“I got home and put it on… My mind f**king exploded”: Surprise, surprise – this classic Motörhead song is Kirk Hammett’s favourite
The impact Motörhead had on the rock world cannot be understated. Most rock artists can trace their influences back to Lemmy and co in some way. Let’s be honest, we can all remember the first time we heard that smouldering intro riff of Ace of Spades.
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett remembers it well; and says his mind “exploded” when he heard Lemmy’s Ace of Spades vocals enter for the first time.
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“Lemmy was the real deal, right to the fucking end,” Hammett tells Metal Hammer. “I saw that Ace of Spades cover and was like, ‘I’ve gotta buy this album.’ I got home and put it on… Oh, my god. Lemmy starts singing, my mind fucking exploded. It was like he’d got a distortion box in his throat. It’s so dirty and aggressive, so real!”
Indeed, Metallica owes a great debt to Motörhead for the band’s influence on their music. Following Lemmy’s death on 28 December, 2015, his ashes were dispersed far and wide (with some finding their way behind the bar at London’s Stringfellows strip club, no less).
A small portion of his ashes, though, found their way under James Hetfield’s skin, after he got a tattoo of the ace of spades using ink mixed with Lemmy’s actual ashes.
“With the steady hand of friend and tattoo artist Corey Miller, this tattoo [is] a salute to my friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister,” Hetfield wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “Without him, there would be NO Metallica.”
He added: “Black ink mixed with a pinch of his cremation ashes that were so graciously given to me. So now, he is still able to fly the bird at the world.”
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Kirk Hammett’s answer was part of a new feature by Metal Hammer charting the greatest Motörhead tracks as chosen by a number of metal artists. Naturally, Ace of Spades is a common favourite among rock fans, but other classics like Overkill, Hellraiser and Killed By Death also deserve their praise.
“Killed By Death is one of my favourite songs ever, not just Motörhead songs,” says Mastodon’s Brann Dailor. “Whenever they would launch into that live it was like, ‘Oh boy, here we go!’ Killed, by death. Can you imagine?! Death gets us all, but this makes it personal… and badass.”
“Tracks like Hellraiser really shaped how I play guitar,” says Halestorm leader Lzzy Hale. “Growing up, my dad was a bass player, so my first real experience playing ‘guitar’ was on his bass. My dad was like, ‘Think about Lemmy from Motörhead! He plays bass like a guitar!’”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
