Motörhead

Like AC/DC, Motörhead rarely stray from their niche, crafting reliable records from a punk metal template that began in 1977 with their self-titled debut. Inferno is no exception, as the sum of its parts does little to deviate from the formula. Opening with the blistering "Terminal Show" – marking the first of two appearances by guitar legend Steve Vai – Lemmy, Philip, and Mikkey burn through 12 raucous blues-rock fist-pumpers with the energy of a trio of wily twentysomethings. Lemmy's gruff vocal style is ageless; as "f*ck you" now as it was on "Ace of Spades." All of the classic Motörhead themes are present; there's sticking-it-to-the-man ("Life's a Bitch"), murder and death ("Smiling Like a Killer"), and sex (the surprise back porch acoustic jam "Whorehouse Blues")…

Motörhead was an English rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister (1945–2015), professionally known by his stage name Lemmy, who had remained the sole constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to, or one of the earliest members of, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite this, Lemmy had always dubbed their music as simply "rock and roll"…

Out of all the zillions of Motörhead compilations released over the years, 2005's Essential Noize: The Very Best Of may just be the best one yet. And the reason is quite simple – it covers the best tracks from 1978 through 1984, which just about every single Motörhead fan agrees is their strongest period. At the time this material first arrived, many rock fans and metal heads were left scratching their heads in bewilderment, as few groups managed to combine the energy of punk with the power of metal as Lemmy and company did. By the early 21st century, it became quite clear that Motörhead were bona fide trailblazers, influencing countless bands (Metallica, Soundgarden, etc.) and singlehandedly inventing thrash metal.

Motörhead are a legendary British rock band, highly influential in the development of many different rock and metal subgenres (including Thrash Metal, where many bands cover their songs) who love Rock N' Roll but for some reason blurred the lines of Punk and Heavy Metal when actually playing it. This box set compiles the bands second through to sixth studio albums, as well as their first live album. The albums in question are 1979's Overkill & Bomber, as well as 1980′s Ace Of Spades, 1981's No Sleep 'Till Hammersmith, 1982's Iron Fist and finally 1983's Another Perfect Day. All these albums feature the classic line-up of Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister, Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor and 'Fast' Eddie Clarke, with the exception of Another Perfect Day on which Clarke is replaced on guitar by Thin Lizzy’s Brian Robertson.

This particular Best of Motörhead release is a double-disc set on the Sanctuary subsidiary Metal-Is, and it's one of the very, very few Motörhead collections that tries to draw material from throughout the band's career. The compilers couldn't secure the rights to everything, and as such, there's nothing here from albums like 1916 or Bastards. But there are tracks from the later Overnight Sensation, Snake Bite Love, and We Are Motörhead albums, plus four bonus live tracks dating from various points in the group's career…

Few bands in the history of heavy metal are as road-tested as Motörhead. Since the mid-'70s, Lemmy Kilmister and whoever else was man enough to join the band's ranks have been tearing it up on the road, and are responsible for one of rock's greatest live albums of all time, 1981's No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith. As its title states, the double-disc set Keep Us on the Road: Live 1977 captures Motörhead early on – including their classic lineup of singer/bassist Kilmister, guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke, and drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor…

There have been dozens and dozens of Motörhead compilations released over the decades, but the first one remains definitive, even if it's not perfect. Released in 1984 as a gap-filler – for Motörhead were regrouping in the wake of the bandmember shuffling that followed the odd Another Perfect Day album – No Remorse compiled two-dozen songs across two discs (latter-day editions adding a good serving of bonus tracks, too)…

Released in 1981, the live album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith recaps the highlights from the legendary run of albums Motörhead released during the prior few years, namely Overkill, Bomber, and Ace of Spades. The band's lesser self-titled debut album is also accounted for here with two inclusions ("Motörhead" and "Iron Horse"), but by and large, the focus is on the standout songs from the aforementioned trio of classics…

If you're reading, you know Motorhead, the diesel fuel of the hard rock engine. Over the Top centers on the classic lineup which included, of course, the great Ian Fraiser ("Lemmy a Fiver") Kilmister, Phil ("Philthy Animal") Taylor, and "Fast" Eddie Clarke. Subsequent incarnations actually made better records, but the grass-killing intensity and cranium-splitting adrenaline of the Motorhead depicted here left an indelible stain on the history books. Named for one of Clarke's earliest numbers, Over the Top sums it up, and the record swings violentl…