Once a year, every year, we used to go and see Motörhead. It became a kind of pilgrimage: you turn up, you watch Lemmy and the lads play, and more often than not the support came from the punk rock end of the spectrum. Sometimes it was the Damned, sometimes UK Subs, sometimes someone else entirely, but it always made sense.
Of course, that crossover maybe feels obvious now, but it really wasn’t always so clear-cut. I still remember when The Prodigy appeared in the pages of Kerrang!, or when Public Enemy collaborating with Anthrax felt like a genuinely seismic moment. Lemmy, though, never cared much for boundaries or conventions. He wasn’t interested in scenes, only attitude. So there’s something entirely fitting about a punk-rock-heavy covers album taking on Motörhead’s catalogue.
Trying to cover Motörhead is a dangerous game. Lemmy wrote songs that already sounded like they were being played by a band hanging on for dear life, so polishing them up or getting clever is usually the quickest way to miss the point entirely. Thankfully, that’s not what’s happening here.
This thing tears out of the traps with Pennywise ripping through “Ace Of Spades” at full throttle – fast, furious, and absolutely no messing about. Rancid tackling “Sex And Death” is one of those moments where you realise improvement isn’t the goal; rawness is, and they nail it. The Bronx follow with a feral take on “Over The Top,” continuing a run of stellar names who clearly understand that chaos is part of the brief.
Elsewhere, Lagwagon surprisingly uncover real melody in “Rock ’N’ Roll,” while Fear turn “Chase Is Better Than The Catch” into something even filthier than the original, stretching it into a grimy, sweat-soaked jam. Birmingham’s finest make short work of “Bomber,” and Murphy’s Law somehow find a pop edge in “Stay Clean” that you never knew was lurking there.
There’s groove running through “Love Me Like A Reptile,” total mayhem as Casualties tear into “The Hammer,” and a sense of elder-statesman authority when Anti-Nowhere League roll through “Born To Raise Hell.” Love Canal earn real credit for a faithful but spirited “No Voices In The Sky,” while Soldiers Of Destruction come frighteningly close to perfection on “Overkill.” Less heralded names Wisdom In Chains bring a real sense of menace to “Iron Fist,” dragging the metal back into proceedings with clenched-teeth conviction.
And just when you think you know how this is going to end, it swerves. Rather than closing with a cover of Motörhead, it’s Motörhead themselves doing the cover, the album signing off with a previously unheard version of “Neat Neat Neat,” the Damned classic. It’s a bold move, but one that works brilliantly – the legends do it justice, keeping the spirit, the snap and the sneer intact while giving the whole record an unexpected but fitting full stop.
By the time it’s done, the overriding feeling is simple: what’s not to enjoy? This doesn’t try to rewrite Motörhead’s legacy. It just turns the amps up, salutes, and plays the songs like they’re supposed to be played – loud, fast, and without a safety net.
