No. 329: Motorhead - "Ace Of Spades" (1980)

I watched Lemmy the other night: the new documentary on Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, lead singer/bass player of British hard rock band Motorhead. Lemmy is one of those classic rock & roll survivors and all-round hellraisers: a man who lives by his own unique rules, has a passion for collecting war memorabilia, and today remains as a walking middle finger to musical mediocrity in all its various forms. He first rose to fame with space-rock outfit Hawkwind in the early 70's before being booted out and going on to form Motorhead, who are generally regarded as the band that had the biggest influence on the "Big Four" thrash acts of the early 80's: Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden & Megadeth.
It was an entertaining doco, with a "behind the scenes" look at Lemmy's private life & penchant for slot machines, plus guest appearances from Lemmy's biggest fans in the biz (such as Lars Ulrich from Metallica and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl).
One of his crowning achievements however is this album, with the awesome speed riffing of the title track, "Ace Of Spades": not only the definitive Motorhead track, but one of the cornerstones of speed metal. And the rest of the album keeps up the same relentless pace, capped off by Lemmy's brilliant barking vocal prowess.
This album is a knockout and should be Lesson 1 for all speed metal freaks everywhere.