, so it’s been a part of my life for about as long. For most of this time, I’ve taken its qualities for granted, its songs having about the same status to me that “Ace of Spades” has for the wider metal community: the kinds of classics you’ve heard so often that you barely give them a second thought. My recent (and ongoing) exploration of the Mot\u00f6rhead discography has re-contectualized the album as one that is not just great on its own, but a somewhat seminal release for the band, as together with its 1995 successor Sacrifice<\/em>, it arguably forms the basis for the entire second half of the band’s career.<\/p>\n

Bastards<\/em> marks an end and a beginning, looking forward as well as back. The introduction of Mikkey Dee as the new permanent drummer would prove invaluable for the band going forward, and the unprecedentedly powerful sound of Bastards <\/em>helps to catapult them out of the pit that many still consider 1992’s March \u00f6r Die<\/em> to be. Spurred on by 1916<\/em>‘s nomination for a Grammy (and likely Lemmy’s realization that he had made more money writing a few songs for Ozzy than he ever had with Mot\u00f6rhead), March \u00f6r Die<\/em> took a shot at wider mainstream appeal, and pretty swiftly fell on its ass. Thus, Bastards<\/em> marks not only the end to the lineup changes that had plagued the band in one way or another for a good decade at this point, but also the end of a thankfully shorter period of uncertainty as to what the band wanted to be.<\/p>\n

Where the previous effort had pretty firmly established what Mot\u00f6rhead were not (i.e. Ted Nugent covers and stadium rock ballads with big name features), this one wastes little time getting to what they are and would be from here on out. After the briefest of intros, “On Your Feet or on Your Knees” kicks down the door in a way that must have assuaged many a fan’s fears: they are indeed Mot\u00f6rhead, and they do indeed play rock’n’roll. Both musically and lyrically, the album is almost entirely focussed on what the band does best. Lyrics span the tried and true themes of war (“Death or Glory,” “I am the Sword”), religion (“Liar”), and being horny (“Bad Woman”), while the music draws on everything from the no-fucks-given rock that originally made them popular to the anthemic melodies previously explored on tracks like “All for You” (“Devils”) to the raw brutality that so greatly influenced the burgeoning extreme metal scene some 15 years before (“Burner”). All of these would prove to be staples found to some degree on forthcoming records (and no doubt contribute to detractors claiming that every Mot\u00f6rhead album sounds the same).<\/p>\n

Why Bastards<\/em> doesn’t quite occupy the same eschelon as Overkill<\/em> or Ace of Spades <\/em>is a more far-reaching discussion, but a contributing factor and the reason I called it the smallest record is the unfortunate decision to release it on German label ZYX Music. Germany was an important market for the band, but they had not foreseen just how little the label would do to promote the record anywhere outside of the country. Until the 2001 re-issue via Steamhammer, most international fans would have had to import it. If you’re one of the unfortunate folks who got shafted back in the day, or if you’re wondering what good Mot\u00f6rhead could still do after their early and most influential phase, or if you’re simply looking for an entry point to their discography, use this time between the years to check out Bastards<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After you check out this week’s contributions to the bowl, of course.<\/p>\n

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Iron Goddess<\/strong> delivered unto us the gurgles:<\/p>\n

Track Premiere: Fathomless Ritual – “Gorge of the Nameless”<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n