Bad Magic

Bad Magic
Studio album by Motörhead
Released	28 August 2015
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock
Length	42:57
Label	UDR
Producer	Cameron Webb
Motörhead chronology
Aftershock (2013) Bad Magic (2015) Clean Your Clock (2016)

Bad Magic is the 22nd and final studio album by English rock band Motörhead. It was released on 28 August 2015,^[1] and produced by longtime collaborator Cameron Webb. The band disbanded four months after the album's release, due to the death of founder and only constant member Lemmy Kilmister.

"When the Sky Comes Looking for You" was the only song from this album to be played live.

Writing and recording

Bad Magic was written and recorded in L.A., and Cameron Webb again produced the album. In an interview Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee told the press that the recording process was different than previously. "This time we were in a recording studio writing the album and all playing it together, actually. Before, we used to be in a rehearsal studio, write the songs and then we'd go in and record it one at a time, but here we kind of recorded it live, right away, as we had the song. We used to write very spontaneous, and this is probably even more spontaneous than any [previous] Motörhead [album]. But we really do enjoy the album. And it's a very live, very spontaneous record. I think that works best for us."^[2] Later Lemmy said the whole album was not recorded live, but they "did about five tracks all together, so that much is true."^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80%[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Blabbermouth.net	8.5/10[6]
The Boston Globe	favourable[7]
Consequence of Sound	B[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Loudwire	favourable[10]
Metal Storm	9.2/10[11]
Record Collector	[12]
AntiHero Magazine	[13]
RockRevolt Magazine	[14]

Bad Magic received generally positive reviews from critics. Chad Bowar of Loudwire wrote that the songs on the album had a timeless sound, meaning that listeners wouldn't know if they were written during the year the album was released or in the early '80s.^[15]

Ray Van Horn Jr from Blabbermouth.net, noted that Motörhead were "on the verge of what might be [their] swan song" with Bad Magic, given Lemmy's health problems, and that in some places Lemmy "exhibits the vocal wear and tear of a man whose long-beaten, gravelly pipes are betraying him due to a natural aging process". However, he continues that "Lemmy is a freak of nature, and it's great to hear him ralph, croon and snarl with a give-a-damn will to live—you're a total piece of crap if you knock a guy who has given us his all for decades."^[16]

Sean Barry of Consequence of Sound points to the song, "Till the End", and writes that "here the frontman relates his story and woes in some rundown pub on the outskirts of town. It also finds Lemmy coming to terms with who he is, and despite all his flaws, pledging to continue living as he has through the remainder of his life. And while the 70 years of said hell-raising show in the way he slightly slurs his vocals, he’s just as virile and robust as he was on Overkill." Barry ends the review writing: "Bad Magic feels ancestral; you can feel it in your blood and in your bones. Even for those new to Motörhead, the album will have the power to recharge your love for all things rock ‘n’ roll. As a band that’s been around for generations, Motörhead isn’t just hanging around trying to keep themselves relevant. They’re partying until the sun goes out and celebrating their own immortality."^[17]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Motörhead, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Victory or Die"		3:09
2.	"Thunder & Lightning"		3:06
3.	"Fire Storm Hotel"		3:35
4.	"Shoot Out All of Your Lights"		3:15
5.	"The Devil"		2:54
6.	"Electricity"		2:17
7.	"Evil Eye"		2:20
8.	"Teach Them How to Bleed"		3:13
9.	"Till the End"		4:05
10.	"Tell Me Who to Kill"		2:57
11.	"Choking on Your Screams"		3:33
12.	"When the Sky Comes Looking for You"		2:58
13.	"Sympathy for the Devil" (The Rolling Stones cover)	Jagger/Richards	5:35
Total length:			42:57

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.^[18]

Personnel

Motörhead

• "Lemmy" Kilmister – bass guitar, vocals
• Philip Campbell – guitar, piano on "Sympathy for the Devil"
• Mikkey Dee – drums

Additional musicians

• Jimmi Mayweather and Nick Agee - backing vocals on "Shoot Out All Of Your Lights'"
• Brian May – guitar solo on "The Devil"

Production

• Cameron Webb – production, engineering, mixing
• Kris Fredriksson – engineering on "The Devil"
• Sergio Chavez – additional engineering
• Todd Campbell – additional engineering on "Victory or Die" and "Evil Eye"
• Nick Agee – assistant engineering
• Mike Sassano – assistant engineering
• Kyle McAulay – assistant engineering
• Michael Fernandez – assistant engineering
• Michael Eckes – assistant engineering
• Robin Florent – assistant engineering

Artwork and design

• "Lemmy" Kilmister – cover design concept, doodles
• Mark DeVito – cover art direction, design
• Steffan Chirazi – creative direction
• Kai Swillus (bunt-metall.com) – booklet design, creative direction
• Robert John – photography

The number 40 written in Roman numbers (XXXX) refers to 2015 being the 40th anniversary of the band.

Studios

• NRG Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA, USA – recording
• Maple Studios – recording
• Grandmaster – recording
• Larrabeee North – mixing

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19]	29
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20]	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22]	12
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23]	10
Croatian Foreign Albums (HDU)[24]	2
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[25]	4
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[26]	7
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27]	1
French Albums (SNEP)[28]	16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29]	1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[30]	13
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31]	43
Italian Albums (FIMI)[32]	12
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[33]	67
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34]	25
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35]	7
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[36]	32
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37]	8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38]	4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39]	2
UK Albums (OCC)[40]	10
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[41]	28
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[42]	1
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[43]	1
US Billboard 200[44]	35
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[45]	3
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[46]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[47]	5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[48]	5

• Regarding French sales, the SNEP gives Bad Magic's highest position as 14.^[49]

References

1. "Motörhead to release Bad Magic in August". Blabbermouth.net. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
2. "Motörhead's Mikkey Dee On 'Bad Magic': 'I Know It's A Great Record'". Blabbermouth.net. June 26, 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
3. Childers, Chad (August 17, 2015). "Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister Talks ‘Bad Magic’ Album, Motorboat Cruise + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
4. Bad Magic at Metacritic
5. Deming, Mark. XXXX: Bad Magic - Motörhead at AllMusic
6. Van Horn, Jr., Ray. "MOTÖRHEAD - "Bad Magic"". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
7. Morse, Steve (August 27, 2015). "Album review: Motörhead, Bad Magic". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
8. Barry, Sean (August 27, 2015). "Motörhead – Bad Magic". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
9. Lawson, Dom (27 August 2015). "Motörhead: Bad Magic review – indecently thrilling and vital". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
10. Bowar, Chad (August 28, 2015). "Motorhead, 'Bad Magic' - Album Review". loudwire.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
11. "D.T. Metal" (29 August 2015). "Motörhead - Bad Magic review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
12. McIver, Joel. "Bad Magic". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
13. Kussmaul, Jake (8 October 2015). "Album Review: MOTÖRHEAD - Bad Magic". AntiHero Magazine.
14. Roques, Alice (7 October 2015). "Album Review: Motorhead - Bad Magic". RockRevolt.
15. Bowar, Chad. "Motorhead, ‘Bad Magic’ – Album Review". Loudwire. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
16. Van Horn Jr., Ray. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
17. Barry, Sean (August 27, 2015). "Motörhead – Bad Magic". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
18. Bad Magic (liner notes). Motörhead. UDR. 2015.
19. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". australian-charts.com (Hung Medien).
20. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". austriancharts.at (Hung Medien).
21. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". ultratop.be/nl (Hung Medien).
22. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". ultratop.be/fr (Hung Medien).
23. "Motorhead – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Motorhead.
24. "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga.
25. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201536 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
26. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". dutchcharts.nl (Hung Medien).
27. "Motörhead: Bad Magic" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
28. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". lescharts.com (Hung Medien).
29. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Bad Magic Chartverlauf". www.offiziellecharts.de (GfK Entertainment).
30. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2015. 35. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
31. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 36, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA.
32. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". italiancharts.com (Hung Medien).
33. "バッド・マジック - モーターヘッド". www.oricon.co.jp (Oricon).
34. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". charts.org.nz (Hung Medien).
35. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". norwegiancharts.com (Hung Medien).
36. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
37. September 2015 "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
38. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". swedishcharts.com (Hung Medien).
39. "Motörhead - Bad Magic". hitparade.ch (Hung Medien).
40. "Motorhead | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
41. September 2015 "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
42. September 2015 "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
43. September 2015/112/ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
44. "Motorhead – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Motorhead.
45. "Motorhead – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Motorhead.
46. "Motorhead – Chart history" Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums for Motorhead.
47. "Motorhead – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Motorhead.
48. "Motorhead – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Motorhead.

External links

• Bad Magic at AllMusic
• Bad Magic at UDR