Genre: Rock โnโ Roll / Speed Metal / Punk-tinged Carnage
Formed: 1975 โ London, England
Known For: Loudness, Lemmy, war-themed basslines, and changing everything ๐ค
๐ฉ WHO THE HELL WERE MOTรRHEAD?
Motรถrhead wasnโt just a band โ they were a f**ing religion*.
Led by the immortal Lemmy Kilmister โ gravel-voiced outlaw, bassist from hell, slot machine enthusiast, and actual god among men โ Motรถrhead stripped rock down to the studs, supercharged it with speed and swagger, and invented an entire generation of chaos.
They werenโt metal, but metal wouldnโt exist without them. They werenโt punk, but punks bowed to their riffs.
They were Motรถrhead. They played rock โnโ roll. And they were LOUDER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.
โ๏ธ THE LINE-UP OF LEGENDS
- Lemmy Kilmister โ Bass/Vocals / Voice of doom / The Patron Saint of Donโt-Give-a-F***
- โFastโ Eddie Clarke โ Guitar (classic era shredder)
- Phil โPhilthy Animalโ Taylor โ Drums (wildman, legend, actual animal)
- Mikkey Dee โ Drums from 1992 onwards / thunder incarnate
- Phil Campbell โ Guitar (joined 1984) / riff machine from Wales ๐ด
- Wรผrzel, Brian Robertson, and more โ all part of the roaring machine
Lemmy famously said:
โWe are Motรถrhead, and we play rock โnโ roll.โ
And thatโs all you needed to know.
๐ฟ THE MOTรRHEAD DISCOGRAPHY โ DIRTY, LOUD & PROUD ๐ค๐
1๏ธโฃ Motรถrhead (1977)
๐งจ Raw, messy, glorious chaos
๐ง Motรถrhead, Iron Horse/Born to Lose
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
2๏ธโฃ Overkill (1979)
โก THE START OF THE ONSLAUGHT. Double bass mayhem.
๐ง Overkill, Stay Clean, No Class
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
This is where they became dangerous.
3๏ธโฃ Bomber (1979)
โ๏ธ Faster, filthier, even tighter.
๐ง Bomber, Dead Men Tell No Tales
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
4๏ธโฃ Ace of Spades (1980)
๐ THE CLASSIC. The Anthem. THE DEFINITION OF METAL COOL.
๐ง Ace of Spades, Love Me Like a Reptile, The Chase is Better Than the Catch
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Changed everything. Still flawless.
5๏ธโฃ Iron Fist (1982)
๐๏ธ Gritty, groovy, and packed with attitude
๐ง Iron Fist, Iโm the Doctor
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
6๏ธโฃ Another Perfect Day (1983)
๐ฉ Brian Robertson joins. Weird, underrated gem.
๐ง Shine, I Got Mine
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
7๏ธโฃ Orgasmatron (1986)
๐ Crushing mid-’80s aggression. Doom meets speed.
๐ง Orgasmatron, Deaf Forever
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
8๏ธโฃ Rock โnโ Roll (1987)
๐ธ Straightforward, unapologetic pub brawler of an album
๐ง Rock โnโ Roll, Stone Deaf in the USA
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
9๏ธโฃ 1916 (1991)
๐ช Shockingly emotional + experimental. Lemmyโs heart bleeds.
๐ง 1916, No Voices in the Sky
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Title track will make you cry in your cut-off denim vest.
๐ฅ LATER YEARS: PURE UNSTOPPABLE GRIT
๐ฅ Bastards (1993) โ One of their best. Criminally slept on.
๐ง Born to Raise Hell, Death or Glory
๐ฅ Sacrifice (1995), Overnight Sensation (1996), Snake Bite Love (1998), We Are Motรถrhead (2000)
๐ง Raw as hell. Never let up. Never gave in.
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ (consistently wild)
๐ FINAL RUN โ THE KINGS NEVER FELL
Inferno (2004)
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ Lemmy ages like bourbon & gunpowder
๐ง In the Name of Tragedy, Killers
Kiss of Death (2006), Motรถrizer (2008), The Wรถrld is Yours (2010)
๐ง Rock Out, Runaround Man
Bad Magic (2015)
โฐ๏ธ The last word. Lemmyโs final roar. A perfect goodbye.
๐ง Thunder & Lightning, When the Sky Comes Looking for You
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐ค LEMMY โ THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE MONSTER
He drank Jack for breakfast.
He smoked 40 a day.
He played bass like a rhythm guitarist in a demolition derby.
He once told MTV to f off mid-interview***.
And he never, EVER sold out.
Lemmy wasnโt just Motรถrheadโs frontman โ he was rock โnโ roll.
RIP to the last true outlaw of music. โ๐ค
๐ RIFF REPORT ESSENTIAL PLAYLIST
๐ง Ace of Spades โ No explanation needed
๐ง Overkill โ Drum intro of the gods
๐ง Stay Clean โ Bassline face-melter
๐ง Bomber โ Straight into the warzone
๐ง Born to Raise Hell โ Party anthem forever
๐ง Orgasmatron โ Sabbath meets Satanโs train
๐ง We Are Motรถrhead โ Their mission statement
๐ง 1916 โ Haunting, historic, heartbreaking
๐ง When the Sky Comes Looking for You โ Lemmyโs goodbye
๐ดโโ ๏ธ WHY MOTรRHEAD STILL MATTER
Because they never stopped.
They were the realest, rawest, most righteous rock band to ever plug in a bass and shout into the abyss.
They didnโt care about charts. Or image. Or trends.
They only cared about:
- Playing LOUD ๐
- Living FREE ๐๏ธ
- And raising HELL ๐ฅ
And every single one of us has screamed along to Ace of Spades at 1am in a field somewhere. Thatโs legacy.
๐ค FINAL VERDICT FROM THE RIFF REPORT:
Motรถrhead didnโt just play rock โnโ roll. They WERE rock โnโ roll.
Lemmy was our prophet. The band was our sermon. And their discography? Scripture for the loud and free.
So next time you raise a pint, light a cig, or plug into an amp, say it loud:
โI AM MOTรRHEAD, AND I PLAY ROCK โNโ ROLL!โ








