James Hetfield: 'Metallica wouldn’t exist without Motörhead'
Metallica singer James Hetfield has spoken about the profound impact Lemmy and Motörhead have had on his band.
The track ‘Murder One’ on Metallica’s upcoming new album ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct’ is a homage to the late Lemmy Kilmister and is named after his favourite amp on stage.
“I loved being murdered every night by that thing,” James said. “He was just such an icon, such an inspiration to us as a band.
“There's certainly no way we'd be around if there was no Motörhead. And, you know, to see your idol, your immortal one, actually be mortal, it hit us pretty hard. So I felt, lyrically, it makes sense to acknowledge him and how much he's meant in our lives."
In the interview with US station 95.5 KLOS, James also called upon the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to inaugurate Motörhead.
"There are so many great bands that haven't been acknowledged with that, and if they do or don't, it's really not up to me,” he continued. “But it is just a nod, it's a tip of the cap. And what does it really mean to be in there? I don't know. But to some of these bands, it might mean the world.
“But, absolutely, and, unfortunately, with the passing of Lemmy, it's really, really important for me to see Motörhead acknowledged in that, 'cause there's no more rock and roll person on this planet than Lemmy and Motörhead."
Elsewhere in the interview, James revealed that Metallica are currently plotting their WorldWired tour dates across the globe – and conceded they won’t be packing in too many dates each week.
“We're booking out the next couple of years and where we're gonna go and how we're gonna get there and what it's gonna look like,” James said.
“So we're pretty excited about that. We're still trying to figure out what makes most sense for us, how can we get the best out of our time, playing the best places with the time that we do have and wanna put into this on the road. It's changed a little bit for us.
“You know, you're getting older and you wanna still do what you're doing, and it takes a little more time to do it. So we're not out there killing ourselves on a three-year, five-shows-a-week tour. So we're working this out how it needs to be now, I guess, age appropriately, so my body can survive it."
Metallica’s new album ‘Hardwired To Self-Destruct’ is released on Friday 18th November.
This coming Monday (14th November) at 11pm, Planet Rock Plays It In Full will be playing your favourite Motörhead album in its glorious entirety with no interruptions, no jingles and no presenters.
To cast your vote on your favourite album click here.