High on my list of memorable gigs is a night spent with Motorhead at Newcastle City Hall back in November 2012. Motorhead were on top form that night and when you add in a great support slot from Anthrax in one of the UK’s top venues then it all added up to one hell of a gig!

A few weeks later the band found themselves in Berlin playing to their largest ever German audience, barring festival appearances, and thankfully that gig was recorded for posterity and is now finding a release as a live album and DVD.

For me the last incarnation of Motorhead with Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee was probably one of the best in the band’s long career and here they show why Motorhead were an unstoppable force on stage.

Lemmy and the guys excelled live with a power and energy few could touch and, looking back at this package, it hits home how much of a loss Lemmy and the band are to the rock world. However, we are not here to mourn the loss, we are here to celebrate the band and their music, a legacy that will last long and most definitely loud!

From Lemmy’s greeting of ‘Guten abend, we are Motorhead’ to the extended outro of ‘Overkill’ this album is Motorhead doing what they did best, rocking hard and heavy with a bit of good humour thrown in for good measure.

The set is made up of Motorhead classics and a few newer tracks which were fresh out the box on this tour. ‘I Know How To Die’ kicks things off before we take a step back in time with three old favourites in the shape of ‘Damage Case’, ‘Stay Clean’ and ‘Metropolis’. ‘Over The Top’ is fast and furious with Phil Campbell churning out the riffs like his life depended on it. Other set highlights include ‘The Chase Is Better Than The Catch’, ‘The One To Sing The Blues’ complete with Mikkey Dee’s solo drum spot and ‘Going To Brazil’.

It’s the closing trio though that really hit home with ‘Killed By Death’, ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘Overkill’ bringing the curtain down on a great set. ‘Overkill’ in particular hits the mark, always my top Motorhead track, with its extended ending leaving no head unbanged or fist unpunched!

Motorhead may be no more and it is unlikely we will see their likes again, but this album is the perfect reminder of the band at their unstoppable best. Go buy it and relive Lemmy and the guys doing what they did best.

They were Motorhead and they played rock n roll…  *****

Review by Dave Wilson