Motorhead very loud and proud

An article in The Times this week put forward the theory that heavy metal music enjoys a boom at times of economic bust. Motorhead and Saxon certainly seemed to prove the point at the Civic last night.

Lemmy of Motorhead Motorhead and Saxon

Wolverhampton Civic Hall

By Ian Harvey

An article in The Times this week put forward the theory that heavy metal music enjoys a boom at times of economic bust.

The sheer wave of euphoria that greeted British metal stalwarts Motorhead and Saxon at the Civic last night certainly seemed to prove the point – this is music to lose to yourself in completely.

See our gig photo gallery below

From the moment frontman Lemmy uttered his mantra: "We are Motorhead, we play rock 'n' roll," to the closing thunder of Overkill, all thoughts of credit crunches, presidential elections and last-gasp Formula One victories were utterly banished.

Lemmy, along with guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee, generated a wall of sound that was brutal, uncompromising, visceral and utterly thrilling.

Save for an acoustic interlude for Whorehouse Blues, it was non-stop metal mania, with Lemmy's trademark growl just making it through the mix – "everything louder than everything else" indeed.

Rock Out was one of a couple of songs from the new Motorizer album which slipping seamlessly into a set of Motorhead staples that included Stay Clean, the awesome Killed by Death and, of course, Ace Of Spades.

The only surprise was the omission of Bomber, but a version of Bob Seger's Rosalie, famously covered by Thin Lizzy, helped make up for that.

Earlier northern rock was represented by Saxon, with Biff Byford in imperious form and the packed-out Civic singing along to the likes of Denim and Leather, Princess Of the Night and 747 (Strangers In The Night).

Saxon had their own strange omission; there was no Wheels Of Steel. But they found time to include a couple of new songs, the rabble rousing Live To Rock and the slightly less convincing Hellcat.

The show was kicked off by Toronto three-piece Danko Jones, who put in a spirited performance. Lead singer Danko is clearly not backwards in coming forwards, announcing at one point: "Everyone in Wolverhampton gets to call me delicious!"

Motorhead frontman Lemmy on stage at the Civic