Phil surely needs no introduction, having spent thirty-two years as the right-hand man of Lemmy, and here he is, right back in the saddle with his new band. As soon as I heard the name I smiled, as the original name for Motörhead was going to be Bastard, until it was pointed out that the band would never get airplay anywhere (the world has changed in the last forty years). But, it is more than just a homage, as for this band Phil has brought in his three sons Todd, Dave and Tyla on guitar, drums and bass respectively. Singer Neil Starr completes the line-up, and this six-track live EP is the first release, although they have been getting some experience by supporting some band called Guns ‘n’ Roses, and will soon be heading out with Saxon.
What I like about this EP is that firstly there are three new numbers out of the six on offer, and that while one can hear a Motörhead resemblance at times, which would only be expected given how important Phil’s guitar sound was over the years, Phil has taken the music into a different direction. No-one will ever play bass like Lemmy, so there is no point in trying, and instead they have gone more melodic without losing any of the power and aggression that made his old band such a force to be reckoned with. New song “Spiders” shows that this band has real legs, and will make it in their own right, but ‘Head fans like me will also smile and thoroughly enjoy their blast through “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” which is superb. They close the set with a surprising cover of “Sweet Leaf”, which works incredibly well indeed. Watch out guys, Phil is back, and he means business. Wonderful.
