With a slight detour over Iggy Pop and Ronnie James Dio I have now arrived at a new era of the heavy metal genre: New Wave Of British Heavy Metal or NWOBHM. The NWOBHM was an underground phenomenon in the mid 1970s bringing out a new sound that had not been heard until then. The first heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Rainbow or Judas Priest still had very clear and audible blues roots and were still very close to hard rock. In the beginning of the 1970s the popularity of rock and heavy metal suffered. Punk, disco and mainstream rock were the predominant genres.
One of the very first bands that took the metal roots of the 70s and took it to another level altogether was Motörhead.
"Very basic music - loud, fast, city, raucous, arrogant, paranoid, speed-freak rock n roll. It will be so loud that if we move in next door to you, your lawn will die."
Lemmy Kilmister
Motörhead were formed in 1975 in London. Lemmy Kilmister (1945 - 2015) was the only constant member of the band and he is known for his gruff voice and different way of playing bass.
"I play a lot of notes, but I also play a lot of chords. And I play a lot of open strings. I just don't play like a bass player. There are complaints about me from time to time. It's not like having a bass player; it's like having a deep guitarist."
Lemmy in We Do Not Bend The Knee. Motorhead Interview.
Motörhead released 22 studio albums and played a significant role in the heavy metal landscape for 40 years. Officially Motörhead is classified as heavy metal but Lemmy never agreed with this. For him what he was doing was Rock'n'Roll. And Rock'n'Roll for him was about "making a loud noise to piss your parents off and to get laid."
Motörhead released their first album in 1977. The first commercial success however came 1979 with the release of the albums Overkill and Bomber and Ace of Spades in 1980. The band had everything the NWOBHM stands for: they were loud (one of the loudest bands in the world actually with 130 dB), they were fast, they showcased a monster on their album cover and they did not hide the way of music they intended to do. When you held a Motörhead album in your hand it was very clear what to expect. Gone were the elements of the Hippie movement and blues rock era. The sound that originated with Motörhead continued through the whole NWOBHM.
Motörhead is one of the very few bands that were liked by both punks and metalheads. Both groups could compromise on their sound.
"I thought we were more like a punk band really. I mean if you shut your eyes and forget our history then we are a punk band, sound more like punk band than a metal band. We always had more in common with The Damned than Judas Priest. But we have long hair, so we have to be metal. Obvious to any thinking man."
The sound of Motörhead was influenced by psych rock and garage rock like the MC5 or The Stooges. Their music was not punk but with the same energy as punk music. They played very fast and became a big influence for thrash metal. 2017 Lemmy was even inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for being the creator of thrash metal.
Motörhead was groundbreaking for thrash metal bands like Metallica and Slayer. Lars Ulrich from Metallica is a big Motörhead fan and James Hetfield referred to Lemmy as "The Godfather of Heavy Metal". Here is a cool live performance of Lemmy and Metallica in 2009. It's really fun to see how all of them are having a great time.
For me personally, Motörhead is a band I can listen to for a very limited time only because Lemmy's voice is so special and his intonation is very monotonous. The songs tend to sound pretty similar. I am sure there are many Motörhead fans out there that will beg to differ though. There are good songs on each album and they are fun to listen to and they get you into a "getting things done" mode. But I cannot listen to a complete album and I don't have the desire to listen to all 22 studio albums. It is similar to my relationship with Black Sabbath. I can absolutely see why this band is important and that it played a big role in the evolution of metal, but the singing gets in the way of me really enjoying the music.
The music of Motörhead stayed very consistent throughout the years as did Lemmy. He stayed true to himself, never changing for anybody or anything. He lived for Rock'n'Roll and was completely void of airs and graces, never in it for the money but for the music and the fans. I find this very impressing and likeable about him. It's hard not to like him. The documentary "Lemmy" gives a good summary of his life and I enjoyed watching it.
On my spotify playlist I put six of the best-known Motörhead songs: Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, Damage Case, Motörhead and Killed by Death. I guess my absolute favourite is Overkill just because of the super fast drums in the beginning.