MOTÖRHEAD Revisits ‘Kiss Of Death’ With Massive 20th Anniversary Expansion
For years, Kiss Of Death sat in a strange place in the Motörhead catalog. It was respected, but rarely mentioned in the same breath as the band’s untouchable classics. That may finally change this summer.
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A newly expanded 20th anniversary edition of Kiss Of Death is officially arriving in July, giving fans another chance to revisit one of the later-era records that quietly proved the band still had plenty left in the tank.
Originally released in 2006, Kiss Of Death captured the late-period chemistry between Lemmy, Phil Campbell, and Mikkey Dee at a time when many veteran bands were already running on nostalgia. Instead, MOTÖRHEAD sounded aggressive, sharp, and completely uninterested in slowing down.
That’s part of what makes this reissue interesting.
There’s a growing reassessment happening around the band’s 2000s material. Albums once treated as “solid later releases” are now being viewed as essential pieces of the MOTÖRHEAD story. Fans who grew up on Ace Of Spades and Overkill are rediscovering how strong records like Inferno, Motörizer, and Kiss Of Death actually were.
And honestly, Kiss Of Death may have aged better than some expected.
Tracks like “Sucker,” “Kingdom Of The Worm,” and especially “God Was Never On Your Side” showed a darker, more reflective edge without sacrificing the band’s trademark punch. The record still sounded dangerous, but there was also a weight and perspective that separated it from the pure speed-and-chaos years.
That balance is exactly why fans still debate where this album belongs in the MOTÖRHEAD hierarchy.
Midway through the 2000s, plenty of listeners underestimated how difficult it is for legacy bands to release genuinely strong material decades into their careers. MOTÖRHEAD made it look routine. That probably hurt the album’s reputation at the time because consistency became expected.
Now, with distance from that era, listeners are hearing these records differently.
The expanded edition reportedly includes remastered audio along with additional material aimed directly at longtime collectors and diehards. For hardcore fans, this is exactly the kind of release that keeps the legacy alive without feeling forced.
And there’s another reality here: MOTÖRHEAD’s catalog has become increasingly untouchable since Lemmy’s passing. Every reissue now carries a different emotional weight because there will never be another new studio album.
That changes how people connect with records like Kiss Of Death.
A lot of fans dismissed parts of the later catalog because the band never reinvented itself dramatically. But that refusal to chase trends is also why the music still sounds authentic today. MOTÖRHEAD didn’t bend. They just kept refining the attack.
That’s becoming more appreciated with time.
What happens next will be interesting. If this anniversary release gets strong fan response, expect even more renewed focus on the band’s 2000s output — an era that may finally be getting the respect it deserved all along.
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