Deathwish’s 2017 long player ‘Unleash Hell’ presented almost half an hour’s worth of full throttle thrills. With song titles like ‘Live Fast Live Forever’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Is One Hell of A Drug’ and ‘Watch You Burn’ doing some extremely heavy lifting, the best material shared a no-nonsense sound that blended the speed driven sounds of ‘Overkill’ era Motorhead with classic Supersuckers, and threw in a few thrash metal tones for good measure.

Their 2024 release ‘The Fourth Horseman’ also goes straight for the throat with an uncompromising energy, but if anything, shows off the band in an even tighter way. During the intro of ‘Bring Down The Hammer’, Deathwish sound a little heavier than before with a deep riff and grinding bass bringing a huge musical weight, but before too long, the band breaks into a driving riff that’s not far removed from something drawn from ‘Iron Fist’ and normal service is resumed. Those familiar with earlier Deathwish work will find an instant comfort in the razor edged guitar sound that challenges the drums for most aggressive feature, whilst a raw vocal from Bitty adds to the tension throughout. Listeners are given just long enough to really get into a sweat before the riffs stop dead, and that pretty much typifies the rest of the material here, even though you’ll encounter songs with much bigger lyrical hooks along the way. ‘Kings of The Road’ retains a pinch of classic Motorhead, particularly during the moments that cut between an aggressive vocal, but the love for that band really comes through when K. Lexau Alter breaks into a guitar solo that’s very much in the Fast Eddie Clarke mould. His playing is really sharp, and although he plays very much into the band’s obvious influences, his energetic style gives everything a huge lift. Musically, the bulk of the arrangement owes more to a lot of DIY thrash metal with its raw edges, but those in the market for a huge sounding, full throttle, old school banger will not be disappointed.

Cranking the energy even more, ‘Rain Fire’ kicks off with another rattling bassline and a guitar tone that sounds more like one of Brian Robertson’s offerings from ‘Another Perfect Day’. Musically speaking, although that sets up something predictable for Deathwish, it sounds brilliant, and a lead guitar break, despite arriving later than expected, really adds to a great energy. There are times when the razor-sharp vocals seem a somewhat of a mismatch, but it doesn’t kill the mood. Going for speed over everything else, ‘Aces & Eights’ supplies another album highlight with some ferocious punk ‘n’ roll that sounds like a more thoughtful Zeke hammering through one of the blistering numbers from ‘We Are Motorhead’. An insanely aggressive voice cuts against the shredding guitar parts with a genuine force, and although you might think those vocals would be this number’s stand out feature, they’re actually outshone by a solid rhythm section who latch on to a thunderous groove from the outset.

In a slight change of mood, ‘Aftermath’ opens with a deeper, heavier guitar part which casts itself very much in an 80s thrash mould, and is joined by a slightly eastern sounding lead, further adding to a bigger sound. It isn’t long before Deathwish revert to type, however, and the track’s verses settle back into more obvious Motorhead influenced tropes. This isn’t a bad thing, obviously; rhythm guitarist Guinea Pig Champion absolutely nails that style throughout this record, and here, he especially on form when battling against vocals which absolutely cane themselves to achieve maximum ferocity. ‘Edge of The Knife’ actually sounds like it’s about to do something a little different again when a dark intro offers a deep grinding sound, but things opt for more speed oriented punky metal in record time. The dirtier bass sound hasn’t gone to waste, however: Bitty re-uses it effectively to fill space during a hard edged bridge section, before a superb guitar solo lifts everything with ease. A mention must go to drummer S.W. Macleod here, too. His work on this album is particularly good, but on this number he appears to hit upon a classic Philthy Animal Taylor groove, giving Deathwish the most solid of rock ‘n’ roll backbones.

With a repetitive rhythm pinned by a huge bass drum sound, ‘Mainline Rock ‘n’ Roll’ begins with a real intent, and its intense stop/start riff gives the verses a genuine sharpness that presents itself brilliantly. Even when the guitars adopt a fuller riff for the chorus and the band go full on Zeke, there’s a bustling energy to the piece that makes it top tier Deathwish. Although the final, rather punchy notes could easily be written off as a cheap homage to the familiar ending of ‘Ace of Spades’, those too have an aggression that’s hard to beat. This track may well come with a little more of a knowing wink to its influences, but its lack of originality that doesn’t make it in any inferior. If you’ve loved Deathwish up to this point, you’ll certainly love this too. In closing, the album’s title cut serves up three minutes’ worth of relentless riffery that, again, sounds like classic Motorhead with an extra kick, but the raspy vocals and a nod to Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ in the chorus riff make it just different enough to work. The second half of the track features some really tight, almost militaristic style drumming, alongside a furious guitar solo that comes closer to something you might find on an early Megadeth record, too, creating an arrangement that wedges all of Deathwish’s finest traits into an exceptionally tight three minutes.

Bringing the speed and guts of classic Motorhead into a Lemmy-less world, ‘The Fourth Horseman’ is fast and furious, and clearly never gives a fuck for any kind of obvious fussiness. Like a metal oriented Nightmen, a more melodic Zeke, or a punkier take on something from the NWOBHM, Deathwish arrive with all guns blazing and barely let up throughout ten absolutely blistering tracks. Some of the material can sound a little samey in places, and maybe feel a little tiring if approached in the wrong mindset, but with a running time shy of half an hour, there’s no time for genuine boredom to set in, and in terms of bringing the riffs, it’s a record that’s second to none.

May/July 2024