Continuing the cycle of a new album every two years, Motorhead presents us with Motorizer; another in a string of great albums that started earlier this decade with the release of We Are Motorhead. Motorhead may have stumbled a bit in the mid to late 90's but judging by this latest album (and the last three or four before it), they have really hit their stride with the proverbial "well" far from running dry. Motorizer sees a more deliberate attempt to recapture the sound quality and style of albums like Overkill, Ace Of Spades and Iron Fist with songs that are shorter, much more punk influenced, sprinkled with a healthy dose of American blues and all topped off with a rougher and less polished production over recent albums. Something that is also quite evident with Motorizer is a very diverse collection of tracks that vary in tempo and style; all cranked out by the well-oiled machine that is Motorhead with it's current line-up of Lemmy (bass and vocals), Phil Campbell (guitar) and drummer Mickey Dee.

Tracks like Rock Out with it's Ace Of Spades speed and recklessness, Runaround Man, an updated version of Goin' To Brazil from the 1916 album and Buried Alive all feature that barn burning classic old school Motorhead sound. Other tracks like Teach You How To Sing The Blues, Time Is Right and When The Eagle Cries (an ode to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces who are putting themselves in harns way in the middle east right now) feature driving tempos and a catchier bluesy feel; a staple of the sound of much of this album. English Rose, Back On The Chain and One Short Life all use heavy blues based guitar riffs with One Short Life having a funkier bottom end sound. The slow and ominous heaviness of Heroes sets the tone for this epic track that is a tip 'o the hat to those who have died while helping others. The final track, The Thousand Names Of God has been added to the setlist on their current tour and has an older Nazareth-like heaviness with some great slide guitar work by Phil Campbell. Lemmy gets a little political here in a song that deals with the source of most of the problems that exist in the world today. Killing of innocent people and other injustices are being done "in the name of god" and one that has many names depending on which religion or part of the world you are dealing with.

As with their last album, Motorhead uses some drop D and other lower tunings to add more heaviness to their sound. In this case, it actually works quite well without any of the trappings of modern metal and not at all risking the very essence of the Motorhead sound. I love the rougher production as it fits the band much more than a slick, polished Pro Tools aided affair. Lemmy's witty and clever lyrics are as great as ever and even though the riffs and most aspects of all the songs are just great, a couple of the chorus sections are a bit on the weaker than normal side. Not to detract from the listening experience, Motorizer is another fine example of just how great this band is and still puts out quality material in exactly the same fashion album after album. No real surpises here but then again with Motorhead, why would we expect any?