Motörhead

United Kingdom, 1975–2015

English band formed in 1975 by bassist and singer Lemmy Kilmister. Their speed and distortion, on albums including Ace of Spades (1980), placed them between punk and the faster metal styles that followed.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Motörhead and 6 artists Motörhead influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Motörhead?

• Jimi Hendrix — Lemmy worked as a roadie for Hendrix and considered him a huge influence.
• Little Richard — Lemmy called Little Richard's rock and roll the root of his energy.
• The Beatles — Lemmy saw the early Beatles live and considered them a tough rock band.

Which artists did Motörhead influence?

• Metallica — Motörhead's speed and drive are the direct ancestor of Metallica's thrash.
• L7 — Where the band actually sits, more than with the grunge they were filed under: the unhinged punk-metal end rather than the introspective one.
• Megadeth — Mustaine has named Motörhead's speed and attitude the fuel of thrash — the shared root of the whole Big Four.
• Venom — Venom fused Motörhead's dirty speed with Black Sabbath's evil to create the blueprint for extreme metal.
• Lord Tracy — One end of the range Deaf Gods of Babylon covers — the record runs from Beastie Boys to Motorhead and back inside a single side.
• Bathory — Part of the metal tradition Quorthon built on, with Black Sabbath and Venom.