Forty years after its release, Motörhead’s Orgasmatron remains one of the band’s most distinctive albums, marking a new chapter with a four-piece line-up, a new record label and one of Lemmy Kilmister’s most enduring title songs.
by Paul Cashmere
Forty years after Motörhead released Orgasmatron, the 1986 album continues to occupy a unique place in the band’s catalogue. Released through the band’s newly established GWR label in July 1986, the record introduced the twin guitar partnership of Phil “Wizzö” Campbell and Michael “Würzel” Burston, featured Pete Gill’s only full studio album with the group, and produced one of Lemmy Kilmister’s signature compositions in the title track.
Orgasmatron represented a turning point for Motörhead following a turbulent period that had left the band without a recording contract. After an acrimonious split with Bronze Records and an extended legal dispute, Motörhead continued touring despite struggling to secure a new label at a time when thrash metal was gaining commercial momentum.
Lemmy later reflected on the difficulties in Joel McIver’s Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead, recalling that a succession of major record companies had declined to sign the band. Once the legal battle with Bronze Records concluded in Motörhead’s favour, the group and its management established Great Western Road Records, better known as GWR, to release future recordings.
The result was Orgasmatron, Motörhead’s first studio album in three years following 1983’s Another Perfect Day. Recorded in just 11 days at Master Rock Studios in London, the album paired the band with producer Bill Laswell, whose production credits already included work with Herbie Hancock, Mick Jagger and Public Image Ltd.
Although the album reached No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart and restored Motörhead’s chart presence, both Lemmy and guitarist Phil Campbell later expressed reservations about its production. In his autobiography White Line Fever, Lemmy wrote that Laswell achieved strong instrument sounds but believed the final mixes diminished the recordings.
“As it turned out, Bill was good for getting sounds, but he fucked everything up in the mix,” Lemmy wrote. “It was a much better album when he took it to New York than when he brought it back. It was dreadful. Orgasmatron was mud.”
Campbell echoed those views in the documentary The Guts and the Glory, saying the production did not fully capture the quality of the material.
“I think the production let us down on Orgasmatron. The songs were really good. We put a lot of effort into the songs,” Campbell said, adding that Laswell’s attempts to incorporate elements resembling early hip-hop production into Motörhead’s sound ultimately did not succeed.
Despite those criticisms, the songs themselves have endured. “Doctor Rock”, “Built for Speed”, “Deaf Forever”, “Nothing Up My Sleeve” and “Mean Machine” all became regular live selections during different periods of the band’s career.
The album’s closing title track has remained especially significant within Motörhead’s catalogue. Lemmy explained that the song was inspired by his contempt for organised religion, politics and war rather than the machine featured in Woody Allen’s film Sleeper, a connection frequently assumed by fans.
“It refers to the three things that I hate most in life,” Lemmy explained in McIver’s biography. “Organised religion, politics and war.”
The song would later be revisited as “Orgasmatron 2000”, released as an internet download before being included in the 2003 box set Stone Deaf Forever!.
The album artwork also reflected an unusual chapter in the band’s history. Orgasmatron was originally intended to be titled Ridin’ With The Driver, prompting long-time Motörhead artist Joe Petagno to create the now famous steam locomotive artwork.
When the album title changed late in production, the artwork remained.
Petagno later recalled that Lemmy, who was living on a houseboat and collecting model trains at the time, had simply requested, “I want a fucking train.” The resulting illustration became one of Motörhead’s most recognisable album covers.
The band’s stage production attempted to build on the success of its famous Bomber lighting rig by introducing an elaborate “Orgasmatron machine” during the tour. The concept proved impractical. Lemmy later joked that after constructing the enormous prop, the band realised it would not fit into many of the venues on the itinerary.
Critically, Orgasmatron has gained stature over time. While reviews at release were generally favourable, retrospective assessments have often been even stronger. Robert Christgau praised both the album’s humour and Laswell’s ambitious production, while AllMusic highlighted the sonic detail brought to the title track despite suggesting that some of the band’s trademark rawness had been softened.
The album has since appeared in several lists recognising influential heavy music recordings, including Rock Hard magazine’s The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. It also received expanded reissues in 1996 and a deluxe two-disc edition in 2006 featuring live recordings, alternate versions and BBC performances.
Forty years after its original release, Orgasmatron remains a pivotal Motörhead recording. It documented a band rebuilding after industry setbacks, experimenting with a broader musical approach and producing songs that would remain part of its legacy long after the debates over its production had faded.
Tracklisting
Deaf Forever
Nothing Up My Sleeve
Ain’t My Crime
Claw
Mean Machine
Built For Speed
Ridin’ With The Driver
Doctor Rock
Orgasmatron
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