Slash’s two favourite Motörhead songs: “There is so many”
When people talk about the best rock bands to make music, Motörhead don’t often enter the conversation. While they are certainly respected, their sound is often considered a bit too similar to be worthy of critical acclaim; however, the fact is that without Motörhead, there would be a much-needed energy missing from the world of rock that is present in so many bands if you look hard enough.
One of those bands is Guns N’ Roses. If you listen to their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, songs on there, such as ‘Out Ta Get Me’, ‘Mr Brownstone’ and ‘Double Talkin’ Jive’, are all completely packed with an undeniable feel that stems directly from Motörhead. They played in an upbeat and exciting way, which meant people loved to move to their music, throw devil horns up in the air, and scream along to Lemmy’s lyrics as if they were in the band themselves.
When you listen to the guitar riffs in early Guns N’ Roses music, there is no doubt that Slash takes a lot from the band. The pace at which they are played and the distortion-laden sound is a clear homage to the band. As such, when Slash was asked what his favourite song by Motörhead was, it’s only fitting that the first words out of his mouth were, “Oh fuck”.
Mirrored aviators covering half his face, the guitarist stroked the stubble of his chin as he pondered through Motörhead’s discography. “There’s so many great Motörhead songs. I’ll just go, like, ‘(We Are) The Roadcrew’ was one of my favourite songs for the longest time, and I actually nearly named my band Roadcrew after that song.”
Motörhead wasn’t afraid of a short song. They knew that if they kept things snappy and infused a track with the energy that people loved so much about them, then the fans would listen. That being said, they weren’t afraid of a longer number either, as some of their tracks leaned more on the anthemic side. It’s one of these that also stands out to Slash.
“’Killed by Death’ is probably one of my favourite Motörhead anthems, but if we sat here for a second, we could go through Motörhead songs for hours, right?”
If you ever needed more proof that Slash was a huge fan of Motörhead and took inspiration from them in his music, all you need to do is listen to some of the tracks he and Lemmy made together. On his self-titled solo album, Slash worked with various vocalists, creating songs that catered to their style. One of these tracks was ‘Doctor Alibi’, which featured Lemmy, and the two jelled so seamlessly that you would think it was a Motörhead track in itself. Slash represents a large portion of the rock community who took a lot from the band, and subsequently, Lemmy and the band don’t get the full credit they deserve.
