''Bastards'' is the eleventh studio album by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

. It was released on 11 October 1993 via

ZYX Music ZYX Music GmbH & Co. KG is a German record label founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. It is one of the most successful German record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. Until 1992, the label was known as Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label speci ...

, the band's only release on this label. It is the band's first studio album to feature the drummer

Mikkey Dee Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou (born 31 October 1963), known professionally as Mikkey Dee, is a Swedish musician, who has played drums for German heavy metal band Scorpions (band), Scorpions since 2016. He was the drummer for English heavy metal band ...

, who also featured as guest drummer on the previous album.

Recording

It is one of two studio albums with the short-lived

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

Würzel Michael Richard Burston (23 October 1949 – 9 July 2011), commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician who played professionally for three decades. He played guitar in British rock band Motörhead from 1984 to 1995,

, Zööm and

lineup, as on the previous album Dee was a 'special guest' drummer and had not officially joined the band. It was also the first of four Motörhead albums to be produced by former Child'ƨ Play producer

Howard Benson Howard Michael Benson (born July 20, 1956) is an American record producer from Havertown, Pennsylvania. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2007 and 2008, among two wins and 16 total nominati ...

, and the first Motörhead studio album not to contain a title track. After unsuccessfully commercialising the success of ''

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

'' with its 1992 follow-up ''

March ör Die ''March ör Die'' is the tenth studio album by British Rock music, rock band Motörhead, released in July 1992. It would be the band's second and final album with WTG Records. The album features guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N' Roses ...

'', the band returned to their roots: being loud and fast. The lyrical themes range from social criticism ("On Your Feet or on Your Knees"), to war ("Death or Glory" and "I am the Sword") to child abuse ("Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me") and total mayhem ("Burner"). Lemmy also states in his memoir that he offered "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" to both

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

and

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...

Release

It was barely released outside of the label's home country of Germany, other than the originally released series worldwide, until the 2001 Steamhammer reissue, and had to be imported otherwise. ''Bastards'' is cited by the band as one of their best works. In the documentary ''The Guts and the Glory'', guitarist Phil Campbell enthuses: In his autobiography ''White Line Fever'', frontman

calls it: However, he laments that the band's record label, the German-based

ZYX The Zygii (, ''Zygoí'') or Zygians were described by Strabo as a nation to the north of Colchis. He wrote: ''And on the sea lies the Asiatic side of the Bosporus, or the Syndic territory. After this latter, one comes to the Achaei and the Zyg ...

, did not promote it outside of Germany. The song "Born to Raise Hell" was later re-recorded with

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

and

Ugly Kid Joe Ugly Kid Joe is an American hard rock band from Isla Vista, California, formed in 1989. The band's name spoofs the glam metal band Pretty Boy Floyd's name. To date, Ugly Kid Joe have released five full-length albums, two compilation albums and ...

vocalist Whitfield Crane and released as a single (including a version on

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

). This version of the song was featured in the movie ''

Airheads ''Airheads'' is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann and written by Rich Wilkes. It stars Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler as the members of a struggling rock band who hijack a Los Angeles radio station in ord ...

''.Burridge, Alan ''Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead'' Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing .

Artwork

Joe Petagno, long-time Motörhead sleeve artist, revealed in a rare interview on the '' Inferno 30th Anniversary edition'' bonus DVD that the album was originally to be titled ''Devils''. He had already drawn up a cover to reflect this title when it was changed.''About Joe Petagno'' - interview section with Joe Petagno, bonus DVD with '' Inferno 30th Anniversary edition'' SPV69748. As well as alluding to the original name of the album, Petagno also had this insight into the concept of the album cover:

Reception

''Bastards'' reached number 28 in Germany and also charted in Sweden and Japan. The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review states: Ultimate Classic Rock ranked ''Bastards'' as the fourth-best Motörhead album, commenting:

Track listing

Personnel

Per the album's liner notes. *

– vocals, bass guitars, acoustic guitar * Phil "Zööm" Campbell – lead guitars, acoustic guitar *

– lead guitars, rhythm guitar *

– drums

Additional musician

* Howard Benson – ritchy keyboards *

Michael Monroe Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm (born 17 June 1962), better known by his stage name Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician who rose to fame as the vocalist and saxophonist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks and has served as the frontman ...

- Backing Vocals (Track 5)

Production

* Howard Benson – producer, mixing * Ryan Dorn – engineer, mixing * John Aguto – assistant engineer * Randy Wine – assistant engineer * Darrin Mann – assistant engineer * John Gaudesi – assistant engineer * Gregg Barrett – assistant engineer * Devin Foutz – assistant engineer * Eddy Schreyer – mastering *Henri Clausei – photography * Lisa Lake – art design and layout * Connie Williamson – art design and layout * Joe Petagno – Snaggletooth, album cover

Charts

References

External links

Motorhead official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastards (Motorhead album) Motörhead albums 1993 albums Albums with cover art by Joe Petagno Albums produced by Howard Benson