Lemmy Kilmister’s opinion on Slipknot and Limp Bizkit

Lemmy Kilmister was a unique singer, songwriter, bassist and character, the embodiment of Rock and Roll music. He didn’t just play that kind of music, he lived it, doing many of the things he sang about. He was never afraid to share his true opinions, even when it came to other bands.

A lot changed in Rock and Metal during the late 1990s, including the rise of Nu Metal, with bands like Slipknot and Limp Bizkit.

What was Lemmy Kilmister’s opinion on Slipknot and Limp Bizkit

Lemmy was not a fan of both bands and even said in an interview in 2002 that he believed Slipknot wouldn’t be as successful as older bands. “In 20 years you will not be singing Slipknot songs walking down the street, in your head, you know?”. Two years before he had already called their music “crap” in an interview with Ear Candy magazine. “That’s right & fucking people like Limp Bizkit, I don’t understand it. I don’t understand their success. What the fuck is this, its just rubbish! You’re just garage attendants with fucking gas masks on. And I mean I don’t mind kids having their own thing, I’m all for it. When you’re 17, you want a 17-year-old band to play for you, you don’t want these old fuckers like me.”

Slipknot’s vocalist was a good friend of Lemmy

The musician recalled how he met Lemmy in an interview with The Guardian in 2015, just a few days after the Motörhead’s leader passed away. “The first time I ever saw Motörhead was on my favourite TV show at the time, The Young Ones. Mike (Christopher Ryan) pointed at the screen and belted: ‘Music!’ Suddenly, that now familiar bass riff to Ace of Spades was punching me in the face. I realised I was listening to one of my favourite songs for the first time.”

“(…) Lemmy Kilmister left us on 28 December, 2015, a couple of days after learning he had cancer. He had been fighting off poor health for a few years, but as his friend, I just assumed he would do what he always did: smile back and fly a gnarly middle finger. In a career that could be calculated in generations, Lemmy was one of the few proper iconoclasts left standing.”

“He did it his way and never once tried to do it any differently. He has been called “the grandaddy of thrash”, but Lem always insisted he just played rock’n’roll. We got to be pretty close over the years, touring the world together on various festivals or running into each other at awards shows. I was lucky to call him my friend,” Corey Taylor said.

In 2025 the band celebrates their 30th anniversary and are one of the most successful American Metal bands from the past decades. They have sold an estimated amount of more than 30 million records worldwide.

Lemmy Kilmister said Limp Bizkit’s music was hopeless

Although Lemmy was not a fan of Limp Bizkit‘s music, their vocalist Fred Durst paid tribute to Lemmy in 2016 when he sang “Ace of Spades” with the supergroup Royal Machines. A few years before, Lemmy was not happy with the state of Rock and Heavy Metal. He called the music of bands like Limp Bizkit and Tool hopeless.

He mentioned them when he was asked by Hot Press why Motörhead still was not very successful in the United States. “We’re not pretty enough and the music’s too brutal for them. Everything there is fad-driven. Limp fucking Bizkit and Tool and all that. It’s just fucking hopeless. If that’s the future of rock ‘n’ roll, it’s suicide for me,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

Curiously, in 2010 Motörhead recorded the album “The Wörld Is Yours” with the producer Cameron Webb, who had worked with Limp Bizkit earlier in his career. Webb also produced their final albums: “Aftershock” (2013) and “Bad Magic” (2015).

With a more commercial sound, Limp Bizkit sold 10 million albums more than Slipknot. They have sold an estimated amount of more than 40 million records worldwide. They remain one of the most successful bands from the Nu Metal era.