''March ör Die'' is the tenth 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 ...
, 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
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
,
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
guitarist
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash th ...
, and veteran drummer
Tommy Aldridge
Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesn ...
. Aldridge stepped in after longtime member
Phil Taylor was fired early in the recording process.
Background
After years of lackluster sales and feuds with record labels in the late 1980s, Motörhead had enjoyed an incredible turnaround by 1992. After the critical 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 ...
'', which was nominated for a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, Motörhead secured a second album deal with
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
. In addition, frontman
Lemmy had co-written four songs for
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
's 1991 blockbuster album ''
No More Tears'' at the invitation of Ozzy's wife and manager
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...
, including "I Don't Want to Change the World'", "Desire", "
Hellraiser
''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut. Based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', the film's plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the ...
", and the hit single "
Mama, I'm Coming Home", generating much needed income. In his autobiography ''
White Line Fever'', Lemmy recalls:
Recording
The band reunited with producer
Pete Solley, who produced their 1991
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-nominated album ''
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 ...
'', to record ''March ör Die''. Early in the recording, drummer
Phil Taylor parted ways with Motörhead for a second time as his abilities and commitment came into question. Taylor had quit the band in 1984 to work on a new project with guitarist
Brian Robertson but rejoined in 1987. In
Joel McIver's Motörhead biography ''Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead'', guitarist
Phil Campbell discusses Taylor's second departure:
In the same book, Lemmy – while maintaining that Taylor's skills had deteriorated – admitted:
Following Taylor's sudden departure in the midst of recording an album, the band scrambled to find a replacement. Subsequently, ''March ör Die'' features three drummers: Taylor,
Tommy Aldridge
Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesn ...
, and
Mikkey Dee, who would later join the band as a permanent member until Lemmy's death. Another drummer,
Garry Bowler (a.k.a. Magpie), worked on the drum track for the demo of "Stand" during a 1991 session in London with
Würzel and Campbell. In the documentary ''The Guts and the Glory'', Dee – who had earlier been asked to join Motörhead before he elected to join
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and ...
instead – spoke about replacing the longtime Motörhead member Taylor:
Ozzy Osbourne duets with Lemmy on the track "I Ain't No Nice Guy", which also features
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash th ...
from
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
on lead guitar. Slash also performs on the track "You Better Run". Considering that both Osbourne and Guns N' Roses were enjoying immense popularity at the time, "I Ain't No Nice Guy" seemed poised to become a major radio hit, but according to Lemmy's memoir Sony tried to suppress the single because it was utilizing WTG Records as a
tax write-off
A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...
:
The album includes a cover of the 1977
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...
classic "
Cat Scratch Fever", which was Campbell's idea. The track "Hellraiser", earlier recorded and released by Ozzy Osbourne for his 1991 album ''
No More Tears'', appeared in the 1992 movie ''
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth''.
The band re-recorded "You Better Run" in 2004 as "You Better Swim" for ''
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy film, animated adventure comedy film based on the television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by series creator Stephen Hill ...
''.
The ''March ör Die'' recording sessions took place in Los Angeles and coincided with the eruption of the
Rodney King riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...
in the city. The studio where the band was recording lay in the path of the violence. Lemmy later recalled to ''Classic Rock Revisited'':
Reception
Reviews for ''March ör Die'' were mixed. 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:
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
*
Lemmy – vocals, bass, cello arrangements
*
Phil "Zööm" Campbell – rhythm guitar & lead guitar; guitar solo on tracks 1–4 and 9–10
*
Michael "Würzel" Burston – lead and rhythm guitar; guitar solo on tracks 2–4 and 6–10
*
Phil Taylor – drums on "I Ain't No Nice Guy"
Guest musicians
*
Tommy Aldridge
Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesn ...
- drums on all tracks except "Hellraiser" and "I Ain't No Nice Guy"
*
Mikkey Dee – drums on "Hellraiser"
*
Peter Solley – keyboard, cello arrangements, production
*
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash th ...
– guitar solo on "I Ain't No Nice Guy" and additional guitar on "You Better Run"
*
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
– vocals on "I Ain't No Nice Guy"
* Jamie Germaine - guitar
Production
*
Billy Sherwood – producer ("Hellraiser")
*Casey McMackin – engineer
*Lawrence Ethen – engineer
*Tim Nitz – engineer
*Tom Fletcher – engineer ("Hellraiser")
*Steve Hall – mastering
* Dawn Patrol – art direction
* Merlyn Rosenberg – photography
*
Joe Petagno –
Snaggletooth, album cover
Charts
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:March or Die
1992 albums
Epic Records albums
Motörhead albums
Albums produced by Billy Sherwood