Motorhead Aftershock: Inside the 2013 Album
Motorhead Aftershock arrived on 18 October 2013 in Germany as the band’s twenty first studio album.
Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell, and Mikkey Dee recorded it with producer Cameron Webb, their fifth album together.
The record carried its heaviest reviews in years, with Metacritic scoring it 78 out of 100.
Motorhead Aftershock later earned the band a Grammy nomination for its lead track, Heartbreaker.
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⚡ Key Takeaways
- Motorhead released Aftershock, its twenty first studio album, on 18 October 2013.
- Cameron Webb produced the record, his fifth straight Motorhead album.
- Aftershock holds a Metacritic score of 78 out of 100, one of the band’s best reviewed later albums.
- Lead track Heartbreaker earned a 2015 Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.
- USA Today named Aftershock its Album of the Week, praising Phil Campbell’s playing as some of his finest work.
What Is the Motorhead Aftershock Album About?
The Motorhead Aftershock album is a direct, blues rooted record built on fourteen tracks in just under 47 minutes.
Heartbreaker, Coup de Grace, and Lost Woman Blues open the record with a return to basics energy critics praised widely.
Dust and Glass offers one of Lemmy Kilmister’s rare piano ballads, a quiet break amid the record’s otherwise relentless pace.
The result is Motorhead Aftershock sounding like a band still capable of writing some of its strongest songs decades into its career.
Who Recorded Motorhead Aftershock?
Lemmy Kilmister handled lead vocals and bass across the entire record.
Phil Campbell played all guitar parts, drawing praise from USA Today as some of his finest work.
Mikkey Dee played drums throughout, continuing the same trio lineup active since the mid 1990s.
Cameron Webb produced, mixed, and engineered the sessions, his fifth consecutive album with the band since Inferno in 2004.
Where and When Was Motorhead Aftershock Recorded?
Motorhead recorded Aftershock during 2013 across NRG Studios, Sound Factory, Sunset Sound, and Maple Studios in the Los Angeles area.
The band entered the studio in January 2013 after announcing plans to record the previous October.
The album title was revealed on 18 June 2013, several months ahead of release.
UDR released Motorhead Aftershock on 18 October 2013 in Germany, followed by staggered European and North American release dates.
What Songs Are on the Motorhead Aftershock Tracklist?
Motorhead Aftershock runs fourteen tracks across just under 47 minutes.
The album opens with Heartbreaker, Coup de Grace, Lost Woman Blues, and End of Time, then moves through Do You Believe and Death Machine.
Dust and Glass, Going to Mexico, Silence When You Speak to Me, and Crying Shame carry the record through its middle stretch.
Queen of the Damned, Knife, Keep Your Powder Dry, and Paralyzed close the tracklist, with nearly every song credited to Kilmister, Campbell, and Dee.
What Is on the Bonus Live at Download Disc?
A Best Buy exclusive edition of Motorhead Aftershock included a bonus DVD titled Live at Download 2013.
The set featured live performances of I Know How to Die from The World Is Yours and Killed by Death from the compilation No Remorse.
It also included live versions of The Chase Is Better Than the Catch from Ace of Spades and Going to Brazil from 1916.
A music video for Heartbreaker rounded out the bonus disc, tying the new single directly to the band’s deep catalog.
Did Heartbreaker Win a Grammy Award?
Heartbreaker earned Motorhead a nomination for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
The song lost to Tenacious D‘s cover of Dio’s The Last in Line.
The loss carried a bittersweet irony, since Motorhead’s own The World Is Yours had been dedicated to Dio’s late singer Ronnie James Dio three years earlier.
The nomination still stands as one of the clearest late career honors for the band.
Did Motorhead Aftershock Chart?
Motorhead Aftershock sold 11,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release.
That total landed the album at number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The record continued the band’s pattern of stronger genre chart performance over mainstream chart placement.
Its first week sales figures were widely reported as one of the stronger openings of the band’s later career.
What Did Critics Say About Motorhead Aftershock?
Critics gave Motorhead Aftershock some of the warmest reviews of the band’s final decade.
Blabbermouth’s Ray Van Horn Jr. rated it 9 out of 10, while The Guardian’s Dave Simpson awarded 4 out of 5 stars.
Mojo’s Phil Alexander singled out End of Time, Death Machine, and Queen of the Damned, calling the record one of the loudest and most defiant rock and roll albums of the year.
Pitchfork’s Hank Shteamer called it deeply satisfying and frequently thrilling, adding that it was a minor miracle the band still played this well.
How Does Aftershock Compare to The World Is Yours?
The World Is Yours carried a public dedication to Ronnie James Dio and a UK Rock Chart number 1 peak.
Aftershock traded that chart triumph for some of the strongest critical reviews the band had received in twenty years.
Both records share Cameron Webb’s production, with Aftershock marking his fifth album against The World Is Yours’ fourth.
Reviewers generally rate Aftershock as the more consistent listen of the two records track for track.
People Also Ask
Is Motorhead’s Aftershock a good album?
Motorhead’s Aftershock is widely considered one of the band’s best reviewed later albums, holding a Metacritic score of 78 out of 100 and a 9 out of 10 rating from Blabbermouth.
New Noise Magazine called it the best record Motorhead had released in 20 years.
Who produced Motorhead’s Aftershock album?
Cameron Webb produced, mixed, and engineered Motorhead’s Aftershock album in 2013, his fifth production credit with the band since 2004.
Recording took place across NRG Studios, Sound Factory, Sunset Sound, and Maple Studios in the Los Angeles area.
Was Motorhead’s Heartbreaker nominated for a Grammy?
Yes, Heartbreaker from Motorhead’s Aftershock album earned a nomination for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
The song lost to Tenacious D’s cover of Dio’s The Last in Line.
Did Motorhead’s Aftershock album chart?
Motorhead’s Aftershock album sold 11,000 copies in its first week in the United States, reaching number 22 on the Billboard 200.
The album’s genre chart performance remained consistent with the band’s usual stronger showing among rock and metal audiences.
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Aftershock
2013
Earned a Grammy nomination for lead track Heartbreaker.
Holds a Metacritic score of 78 out of 100.
The World Is Yours
2010
The album three years before Aftershock, dedicated to Ronnie James Dio.
Topped the UK Rock and Metal Albums Chart.
Motorizer
2008
The band’s highest charting UK album in seventeen years.
Cameron Webb’s third production credit with the band.
Kiss of Death
2006
Features guest spots from C.C. DeVille and Mike Inez.
The last Motorhead album with original Joe Petagno cover art.
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Motorhead Aftershock proved the band could still earn some of its best reviews decades into its career.
Its Grammy nominated lead single and blues rooted songwriting mark it as one of the strongest late period records in the catalog.
Read the full lineup history of the members of Motorhead to see how this album fits into the band’s larger story.
As of 2026, Motorhead Aftershock stands as proof the trio still had real fire left just two years before Lemmy’s death.
Last updated: July 24, 2026