Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons - 'The Age Of Absurdity' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Ringleader

2. Freak Show

3. Skin And Bones

4. Gypsy Kiss

5. Welcome To Hell

6. Dark Days

7. Dropping The Needle

8. Step Into The Fire

9. Get On Your Knees

10. High Rule

11. Into The Dark

12. Silver Machine

When your pedigree includes a role as guitarist for Motorhead then anything you do outside of that must be pretty damned good for anyone to take notice of it. Phil Campbell (a.k.a. Phil ‘Wizzo’ Campbell) was guitarist for Motorhead from 1984 until the death of Motorhead main man Lemmy in 2015. So with the end of Lemmy’s iconic band Phil decided on a solo path releasing an EP under the name Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons in late 2016.

Now it is time for a full on album from Phil and his Bastard Sons, that album will be called ‘The Age Of Absurdity’ and is scheduled for release in January 2018 on Nuclear Blast Records. The LP has the full on sonic onslaught that you have come to expect from Motorhead. If you like your Metal hard and punky then this is the band for you. “Skin And Bones” and “Gypsy Kiss” hit you so hard that I reckon you might need your ears reinforced to hear the songs in a live environment. The band actually does feature Phil’s sons, although based on my research they are not bastards, Phil’s wife is very, very clear on that. Their names are Tyla, (on bass) Todd (on guitar) and Dane (on drums). The vocalist is Neil Starr.

The album is full of hard Metal riffs and also shows a Blues influence in some songs, notably “Dark Days” which brings a brief respite from the full on, highly charged aural assault of the rest of the songs. I am sure that some purist Motorhead fans might not give this band a try, but they bloody well ought to listen because I feel sure that any Motorhead fan worth their ace of spades will love this album. My favourite songs after two spins of this marvellously loud and tuneful album are “Dropping The Needle”, “Step Into The Fire” and album opener “Ringleader”. The rather excellent video for “Welcome To Hell” portrays Phil in a coffin, let’s hope that isn’t a portent given that we have lost all of Motorhead’s key players in the last few years.

Forget all those driving Rock compilations, if you have a long car journey and you want some driving Hard Rock to help you on your way just get a hold of ‘The Age Of Absurdity’ by Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons. You will not be disappointed.