''Inferno'' is the seventeenth studio album by British
rock band
Motörhead, released on 22 June 2004. It was their eighth with the
Steamhammer label, and second under
Sanctuary Records and its subsidiary Metal-Is in North America and certain territories.
Recording
''Inferno'' was Motörhead's first album with Cameron Webb producing. Webb told
Joel McIver of ''Classic Rock Presents Motörhead'' in 2010 that he had wanted to make an album with the band for years and met them for dinner at the
Sunset Marquis Hotel to discuss the possibility of working together: "I talked about how I wanted to make a really heavy record with them. That was a mistake, because
Lemmy
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...
likes to play rock 'n' roll – he doesn't like to play heavy music – and he called me on it."
Nonetheless, the band and Webb produced Motorhead's heaviest album in years. In an interview for the bonus ''Inferno'' DVD, drummer
Mikkey Dee states that Webb "pushed us a little more. He wasn't intimidated by our rock star moods". Lemmy adds, "That was a great thing, 'cause Mickey can be really intimidating and so can I, and
Phil can be really violent." Not only was Webb able to find unity in the band in terms of recording but also understand Lemmy's bass sound, which had a lot more gain than low end. This was mostly attributed to Lemmy's hearing loss as he liked his songs to have a "brighter" sound and would always tell Webb to turn down the bass. This created an issue during recording and when Webb complained to manager Todd Singerman, he said, "dude, your ears are different. It's just the way it's gonna be. You're going to find a way to talk to
emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
into doing things." Eventually, both Webb and Lemmy were able to resolve this matter; one of the ways was to turn on the subwoofer after Lemmy had left the studio.
The band explained that they made ''Inferno'' the same way as all their other albums – at the last minute – by renting a big rehearsal room in
Los Angeles and writing songs for about six weeks and, after a week break, recording them while they're still fresh.
Release
The album's closing song, "Whorehouse Blues", was somewhat of a departure. A
country blues-style song, it was distinguished by acoustic guitar by all three members, with Lemmy adding harmonica towards the end. Dee explained his switch from drums: "I've been playing guitar all my life a little bit, because guitars have always been around, so it's nothing spectacular in my eyes." He added: "It's quite fun to walk onstage and do that song. And we definitely surprised the audiences."
Filming of the
video for "Whorehouse Blues" was due to take place in a Stringfellow's club, but
Peter Stringfellow objected to the song title and its associations, and withdrew any involvement. With 24 hours left until the shoot, they found a club in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
.
"In the Black" was featured in the 2009 video game ''
Brütal Legend''.
Artwork
Joe Petagno, long-time sleeve artist for the band, said of the album cover:
Critical reception
Guy Strachan praised ''Inferno'' in
Terrorizer as "the best album that Motörhead have ever recorded".
However, James Monger of
AllMusic chided the band for "churning out the same record over and over again".
"There are tinges of the blues here, of punk and of metal", wrote Ian Winwood for ''
Mojo'', "played by a band whose sharpness and precision is these days often overlooked."
In 2011, Motörhead biographer
Joel McIver wrote: "''Inferno'' was a blast from start to finish. Its bottom-heavy, modern sound suited the songs perfectly; it was almost as if, without realizing it, Motörhead had stamped their identity on the album more honestly than on any other album for at least a decade."
Lee Marlowe of ''
Classic Rock'' stated in 2013 that "Killers" "is as catchy as anything in the band's vast catalogue: a strident stand-out on one of the strongest albums they've done", while "Whorehouse Blues" "makes perfect sense".
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.
*
Lemmy
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...
– bass, vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar & harmonica on "Whorehouse Blues"
*
Phil Campbell – guitars, acoustic lead guitar on "Whorehouse Blues"
*
Mikkey Dee – drums, acoustic rhythm guitar on "Whorehouse Blues"
Guest musicians
*
Steve Vai – lead guitar on "Terminal Show", guitar solo on "Down on Me"
* Curtis Mathewson – strings on "Keys to the Kingdom"
Production
*Cameron Webb – producer, mixing, engineer
*Bob Koszela – engineer
*Sergio Chavez – assistant engineer
*Chris Rakestraw – assistant engineer
*Kevin Bartley – mastering
*Steffan Chizari – creative design
*Mark Abramson – art direction, design
*Robert John – group photography
*Shawn Bathe – in-studio photography
*Lemmy – sketches, handwritten lyrics
*
Joe Petagno –
Snaggletooth
Snaggletooth may refer to:
*"Snaggletooth", a 1984 song by English rock band Motörhead from '' No Remorse''
* Snaggletooth a.k.a. Warpig, the mascot of English rock band Motörhead
* Snivvian (a.k.a. Snaggletooth), a character seen in ''Star Wars ...
, album cover
Chart positions
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inferno (Motorhead album)
2004 albums
Albums with cover art by Joe Petagno
Motörhead albums
SPV/Steamhammer albums