If bands got paychecks for being influential, Motorhead would buy your town. And then, of course, all the lawns would up and die.
Founded in the mid 1970s by steel-wool throated bassist Lemmy Kilmister after he left premier space rockers Hawkwind, Motorhead and its Chuck Berry/MC5-on-speed-with more-volume bridged the gap between old metal, punk, and new metal, uniting longhairs and spiked hairs like few others. Now, the obligatory box set.
Stone Deaf Forever doesn’t disappoint. With four CDs covering the band’s 28-year history – plus a fifth CD of live tracks – this chronologically arranged release does a stalwart job representing the ‘Head’s career as heavy rock originals.
As for the all-important box set “goodies,” they are; an informative 58-page booklet that makes up for design deficiencies with its massive amount of info; the fifth live CD (21 tracks recorded live between ’78 and ’99, some unreleased); a fold-out poster; and nice artwork and packaging. Everything louder than everything else, indeed.
This article originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
