Rock 'n' roll survivors

While debates rage in cyberspace over petitions calling for the knighting of Lemmy Kilmister, the grease-and-growl bassist/vocalist and founder of Motörhead, he and his band are on an overnight bus haul to their gig this Saturday at Brno's Velodrome arena. As to whether he would accept the honor that his fans are clamoring for, Kilmister has said yes - even if he has to punch out Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne for the title.

Still, while commanding such loyalty, Motörhead has little taste for demagogy or resting on their laurels. Instead, the band is on a set of world-trotting tours this year, promoting their 24th studio album, Motörizer. This extraordinary endurance is what Motörhead fans have come to expect. Even after three decades of touring, Kilmister and crew are still doing what they do best: hard rock 'n' roll work.

Motörhead's career has always been more about brutal honesty and raw persistence than hustling or cruising for a lucky break. In 1975, recently fired from his previous band for a drug bust, Kilmister pondered his options. Along with his infamous expulsion from Hawkwind, there were other issues, including stints with a string of British '60s bands with dubious track records, less-than-convincing attempts at being a lead guitarist, and a roadie gig with the Jimi Hendrix Experience that included supplying LSD to the band and keeping the amps from falling over whenever Hendrix and his guitar attempted copulation with the speakers.

With the tough lessons of Hendrix and Hawkwind behind him, Kilmister unleashed his next project, called the Bastards, with a crowd-pleasing method he describes to The Prague Post as, "We hoped they liked it loud, or we lost them." Even after the band diplomatically renamed themselves Motörhead, skeptical mid-'70s concertgoers and recording industry pundits made gaining acceptance an uphill fight. But time proved to be on their side, as Motörhead continues to drive an indelible thunderbolt into the heart of rock 'n' roll history.

Over the past couple decades, Motörhead's no-nonsense hard rock has been credited with influencing everything from heavy metal and speed metal to punk and thrash. Even if the heavy-metal habit known as "head-banging" is linked to "Motörheadbangers," the term used to describe Motörhead fans, Kilmister's roots lie closer to rockabilly, Chuck Berry, the Yardbirds and the Ramones.

Yet the complex foundation beneath Motörhead's sound and the widespread claims to the band's influence are not difficult for Kilmister to trace. Asked how rock history connects '50s acts like Little Richard and Elvis with Motörhead-affiliated hard rockers like the Pink Fairies, the Deviants and Hawkwind, Kilmister flatly states, "We were all showing off and trying to get laid."

The band's 2009 release Motörizer shows a group with little left to prove and much more to deliver. Kilmister's vocals have aged remarkably well, with a voice naturally sounding just like it did in the '70s - one foot on the throttle and the other in the grave. And Motörhead's lyrics still spin the themes of wartime human sacrifice, sex and angst, pioneered on their classic albums Ace of Spades, Overkill and Orgasmatron.

This is all familiar territory to the Czech metal veterans Arakain and the hard-rocking Slovak band Tublatanka, who will start off the daylong Motörhead Fest this weekend. For those following these regional metal bands since the '80s, no doubt their sets will include a few torch-lifting arena anthems. It's hard to say, though, how any of this regional rock 'n' roll glory will compare to the headliner Saturday night, as another audience chasing the metal dragon from Deep Purple to Metallica is bound to be reminded: Few bands hold a candle to Motörhead.

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at
features@praguepost.com