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Metallica: Lady Gaga Co-Lead Singer, Tribute For Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:54 PST, Mar 2, 2017

Metallica teaming up with Lady Gaga was not something that many people expected to see, but it happened at the Grammys 2017, and most people agree that the joint performance of the iconic song “Moth Into Flame” was amazing.

So amazing, in fact, that after the show, Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich told Access Hollywood that the band has a “new lead singer,” according to News Hub.

“Well, a new co-lead singer is a better way of saying it. We were talking earlier about maybe making her a permanent member of Metallica, and being a five-piece from now on, so we’ll see.”

Not only was the Metallica drummer impressed with Lady Gaga’s performance with the band at the Grammys, but he admitted he was blown away by her performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.

“I think that at a time right now where everything in this country is so divisive, the one thing that everybody could agree on [at the Super Bowl] was that she just nailed it better than anybody ever, so it was awesome.”

Metallica is a classic heavy metal band that is still active today. Founded in 1981, the American band has released ten studio albums until now, and they continue to produce hit songs even today.

Even if its name suggests that it is a heavy metal band, Metallica’s lyrics and music have had several influences, with many fans arguing that the band’s music properly belonged to the “hard rock” genre with elements of heavy metal in it. Metallica has undoubtedly been greatly influenced by Motörhead, the English band formed by Lemmy Kilmister.

In fact, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, Metallica’s tenth and latest studio album, contains a song called “Murder One” that is a dedication to Lemmy Kilmister. According to Blabber Mouth, James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead vocalist and guitarist, spoke about how Lemmy proved to be an inspiration behind “Murder One.”

“‘Murder One’ was the name of [Lemmy’s] amplifier, his favorite amp on stage. And I loved being murdered every night by that thing, man. He was just such an icon, such an inspiration to us as a band.”

Metallica will always cherish the memories of the bygone days when the band’s musical style took shape after listening to Motörhead’s music. Fans can consider “Murder One” as Metallica’s tribute to Lemmy Kilmister, who died in 2015.

Metallica was particularly influenced by the metal band during the early years of the band because they were still experimenting and formulating their own unique musical style. One of the greatest compliments received by Metallica for their music was from none other than Lemmy Kilmister, their main influence, whose spirit still lives in their music. According to Blabbermouth, Kilmister revealed that the band’s ability to beautifully inculcate various influences in their music has made them unique and great.

“You can’t top Metallica. They’re really a f***ing excellent band. I’m delighted that they said that I was one of their influences. Like, they have all of their influences, and you can’t hear the influences in them, which is great.”

Apart from being influenced by Lemmy Kilmister, Metallica’s music is influenced by the life of both of its main songwriters; James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. More particularly, it was the upbringing of these musicians that shaped their lyrics.

As a child, Ulrich was expected to follow his parent’s wishes and ambitions, while Hetfield was raised as a Christian Scientist who felt alienated from his peers due to their different ideals and beliefs. It was natural for the pair to write lyrics that channeled their repressed feelings of rebellion and alienation.

And the band expresses these emotions by including various musical elements in a balanced way. According to The Guardian, Lars Ulrich spoke about how their music was similar to a balanced food diet.

“We had a tendency to look at our albums as a collection of different dynamics: there’s a fast song, a mid-tempo song, a ballad, an instrumental. It’s like food groups – you need your carbs, your protein, all of that.”

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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