SLIPKNOT’s COREY TAYLOR Recalls His First LEMMY Encounter, MOTÖRHEAD Concert Experience (Audio)

SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor has paid tribute to Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, saying that the iconic MOTÖRHEAD frontman and his band leave behind a great musical legacy that goes way beyond “Ace Of Spades”.

During a December 29 appearance on Ozzy’s Boneyard (SiriusXM channel 38), Taylor said about Lemmy: “The first time I met him, I was actually sitting at the touch-screen video game at the Rainbow [Bar And Grill in West Hollywood] playing it, because I knew that he played that game. And I’d had a few, so I’m kind of zoning. I’ve got that letterbox widescreen thing and I can’t really see on my peripherals and shit. And all of a sudden, from behind me, I hear, ‘Ah, it’s a hell of a score.’ And I looked around, and there’s Lemmy just standing there. I was, like, ‘Oh! Dude. Your machine. Here you go.’ And we got to talking, and we were friends ever since.”

Taylor also recalled his introduction to MOTÖRHEAD‘s music. He said: “The first time I ever saw MOTÖRHEAD was on [the U.K. TV series] ‘The Young Ones’, when they did ‘Ace Of Spades’. And that was, like, my favorite show at the time, and I lost my mind. ‘Cause usually, it was kind of weird on there, but then here was this band. I was just, like, ‘What in the hell is this?’ And then I’d found out it was MOTÖRHEAD, and I was instantly in.”

Remembering his initial MOTÖRHEAD live experience, Taylor said: “The first time I saw them live was… It was after I had already been out on the road for a while [with SLIPKNOT]. Because, living in Iowa, MOTÖRHEAD didn’t come around a lot, let’s put it that way. And I can’t blame them, to be honest. We just happened to be on the same festivals, and I can remember [thinking], ‘Oh, they’re playing right before us.’ So I remember running out. I had my black makeup on, I had my coveralls on, but there was no way I was gonna miss MOTÖRHEAD. It was England, I think, but I might be wrong. And I can remember running from the dressing rooms all the way to the stage. And I didn’t even have my passes on me, and I didn’t even care. I ran up the stairs, and they were getting ready to play ‘The Chase Is Better Than The Catch’. And it was everything I wanted it to be. It was so loud that I could have stayed at the dressing room and listened to it, but I wanted to see it for myself.”

Corey praised MOTÖRHEAD‘s musical output, explaining: “The thing about MOTÖRHEAD is that ‘Ace Of Spades’ was just the tip of the iceberg. They had so many great songs that the deeper you got into it, it was just… Their whole catalog is just so good. I mean, my favorite song is a B-side that was on the ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll’ album. It was ‘Cradle To The Grave’, which is such a great jam. I mean, it’s almost like the perfect rock and roll tune; it’s so good.”

Taylor also talked the fact that MOTÖRHEAD appealed to both punks and headbanging metalheads. He said: “[Lemmy] would be the first to argue with you that they were a metal band. And I think that was one of the reasons why, for years, he would go on stage and be, like, ‘We are MOTÖRHEAD, and we play rock and roll.’ And he was absolutely right. But there was just enough aggression that punk kids got into it, like me; metalheads got into it; obviously, hard rock fans, rock and roll fans… He was just across the board. I know he had a big problem with [being called] ‘the grandfather of thrash,’ and in a lot of ways, it’s true.”

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Christmas Eve (December 24), learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, at his home in Los Angeles.

Lemmy had dealt with several health issues over the past few years, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking and Jack Daniels habits.

The band was forced to cancel a number of shows last year, although they did manage to complete one final European tour on December 11.