Ace of Spades Songs Ranked

Ace of Spades is the fourth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released on 8 November 1980 via Bronze Records. It is the band’s most commercially successful album, peaking at number four on the UK Albums Chart and reaching gold status in the UK by March 1981. It was preceded by the release of the title track as a single on 27 October, which peaked in the UK Singles Chart at No. 15 in early November. It was the band’s debut release in the United States, with Mercury Records handling distribution in North America. In 2020, the album was ranked at 408 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Despite the band always referring to their music as rock ‘n’ roll, the album, and particularly its title track, have been considered amongst the most influential in the development of thrash metal. The title track is, for many, the definitive Motörhead anthem. The album is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2020, it was ranked at 408 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Here are all of Ace of Spades’ songs ranked.

Don’t miss out on the English power trio Motörhead! Click to enjoy one of VH1’s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock

12. Shoot You in the Back

“Shoot You in the Back has one of the best drumming rhythms and guitar hooks on the album (which is saying something) and introduces that instrument which makes the ricky-ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky-etc. sound (yes, I wish I knew what it was called). None of the songs after these three really introduce anything new, but they’re still all above-average.”

11. Dance

“This is by far Motorheads best album. Ace Of Spades is an unrelenting, take to prisoners, punch you in the face and buy you a beer afterwards sort of rock n’ roll album. Lemmy wrote so of his best straight up rock lyrics here, while not as politically charged as some of his later work the lyrics still are great.”

10. Live to Win

“On an instrumental level, the band is superb. Lemmy contributes some of the funkiest bass grooves ever recorded in the medium of “metal” (see “Live to Win”) in addition to his gruff shouting delivery, which has been copped by countless bands since.”

See more: Motörhead Albums Ranked

9. Fire Fire

“A true character, bassist Lemmy Kilimiester is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll badazz. He digs his music raw, dirty, obnoxious, and driven, and so should you. His witty lyrics, alcohol-soaked yell, and swagger totally define this and other Motorhead albums.”

8. The Hammer

“Stop whatever you are doing, go listen to The Hammer, realize it’s the best thing you’ve ever heard, then listen to the rest of the album. If you reach the end of the album and have a sense of regret or unsatisfaction, you might have something up your ears, unclog it and listen to it again.”

7. Fast and Loose

“Clarke’s bluesy riffs and leads add style and form to the music, which allows it to not just run over your head over and over, but to actually swing a little, “Fast And Loose” being a good example.”

6. Bite the Bullet

“Lemmy’s bass is the glue that holds it all together and their is not a more imposing bottom line in metal…period. Phil Taylor’s drumming is better than average considering Motorhead was simply paving a new genre with this stuff.”

5. Jailbait

“The song is explicitly about exactly what the title states. While I understand that young women were a very prominent lyrical topic in 70s/80s rock and metal, “Jailbait” is uncomfortably straightforward with what it’s talking about. Frustratingly, it happen to have one of Ace of Spades‘ best instrumentals. The fact that such an outstanding instrumental was wasted on a creepy, uncomfortable, and mildly pedophilic song is nothing short of anger inducing.”

See more: Motörhead Songs Ranked

4. The Chase Is Better Than the Catch

“Really, the album doesn’t let up the intensity until “The Chase is Better Than the Catch”, which may be a few dozen beats slower than the rest of the album, but rocks just as hard. One of the most swaggering songs to ever be released since the Rolling Stones started sucking in the mid 70’s. “

3. Love Me Like a Reptile

“Love Me Like a Reptile is, lyrically, the more sexual side of Ace of Spades. It holds up to Ace of Spades instrumentally and has a lower pitched chorus (which plays off of the somewhat strained Ace of Spades really well) that adds some interesting vocal (or maybe it’s guitar?) effects.”

2. (We Are) the Roadcrew

“The blazing guitar solo in We Are The Road Crew, where Eddie literally falls over and the guitar feeds back in piercing noise, and then Eddie “recovers” and just picks up soloing again is one of the highlights of the entire Motorhead discography.”

1. Ace of Spades

“Ace of Spades is probably the career defining set from these speed freaks. Of all the Motorhead albums I own, Ace of Spades is without a doubt the most consistent piece of music that the core group put together. Some may point to Overkill and if you’ve got a pair maybe even Inferno(which smokes) but Ace of Spades will be Motorhead’s legacy to metal.”