Lemmy is an artist that needs no introduction. The man is a legend in every sense of the word, and everyone in the music industry mourned his tragic passing in 2015. The lead singer and bass player for Motörhead for 40 years, Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister firmly cemented his place in musical history as one of the most talented, unique, and truly rock and roll musicians of all time.

It felt only right that Hellfest would pay tribute to the great man with a statue in his honor, which was first erected in 2016. But time has not been kind to the creation. The plaster material has been ravaged by weather and began to crumble, leading to the decision to have it removed and replaced.

Fans had mixed reactions to this news, that is, until they saw the work in progress on the new statue. Artist Caroline Brisset has chosen metal for her medium, far studier and wildly way more appropriate considering her muse. The official unveiling was yesterday and you can see from released images that the piece captures an amazing level of detail. It feels like Lemmy. 

Kilmister became as famous for his rock and roll lifestyle as his music, being known as every bit the hard-partying bad boy. He was controversial, fun, exciting, and never shy about being who he was. This made him impossible not to love. His signature playing style was anything but; treating the bass as a guitar and pushing the instrument to its limits to give us some of the most incredible low-end sounds we’ve ever experienced. His gravelly voice, snarling Motörhead’s epic vocals, is so distinctive, and was the perfect fit for their edgy, hard rock style, which saw them set the stage for a new kind of music. British heavy metal.

This genre felt niche at the time, but it was soon obvious that the world was screaming for it. Motörhead with Lemmy at the helm, pushed boundaries we didn’t even know existed until they gave those boundaries a glorious middle finger and paved the way for the resurgence of heavy metal that stormed the late 1970s and continued right through the 1980s.

The original statue was wonderful, but the new, literal metal one, is just the next level of awesome. Brisset has created something truly beautiful and awe-inspiring here. Lemmy has finally returned to Hellfest, and we couldn’t be happier to see him again!

Author: Harley Houghton

Harley Houghton is a writer and blogger, based in Melbourne, Australia. Her passions include music, especially metal, gaming and comics. Check out her blog www.harleysmadhouse.com and follow her on Twitter.