The original record feateatured the line-up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Wurzel and Pete Gill, marking a new chapter for the band, pushing further into heavier territory while retaining the speed, aggression and raw energy that had defined Motorhead from the beginning.
Now, 40 years after its original release, “Orgasmatron” is revisited in a new anniversary edition that explores both the album itself and the story behind its creation. The original studio recordings have been remastered for the anniversary and cut at half speed from the original tapes, while longtime Motorhead collaborator Cameron Webb has created a brand-new remix and remaster from the original stems.
The Motorhead team explain: "Orgasmatron is a special album. Part of that is down to the stylized production of Bill Laswell, who approached the work from a unique perspective. Bill's work stands in its own right as something special in the Motorhead library, and Orgasmatron stands as one hell of an album. However, there was some controversy in the sense that both Lemmy and Phil Campbell felt that some of the power, bite and energy had been lost in Laswell's final delivery.
"As old-school Motorhead fans, we found ourselves sitting around the coffee table one night several months ago, drinks in hand, pondering what Orgasmatron would sound like if it were to be remixed by Motorhead's longtime producer, Cameron Webb. Cameron helmed six studio albums, and it's fair to say he had the trust, love - and grumbles too! - of Lem, Phil and Mikkey. Would it be 'right' to ask him if he wanted a crack at remixing Orgasmatron? Would it be disrespecting the original album if we were to offer such a thing alongside Bill's original work? We concluded a big fat 'no'! It would be an added adventure if people wanted to take it. So we asked Cameron if he was up for it. And he screamed a rather enthusiastic 'yes'!"
For Cameron, the opportunity was particularly personal: "My brother introduced me to Orgasmatron when I was 14 years old. I heard the song and thought, 'Is this even music?' It was like the devil coming through my cassette tape. And I loved it. That record and Rock 'N' Roll were my Motorhead records, so being asked to work on this is incredibly special to me. I honestly don't know anyone in the world who would be more excited than me to do it."
At the same time, Webb was keen to preserve the character of the original recording and acknowledge the work of producer Bill Laswell and engineer Jason Corsaro: "I love the fact that the original is wild and a little messy. I wanted to be respectful to what Jason Corsaro and Bill Laswell created, rather than simply trying to make it sound like a modern heavy metal record. When we opened up the original 24-track tapes, you could really hear how creative they were with the sounds, particularly the drums. There's so much character in that recording, and I wanted to preserve that."
With the original mix in mind, Webb also approached the remix by considering what Lemmy and Phil might have wanted to hear: "Lemmy and Phil both said they didn't like the original mix, so I thought about what they might have asked me to do if they were sitting next to me. I tried to channel what I knew about them and their approach to recording - bringing out the bass here, defining the guitars there - while still respecting what was already there. The aim was never to replace the original, but to reveal more of what was inside it."
The Orgasmatron 40th Anniversary Edition will be available as a deluxe 3LP bookpack and 2CD, featuring the remastered original mix, the Cameron Webb Remix, additional studio rehearsals and outtakes recorded in 1985, and the complete BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show session from 1986, capturing the band during the Orgasmatron era. The 40th anniversary edition is also available as a 1LP pressing on transparent violet vinyl, featuring the original studio album.
Motorhead disbanded following the death of founder Lemmy Kilmister in 2015.
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