JAMES HETFIELD Got A MOTÖRHEAD Tattoo With Some Of LEMMY’s Ashes Mixed In

The world is slowly approaching one full decade without legendary Motörhead vocalist Lemmy and the tributes have hardly slowed down. This time around it’s all about Metallica frontman James Hetfield paying tribute to the legend with a middle finger tattoo (literally) of Motörhead‘s classic “iron cross with a spade in the middle” icon. And to keep things extra metal, Hetfield‘s tattoo contains some of Lemmy’s actual ashes.

“With the steady hand of friend and tattoo artist Corey Miller, this tattoo,” wrote Hetfield. “A salute to my friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister. Without him, there would be NO Metallica. Black ink mixed with a pinch of his cremation ashes that were so graciously given to me. So now, he is still able to fly the bird at the world.”

Some of Lemmy‘s ashes were sent to close friends like Hetfield, Rob Halford, Doro Pesch, and Whitfield Crane, while some were scattered at the Wacken Open Air music festival in August 2023. The remaining portion of the ashes will be forever enshrined at Lemmy‘s favorite haunt, the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, CA.

A ceremony for the enshrinement will be help on April 19 at 9pm PST, with the Rainbow Bar & Grill inviting fans to come by and “raise a very unique toast to Lemmy and Motörhead with the unveiling of brand new Motörhead Whiskey.”

One story that surfaced over the years since Lemmy‘s passing was Rainbow owner Mikael Maglieri bringing over a video game machine that Lemmy used to play all the time at the bar, as Lemmy became too weak to leave his apartment in his final days. Lemmy ultimately succumbed to cancer and heart issues on December 28, 2015.

“He [Lemmy] gets home [from tour], we have a big birthday party for him at the Whisky a Go Go. His friends came down and played,” said Lemmy‘s manager, Todd Singerman in the years since. “Two days later I could tell he wasn’t feeling good. So we took him to the hospital. They release him. Then after the brain scan, they found the cancer in his brain and his neck. The doctor comes with the result a couple of days later and says ‘It’s terminal.'”

Alongside the enshrinement of the ashes comes a statue commemorating Lemmy in his home town of Burslem, England. The statue recently received approval from the town and is planned to be erected sometime this year.