Top 10: ’70s Motörhead Songs

Before there was death metal, black metal, thrash, speed, grind, crust, or any other countless bastardizations of extreme metal we take for granted today, there was Motörhead. Formed in 1975, the infamous power trio were the fastest and filthiest band of the ’70s without contest, fusing metal and punk together in a way nobody had ever heard before. However, don’t tell Lemmy this. As far as he was concerned, they simply played rock n’ roll. Because it would be a disservice to boil down a 40 year career to merely 10 songs, and they’re one of the rare bands who never suffered a creative low, we’re tackling Motörhead by the decade, starting with those heavy ’70s. So pour yourself a Jack and coke, place your final bets, and enjoy our Top 10 ’70s Motörhead Songs.

10. “All the Aces”

If there was one thing Lemmy loved as much as sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, it was sticking it to the man. Whether you were warmongering politician, holier than thou religious leader, or greedy businessman, nobody was off limits from Mr. Kilmister’s wrath, and rightfully so. “All the Aces” is one such example of this. In this 1979 classic, Lemmy and company let loose on the “business” side of the music business, addressing that, “One thing I learned, I don’t get what I earn”: A tale as old as rock n’ roll itself. Sadly, more than ever, “All the Aces” are “held by people who ain’t got no faces”. One can’t help but wonder how Lemmy would react to the likes of TikTok and AI’s subsequent hijacking of art. Ugh.

9. “White Line Fever”

The ’70s marked the beginning of cocaine’s two decade reign. Anyone who could afford to get their hands on it did so. Unsurprisingly, many of the drug’s biggest “fans” were rockstars, which led to everyone from Black Sabbath (“Snowblind”) to Ace Frehley (also “Snowblind”) to penning songs about their beloved Peruvian flake. While Motörhead weren’t exactly rolling in the dough the way their ’70s arena rock peers were, that didn’t stop them from getting their hands (or rather noses) dirty as well. “White Line Fever” is among the finest and unsung cocaine anthems of the era, thanks to its rotten production and grimy blur of bass and guitar, the latter being another common theme of Motörhead.

8. “Stone Dead Forever“

What does it even mean to be “Stone Dead Forever”? I’m sure plenty have asked this the same way they’ve asked what the hell it means to be “Killed by Death”, but that’s besides the point. Some things are better left unanswered. In the case of “Stone Dead Forever”, its driving riffage, rumbling bassline, and picturesque lyricism do the talkin’, the latter trope shining in the song’s last verse. “You’re a financial wizard, a top tycoon / A sweet lounge lizard, with a silver spoon”. Again, Lemmy “eats” the rich figuratively speaking, roughly 8 years before he’d pen a tasty jam about exactly that. Again, I’m jumping ahead of myself!

7. “Tear Ya Down”

Look, I’m not saying the bass wasn’t a prominent instrument in rock music prior to Motörhead. Bassists like The Who’s John Entwistle, Yes’ Chris Squire, and Rush’s Geddy Lee were all defying the conventions of what it meant to be a bassist, utilizing the mostly rhythm instrument in a lead manner. However, it was Lemmy who not just approached the bass as a lead instrument, but kicked it into overdrive to be on the same level as the guitars. A prime example of this is the short and anything but sweet “Tear Ya Down”. Lemmy plays along with Fast Eddie, creating a dueling metalpunk melee that was bound to get any glue sniffing maniac of the era pogoing in no time.

6. “Motörhead”

The seeds of Motörhead were sewn by Hawkwind. As bassist and co-lead singer for the infamous cult space rock outfit, Lemmy found his voice as a musician and songwriter, pushing the band’s sonic boundaries with intense musical outbursts, such as “Motörhead”: An ode to speed. Ironically, Lemmy would get kicked out of Hawkwind for doing too much speed (their drug of choice was acid), so it was only right he’d name his next musical venture Motörhead and adopt said song as the band’s unofficial theme song. The rest, as they say, is history. You can call him Motörhead!

5. “No Class”

One of the greatest instances of “borrowing” in rock history, “Damage Case” is a damn near note for note aping of ZZ Top’s “Tush”. In the same breath, it stands on its own as a singular sleaze metal opus, one whose cool and swagger inspired an entire generation of metal, punk, and rock n’ roll bands to follow. Despite the obvious similarities between their songs, ZZ Top had nothing but the utmost respect for Motörhead, as both were tried and true rock n’ roll power trios who always stuck to their guns. Motörhead would go on to tip their cowboy hats even more for the Little Ole Band from Texas in 1980, when they’d cover “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”. Have mercy!

4. “Damage Case”

Speaking of sleaze, get a load of this here bad boy! Lots of rockers over the years have sung about being “tough”, “rough”, “not one to be toyed with”, and every other synonym for “badass” over the years, so much so that it’s become a laughable cliché. Yet when Lemmy sang, “Move over for a damage case”, we believed every word of it. Admittedly, the conviction of his whiskey soaked vocal delivery helped sell it, but so did the song itself, which made the likes of coked out Aerosmith and Bon Scott fronted AC/DC sound timid by comparison. This, my friends, is not a description I use lightly, as both bands are sacred to me. It just goes to show you HOW extreme Motörhead was by ’70s standards.

3. “Bomber”

Another staple of the Motörhead formula? War and its devastating consequence. This was nothing new, of course. Black Sabbath were tackling the battle and bloodshed of Vietnam was back in ’70. However, with their fixation on World War II history and ultra-aggressive musical approach, Motörhead would pave the way for Tank, Sodom, and countless other war obsessed metal bands (proto-war metal?). The greatest example of this is the title track of their third album, “Bomber”. Whereas Sabbath sang about “War Pigs” and “Vietnam napalm” to create horrific visions that paired with Iommi’s “Hand of Doom”, Motörhead’s playing matched the intensity of combat itself, and this was in ’79! Again, its no wonder the likes of Blasphemy and Sarcófago were desecrating eardrums a decade later.

2. “Iron Horse / Born to Lose”

Metal and motorcycles go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. There is nothing more badass than the prospect of owning the highway, just you and your two wheels against the world. And I don’t think a single song in the pantheon of rock n’ roll, not even Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild”, capture this self-empowering, anti-establishment spirit like “Iron Horse / Born to Lose” does. There is an impenetrable cool to this song that isn’t just heard, but felt. From its ZZ Top-esque grooves and tripped out guitar solo, to its overtly picturesque lyricism and defiant outlaw spirit, it would’ve topped this list, if not for the undeniable impact of…

1. “Overkill”

“Overkill” was not the first speed metal song. Throughout the ’70s, countless hard and heavy acts pushed the speedometer to overdrive. Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy”, Judas Priest’s “Exciter”, Sweet’s “Set Me Free”: The list goes on. It was, however, the song that established speed metal as a legitimate subgenre going forward into the ’80s, and laid down the foundation for all extreme metal to follow. At the time, nobody had heard a double bass drum attack like that of Philthy Animal on here. Couple that with equally brutal bass and guitars from Lemmy and Fast Eddie respectively, and you’ve got what may very well be the definitive Motörhead song of all time, or at least the definitive Motörhead song of the ’70s!