Iron Lamb are yet another band out of Sweden, this time hailing from the Scandinavian capital of Stockholm. The band originally formed in 2009 and have issued an EP and a full-length titled The Original Sin ahead of this sophomore effort, Fool’s Gold. Fool’s Gold sees a roster of Daniel Bragman (vocals), Johan Wallin (guitar), Daniel Ekeroth (bass), Jens Backelin (guitar) and Thomas Daun (drums). The High Roller Records press release for the album boasts “another bona fide punk/metal classic”. Also stated is “Without a shadow of a doubt that old Motorhead feel has not disappeared either. Iron Lamb are not out to copy anybody but just like Alan Davey’s Gunslinger (whatever that is) they live and breathe the spirit of 1977 era Motorhead. “That feeling ain’t going nowhere, that’s for sure,” remarks Johan. “Fast Eddie Clarke obviously has been a huge influence on us as a band, both for riffs and lead guitar work.”
The second the song starts and certainly the second first two words are spoken I can feel the press release acknowledged Motorhead comparisons. As the song, “One Way Track”, opens up and the vocals kick in “Holy F’n Motorhead” is all that’s screaming through my brain! So much so, that I in fact had to verify that I’d not accidentally hit the wrong album in my computer library! “Smile Now Cry Later” is much the same, are we sure Lemmy is not a guest vocalist here somewhere or involved in the album somehow? The joke is getting old by the time we go through “Feed The Fire” and “Backstabbers” and my attention is well on its way to wandering off to greener pastures (or rather beaches and bikinis) when the fifth entry jolts me back. Jolts me back yes, but not really in a good way. “Leave Me Be” heavily switches gears into a stark reminder of that song from The Crying Game movie….what was it called now? “Mockingbird” has a frantic pace off the start and is slightly less Motorhead-ish overall, while “Center Of The Universe” is a good interpretation of what it would sound like if Motorhead turned punk. The longest track on Fool’s Gold, “Rip It Up”, while nothing overly special is quickly becoming a favorite track migrating to my daily gym workout playlist. We wrap things up with “Dead End Blues” a blues infused track that’s right back to the Motorhead cloning machine.
While this wasn’t particularly a bad album, I really struggled to get beyond the blatant Motorhead cloning…..you can’t copy Lemmy! A line from the movie Airheads (in which Lemmy Kilmister had a cameo appearance) sums it up best. Question: “Who would win a fight between Lemmy and God?” Answer: “Trick question….Lemmy is God!”
