Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead is dead— god is dead

December 29, 2015

Justin Kendall,

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“Fuck,” the first text read.

A minute later, another: “Lemmy Kilmister is dead.”

Seconds later: “Fuck.”

Friend and former Pitch writer Peter Rugg sent those texts to me last night, and so began a mournful end to Monday night. When I read those words — even reading them now — I’m in denial. Lemmy dead? After 70 hard-charging, seemingly indestructible and ageless years? As Rugg wrote in a February 2011 review of Motörhead’s show at the Midland.

When Motorhead comes onstage, you can’t even tell what year it is at first. Nothing ever changes. They’re all still wearing the black-metal uniform. Lemmy’s voice crosses the dry Sahara of his throat and comes out ragged. It’s impossible to listen to any one member of the group, because the venue becomes so saturated with sonic power that the drums, guitar and bass become a single beast rolling in the mud.

But the death of the 70-year-old bassist and singer (Lemmy’s birthday was on Christmas Eve) — attributed to a “battle with an extremely aggressive cancer,” which he was diagnosed with just two days prior — has been confirmed by the band on social media. Fuck you, cancer, for leaving us in a post-Lemmy world.

There is no easy way to say this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely…

Posted by Official Motörhead on Monday, December 28, 2015

Ozzy Osourne added:

Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side.

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) December 29, 2015

I’ve never met anyone who loved the iconic madman and leader of Motörhead more than Rugg. Fuck, Rugg ate fire — Lemmy’s “Krakatoa Surprise” — in honor of the man who gave us “Ace of Spades” and “Whorehouse Blues.” In 2008, Rugg and I attended Motörhead’s show at the VooDoo Lounge. The show was a pummeling affair, and I’m pretty sure my ears are still ringing. It was the loudest concert I’ve ever attended.

In 2009, then-Pitch music editor Jason Harper wrote of a similar experience at Motörhead’s 2009 Midland show:

During this time, my companion Petrus (whose name means “rock”) and I had no trouble moving down close, installing ourselves within 10, 15 feet of the stage-right PA stack and steps away from the barrier. This arrangement would not last long.

Petrus compared Lemmy’s bass sound to the concussive blasts that set into motion the apocalypse that prefaces Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Of Lemmy’s patented invocation (We are Motorhead, and we play rock and roll in case you forgot), Petrus said, “It’s the zen koan of metal.”

No sooner had he spake these words than Motorhead was on stage, tearing into “Iron Fist” with the fury of a napalm attack on a village made of stick houses. We had to retreat.

I’d be shocked to learn that Petrus was anyone other than Rugg — and that force of nature has weighed in at his new gig at Inverse. Here’s a clip but make sure you read the full tribute.

My final count for Motörhead show attendance ends at seven. This is a respectable number but hardly extraordinary. I couldn’t tell you what year any of them took place in because once you walked into the concert hall there were no signifiers anymore. Just the band in the same cowboy/pirate gear kicking ass and Lemmy’s rumbling bass notes shearing through the dark like a series of concussive A-bomb detonations. They didn’t waste their audience’s time. They played faster and louder because people have shit to do. That was a life lesson. That he was no virtuoso, or even professionally groomed, was life lesson number two.

In 2006, Lemmy granted an interview to The Pitch. In it, he explained why he likes living in Los Angeles but hates the government. Here’s an excerpt of that conversation.

I don’t like any government, truly. I hate all politicians just by definition. If somebody wants to be a politician, there’s already a serious question mark next to them. Imagine wanting to kiss other people’s babies! Fuckin’ hell, it’s hard enough kissing your own, you know! You have to be two-faced. That’s the first requirement. In case the party changes its stance on something, you gotta be able to turn straight around 180 degrees and lie.

And say, “I always felt that way.”

Yeah — “I always thought they were cunts!” [Laughs]

What’s your take on 9/11?

September 11th was George Bush’s Reichstag fire. It’s exactly the same. Politician seizes disaster and takes away civil liberties in the name of freedom. It’s just crap. The American people are no safer than they were before. It’s just difficult to get on a plane.

RIP, Lemmy. And one more time, “We are Motörhead. We play rock and roll.”

See also:

Mr. Kilmister