Heavy metal or punk rock? For Motörhead, the line never really existed. Lemmy and his wrecking crew stood as the one band both tribes could claim as their own, a unifying force at a time when fists flew more often than pints were shared. As Lemmy himself once put it: "The punks loved us. The only reason we weren’t in that lot was because we had long hair, so obviously we must be heavy metal."
That crossover spirit is now being honored on Killed By Deaf – A Punk Tribute To Motörhead, out October 31st via BMG. Across fourteen tracks, punk legends and new blood alike tear through Motörhead classics with the ferocity they inspired in the first place.
Pennywise rev up "Ace of Spades," Rancid dive into "Sex & Death," The Bronx rip "Over The Top," Lagwagon tackle "Rock ’N’ Roll," FEAR snarl through "The Chase Is Better Than The Catch," and GBH detonate "Bomber." Upstarts like Slaughterhouse, Love Canal, and Soldiers Of Destruction sit comfortably alongside the veterans, a reminder that Motörhead always championed the underdog.
The record closes on a historic rarity: a previously unheard 2002 version of The Damned's "Neat Neat Neat," with Lemmy himself joining the punk pioneers for a blistering run-through that blurs the lines between the two camps once more. The full tracklist is:
- Pennywise "Ace of Spades"
- Rancid "Sex & Death"
- The Bronx "Over The Top"
- Lagwagon "Rock ‘N’ Roll"
- FEAR "The Chase Is Better Than The Catch"
- GBH "Bomber"
- Murphy’s Law "Stay Clean"
- Slaughterhouse "Love Me Like A Reptile"
- The Casualties "The Hammer"
- Anti-Nowhere League "Born To Raise Hell"
- Love Canal "Voices In The Sky"
- Soldiers Of Destruction "Overkill"
- Wisdom In Chains "Iron Fist"
- Motörhead & The Damned "Neat Neat Neat"
Motörhead’s connection to punk runs deep — from their shared bills with The Damned in the late ’70s to penning "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." in honor of New York’s finest, to Lemmy’s brief stint playing bass in The Doomed. It’s only fitting, then, that some of punk’s most respected voices return the favor here.
Killed By Deaf will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats, with pre-orders live now here.
