MOTÖRHEAD — Orgasmatron (review)

Album · 1986 · Heavy Metal

4/5 · 2018-02-12
UMUR

"Orgasmatron" is the 7th full-length studio album by UK hard/heavy rock act Motörhead. The album was released through GWR Records August 1986. It´s the follow up to "Another Perfect Day", which was released in June 1983, which at the time, was the longest recording break Motörhead had had. Quite a few lineup changes had occured though, and Lemmy needed time to get the band going again. Guitarist Brian "Robbo" Robertson (Thin Lizzy), who performed on "Another Perfect Day (1983)" was always meant to be a temporary solution, and he is replaced here by Phil Campbell and Würzel, making "Orgasmatron" the first Motörhead album to feature two guitarists. Longstanding Motörhead drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor temporarily left Motörhead during this period and is replaced here by Pete Gill. Taylor would be back behind the kit on "Rock 'n' Roll (1987)".

"Another Perfect Day (1983)" was a bit of an anomaly in Motörhead´s dicography (which doesn´t necessarily mean it´s a bad album), mainly because of Brian Robertson´s guitar style, and it was not a commercial success for the band, so "Orgasmatron" is naturally a bit harder edged and heavy, as if Lemmy wanted to prove a point. It´s details though and the music on the album is still unmistakably the sound of Motörhead just as the case was on "Another Perfect Day (1983)". Tracks like "Deaf Forever" and the title track are however among the most metal oriented and heavy tracks in the band´s discography. At it´s roots the music is still amplified badass blues based rock´n´roll with Lemmy´s distinct sounding raw voice in front. In addition to the two tracks mentioned above, which are some of the highlights on the album, you could pick just about any track off the album and it would be a standout track. In that regard "Orgasmatron" is a very consistent release.

The material on the 9 track, 35:34 minutes long album is generally both well written and catchy, but also relatively varied, which makes "Orgasmatron" one of the stronger Motörhead albums when it comes to memorability. The album is relatively well produced although it features some of the 80s reverb abuse, which was popular at the time, and which makes the production sound slightly dated. It´s still raw and powerful though, which suits the music perfectly.

"Orgasmatron" ended up being a commercial comeback for Motörhead, and the album charted much better than "Another Perfect Day (1983)" did. To my ears the two albums are pretty equal in quality, but "Orgasmatron" is probably the more popular album because it´s harder edged and more raw sounding than it´s predecessor. It´s overall another high quality release by Motörhead deserving a 4 star (80%) rating.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

You should give Another Perfect Day another chance. I did when I reviewed it a while back, and I found it an excellent release, which actually stands out quite a bit in the Motörhead discography. I really enjoy it now, which I didn´t use to.

Bosh66 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I remember being disappointed with Another Perfect Day at the time and have never got around to replacing my old vinyl copy. Orgasmatron was the album that kept me going with Motorhead. I agree it sounds a little dated but it still gets a spin from time to time.