Motörhead
Remorse? No!
BMG
Released: 4/20/24
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CD 1
1 – Ace Of Spades (Alternate Version)
2 – Motörhead (Live At Hollywood Palladium, Oct 1984)
3 – Jailbait (Alternate Version)
4 – Stay Clean (Live At Newcastle City Hall, March 1981)
5 – Poison (Demo)
6 – Killed By Death (Demo)
7 – Bomber (Alternate Version)
8 – Iron Fist (Jacksons Studio Demos, Oct 1984)
9 – Climber (Demo)
10 – Chinese (Demo)
11 – Hump On Your Back (Instrumental)
12 – Snaggletooth (Demo)
CD 2
1 – Overkill (Single Edit – 2019 Remaster)
2 – Under The Knife (12″ Single – Fast)
3 – Stone Dead Forever (Alternate Version)
4 – Like A Nightmare (Demo)
5 – Over The Top (Rough Mix)
6 – Steal Your Face (Live From Sheffield, Oct 1984)
7 – Louie Louie (Alternate Version)
8 – No Class (Instrumental) Instrumental
9 – Under The Knife (Demo – Slow)
10 – (We Are) The Road Crew (Alternate Version)
11 – You Ain’t Gonna Live Forever (Bomber Outtake)
12 – Locomotive (Demo)illed by Death (demo)
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It doesn’t matter if you’re a metal head, a punk, or a rock and roll fan, you know who Motörhead are. A musical institution since 1975, the Lemmy Kilmister-led trio broke through the boundaries of heavy metal and punk to become a cultural monolith. With all the founding members now passed on, we only have unreleased material left to celebrate the band’s career. Remorse? No! is the latest effort released under the Motörhead name, serving as a celebration and reinterpretation of the band’s famed 1984 compilation No Remorse.
No Remorse was originally a compilation put together to celebrate the first seven albums released by the band, plus additional material wrote and recorded exclusively for the release. Remorse? No! takes the original structure of compilation, replaces a handful of songs, and takes the original remaining tracks and replaces them with either live material, alternate takes, or demo tracks. For example, the studio version of ‘Ace of Spades’ was the opening track on No Remorse, on Remorse? No! it utilizes an alternate take version of ‘Ace of Spades,’ one that is slightly slower in pace and much different in structure, both in terms of iconic primary riff and the overall composition of the song.
There are alternative versions of ‘Jailbait,’ ‘Bomber,’ and ‘Stone Dead Forever,’ amongst several others, showcasing another sonic angle of Motörhead’s music not readily heard. Rough mixes and demo versions of songs bring forward a grainy analog version of Motörhead which comes off like high-powered garage rock taken to vaulting extremes. Demo versions of ‘Killed by Death,’ pulse with organic analog warmth, with flat thudding bass drums, snapping snares, warm and soft cymbal work anchoring roaring chorus chords and Lemmy’s chugging and distorted bass tone from hell.
Some demo versions take a different approach, such as the 1984 demo version of the iconic ‘Iron Fist,’ which features a bright and crisp bass tone with a sharp treble-intensive guitar tone. The demo version of ‘Climber,’ comes off sounding like a bar brawl soundtrack, with a tempered overall feel to the up-tempo pacing, with a dimmer sounding bass and a more neutral sounding guitar tone.
There are several purely instrumental tracks as well, such as the strident and restless ‘Hump On Your Back,’ and the hard-charging ‘No Class.’ Live versions of tracks such as ‘Steal Your Face,’ add more depth and variation to the playlist by showcasing where Motörhead was most effective – in front of the live audience.
We only have memories of the original line-up of Motörhead left and compilations like this are great supplementations, bringing out a bounty – well over an hour – of material never heard before is a great way to continue satisfying fans. Demo versions, alternate takes, live material, and instrumentals dominate this classic-filled compilation, offering an abundance of alternative rarely heard material across a staggering 24 tracks. Sure to please Motörhead fans, new and old.
This review was originally written for Voices from the Darkside.
-AJK
apanthropy 
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