MOTÖRHEAD — March ör Die (review)

MOTÖRHEAD — March ör Die album cover Album · 1992 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"March ör Die" is the 11th full-length studio album by UK heavy rock/metal act Motörhead. The album was released through WTG Records (a subsidiary to Sony BMG) in August 1992. It´s the successor to "1916" from 1991 and features one lineup change as drummer Phil Taylor was fired from Motörhead during the recording sessions for the album. He therefore only appears on "I Ain't No Nice Guy". The band asked Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Yngwie Malmsteen, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent) to record the remaining drum tracks. Aldridge was not a permanent solution though and the band recruited former King Diamond/Dokken drummer Mikkey Dee as the permanent replacement for Taylor. Dee performs drums on "Hellraiser".

"1916" was a commercial turning point for Motörhead after a decade of decline in popularity and album sales, and various disputes with labels. In addition to the success of "1916", Lemmy also contributed to writing four tracks for "No More Tears (1991)" by Ozzy Osbourne, including the major hit "Mama, I'm Coming Home", so it was Motörhead´s/Lemmy´s most commercially successful period. While the late 70s/early 80s period was the time when the band had their big breakthrough, all the issues they had with labels meant they missed out on cashing in on their success. At least not to the maximum of what they could have.

Stylistically the material on "March ör Die" is unmistakably the sound of Motörhead. Hard rocking blues based guitar riffs, blistering solo work, hard rocking rhythm work, a rumbling distorted bass, and Lemmy´s raw rusty voice in front. Compared to the brilliance of "1916", the quality of the material takes a drop on "March ör Die" though. The overall quality of the material is as such on a decent level, but it´s one of those albums by the band, where there are few standout tracks, while the rest are more standard quality and less memorable. The standout tracks on "March ör Die" are to my ears the cover of "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent, "I Ain't No Nice Guy" (which features Ozzy Osbourne and Slash), "Hellraiser" (with a choir laden anthemic chorus), and the dark ambient title track. The remaining material is well written and entertaining too, but just nothing out of the ordinary in the band´s discography.

"March ör Die" is well produced and features a slightly more raw sound than "1916", but it´s still a relatively polished sound. Upon conclusion it´s another quality release by Motörhead, but it´s not among the standout releases in their discography, and it´s definitely a step down from the high quality of "1916". It is still enjoyable and entertaining in it´s own right though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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