Formed by Lemmy Kilmister in 1975, Motörhead was one of the few bands who were loved both by metalheads and punks. They were a huge inspiration for the Metallica members and the guitarist Kirk Hammett was a big fan and friend of the late legendary singer, songwriter and bassist. He recalled in an interview with Metal Hammer his reaction when he first heard their music.
Kirk Hammett recalls his reaction when he first heard Motörhead
“Lemmy was the real deal, right to the fucking end. When I first saw the cover of ‘Ace Of Spades,’ I just fucking knew, man. I’d heard (1979’s) ‘Overkill’ before that and remember thinking, ‘this is way faster than Scorpions or UFO. ‘Overkill,’ cool!'”
“But then a week or whatever later, I saw that ‘Ace Of Spades’ cover and was just like, OK, I’ve gotta buy this album. I got home and put it on… Oh my god! Lemmy opens up his voice and starts singing, my mind fucking exploded.”
“Me and all my friends were into punk rock, right? Local San Francisco hardcore bands; me and my friends fucking loved it. The tone of Lemmy’s voice was like he’d got a distortion box in his throat. The sound of that bass too! I felt like I was in the mud with those guys. It’s so dirty and aggressive, so real!” Kirk Hammett said.
Metallica covered four Motörhead songs “Overkill”, “Damage Case”, “Stone Dead Forever” and “Too Late Too Late” on their 1998 covers album “Garage Inc.” Lemmy eventually played some of those songs live with the group a few years before his death.
Motörhead were nominated four times for Grammy Awards, but curiously, the only time they won was in 2004 for their cover of Metallica’s “Whiplash.” Lemmy passed away in 2015 at the age of 70.