Metallica’s new song ‘Murder One’ is a tribute to Lemmy

Metallica have revealed that the penultimate track on ‘Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct’ is a tribute to their hero Lemmy Kilmister.

Published 27th Sep 2016

Speaking at a fan question and answer session at SiriusXM's New York studios yesterday (26th September), the band said ‘Murder One’ incorporates many of Lemmy’s song titles in its lyrics.

"Motörhead had a lot to do with Metallica sitting here right now," James Hetfield told the audience.

"But just Lemmy as an entity, as kind of a father figure, he helped us a lot. He was unafraid. And he was a character. And he was himself. And we all respected that so much. He did his own thing to the last breath. No matter who you are, how could you not be inspired by that?"

Drummer Lars Ulrich explained that without Lemmy Metallica wouldn’t exist: "In the summer of 1981, I followed Motörhead around on tour. That was what made me want to be in a band.

“When I came back to Southern California and called up James and said, 'Listen, we've got to give this a shot,' ... Motörhead is the catalyst."

Elsewhere in the chat, Metallica expressed their concern about the future of rock.

"Where is the new generation of arena bands?" Kirk Hammett asked. "Where are they? Can anyone answer that?"

Recounting a chat he had with Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler, Robert Trujillo added: "I ran into Geezer on a flight from London to California, and he was like, 'Who's gonna carry the torch? When Metallica's done and we're done, who will it be?' I was like, 'Let me think about that.'"

Boasting the tracks ‘Hardwired’ and the recently premiered ‘Moth Into Flame’, 'Hardwired... To Self Destruct' is released on 18th November.

The full track-listing is as follows:

Disc One
Hardwired
Atlas, Rise!
Now That We’re Dead
Moth Into Flame
Dream No More
Halo On Fire

Disc Two
Confusion
ManUNkind
Here Comes Revenge
Am I Savage?
Murder One
Spit Out the Bone

Disc Three (Deluxe Edition Only)
Lords of Summer
Ronnie Rising Medley
When a Blind Man Cries
Remember Tomorrow
Helpless (Live at Rasputin Music)
Hit the Lights (Live at Rasputin Music)
The Four Horsemen (Live at Rasputin Music)
Ride the Lightning (Live at Rasputin Music)
Fade to Black (Live at Rasputin Music)
Jump in the Fire (Live at Rasputin Music)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Rasputin Music)
Creeping Death (Live at Rasputin Music)
Metal Militia (Live at Rasputin Music)
Hardwired (Live in Minneapolis)