10 Greatest Metal Bassists Ever

With origins dating back to the mid-60's, Lemmy has been one of the godfathers of metal long before metal had come into existence. After living the hard-partying lifestyle in Hawkwind, Lemmy was fired and promptly revolutionized the hard rock genre with Motorhead.

Being the frontman as well as the bassist, Lemmy had the leading hand in Motorhead as he controlled both the rhythm section and the melody on every track. Lemmy's approach to bass was an extension of his lifestyle, as his rough-and-tumble lines were always off-kilter while still remaining an unstoppable hard rock force. His use of strumming chords on bass made each track move a different muscle in your gut when you heard it.

The writing on some of Motorhead's classics were not mind-blowing feats of songwriting, but they were always delivered with a massive jolt of energy that came from Lemmy's thunderous and gravelly voice. Every time someone throws on a track like "Overkill," the bass comes in and never fails to excite any listener with a pulse. From his beginnings with psychedelic rock to still going strong to the end, Lemmy truly lived the life of a hard rock troubadour behind his instrument.