Sacrifice is the twelfth studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 27 March 1995 via SPV/Steamhammer, the band's first release on the label. It is the second and final album to feature the four-piece lineup of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel, and Mikkey Dee, as Würzel left the band after the album's recording. It is also the last album to feature any four-piece band lineup as they would revert back to a trio-lineup starting with Overnight Sensation (1996)
Recording Motörhead reunited with producer Howard Benson for Sacrifice. "This is a very good album", vocalist and bassist Lemmy wrote in the sleeve notes, "Put it in your system and your girlfriend's clothes fall off."CD liner notes. Lemmy views Sacrifice as one of his favourite records the band has made, despite the difficulties involved, which he explained as:
In the documentary The Guts and the Glory, all three band members express regret over Würzel's departure, but insist it was inevitable, with drummer Mikkey Dee commenting:
Dee added in 2021 that Würzel's wife was to be blamed for his departure from the band, calling her a "bitch."
Campbell, who joined Motörhead with Würzel in 1984, recalls:
In the same film, Lemmy reveals that Würzel began to suspect that he was being ripped off financially:
The band went into the studio with some great songs, Lemmy recalls, although "Sex & Death" was written in ten minutes on the last day of recording, "In Another Time" was altered beyond all recognition and there were three sets of lyrics for "Make 'Em Blind". Dee and Campbell didn't realise that "Out of the Sun" was only two and half verses and had rehearsed it as such but Lemmy added another section when nobody else was around, with him playing bass and Jamie, his guitar roadie, playing guitar. He then gave the others a tape of it. According to Lemmy, when Würzel played it in the rental car he nearly drove off the road. "Make 'Em Blind" came from improvisation, with Campbell recording the solo in one take, falling over the couch and onto his back laughing uproariously. Lemmy states that the album contains more nonsense than most of the previous album – the lyrics don't mean anything you can really get a hold of – but that they convey the mood, especially the title track and "Out of the Sun". "Dog Face Boy" is about Campbell, but Lemmy decided that only after having written it, likening the line "Poor boy out your mind again/Jet plane outside looking for another friend" to Campbell's habit of quickly hitting town and looking for fun after getting off the plane.
Release It was not a success nor did it make much impact on the album charts, as with the previous album, it was largely ignored by the general public. With a new label it was released correctly, compared to Bastards, and the title track has stayed in the live set for some time, but there hasn't been much written about this album that is noteworthy.
The title track was used in the movie Tromeo and Juliet, a film in which Lemmy appears.
The American version of the album cover had Würzel airbrushed out but, according to Joel McIver's book Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead, Lemmy insists that this was the record label's idea, not theirs:
Rather than hiring a new guitar player, the band decided to revert to a three-piece.
Sleeve artwork Joe Petagno, the sleeve artist, was well known for inserting references to genitalia in his drawings, and this one was no exception. He commented:
Critical reception
AllMusic states that:
In 2011, Motörhead biographer Joel McIver wrote that Sacrifice "was exactly what you expect: a decent, if unspectacular, Motörhead record with a couple classics song here and there."
Track listing
Personnel Per the Sacrifice liner notes. Lemmy – lead vocals, bass Phil "Zööm" Campbell – guitars; guitar solo on all tracks except "Dog Face Boy" Michael "Würzel" Burston – guitars; guitar solo on "Dog Face Boy" and "Out of the Sun" Mikkey Dee – drums
Additional musicians Bill Bergman – saxophone on "Don't Waste Your Time" John Paroulo – piano on "Don't Waste Your Time" Note: Würzel is uncredited on the North American CD release album liner notes, that was also sold in other territories, other than to state he played guitar solo on two tracks. He is not listed as a member of the band, or for writing credits either, even though he plays rhythm guitar on the entire album.Sacrifice, Motörhead, CMC International, CMC 7803, 1995 liner notes, page 3 & 15The SPV German/European release of the album has the correct liner notes; Würzels thank-you's, writing credits, etc.
Production Howard Benson – producer, mixing Ryan Dorn – producer, engineer, mixing Devin Foutz – assistant engineer Matthew Ellard – assistant engineer Eddy Schreyer – mastering Motörhead – executive producers Gene Kirkland – photography Robert John – photography DemoNet, Inc – art design and layout David Patterson – typeface and pagemaster Joe Petagno – Snaggletooth, album cover
Charts Chart (1995) Peakposition Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) 32
References
External links Sample tracks at Rolling Stone Motörhead official website