At 55 and 25, Lemmy and Motörhead respectively, remain viable, virile, vitriolic and pretty darn funny, though their latest release isn't one of the finer moments of their prolific career.

Since leaving or being fired (depending on who you ask) from the lysergic sludge combo Hawkwind back in 1975, bassist Lemmy Kilmister, and whomever he could pull in on guitar and double-bass drums, have ground out 23 albums of metallic biker-blooze. About five of these records are black-leather-jacket classics, and artists such as Soundgarden, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper and the Ramones, have all tipped their mangy manes in Motörhead's way.

Number 24, We Are Motörhead, retains the band's classic sound — Lemmy's constipated whine, the riff from "Ace of Spades," galloping drum and guitar rhythms, and gem song titles such as "Stay Out of Jail" (RealAudio excerpt) — but doesn't yield any classic songs. The production and playing is tidy, the guitars veer toward '80s metal wankery and the bass isn't a distorted knot (the chuckle-inducing bass solo on "Wake the Dead" has an uncharacteristic warm, defined tone). Yes, they are Motörhead — so what the hell are they doing with a power ballad ("One More Fucking Time" [RealAudio excerpt])?