Metallica frontman James Hetfield reveals tattoo made with Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister’s ashes

On April 17, 2024, the official Instagram account of Metallica posted a photo of James Hetfield featuring a new tattoo. It is a tribute to the late Motörhead leader, Lemmy Kilmister, as it contains the musician's ashes. Kilmister passed away on December 26, 2015, at the age of 70.

Note: Due to the nature of the image, it is being censored.

The tattoo Hetfield got to honor Kilmister (Image via Instagram / @metallica)

Stating the same, along with the new tattoo on his middle finger, James Hetfield posted on Metallica's Instagram account, saying,

“With the steady hand of friend and tattoo artist @coreymillertattoo, this tattoo. A salute to my friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister. Without him, there would be NO Metallica."

In the picture, Hetfield can be seen pulling a face and raising his middle finger to showcase the tattoo. He also had a clear trinket-style box carrying Kilmister's ashes in his other hand in the picture. The design of the ink, which features an ace of spades, was influenced by Motörhead's well-known 1980 song Ace of Spades.

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James Hetfield got tattoo to honor late friend, Lemmy Kilmister

Lemmy was the frontman of the British rock band Motörhead. After forming in the 1970s, the group put out more than 20 albums, featuring singles such as Iron Fist, and Overkill.

He passed away in December 2015 at the age of 70, a few days after learning that he had an aggressive type of cancer. Back in 2021, it was discovered that Kilmister made sure his ashes were sent to people closest to him in the form of bullet casings.

One of these bullets went to James Hetfield, the frontman of Metallica and Kilmister's friend. Now, Hetfield recently displayed the tattoo of the iconic Ace of Spades insignia.

This was a reference to Motörhead, who released 22 albums, including the song Ace of Spades in 1980, and went on to become the forerunners of heavy metal in the UK. Moreover, he also adopted his idol's signature gesture of flipping the bird, which involved holding his right middle finger up.

In the same Instagram post where he showed off the tattoo, James Hetfield continued,

“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. #lemmy #aceofspades #borntolose #livetowin.”

He also added that Corey Miller, a well-known tattoo artist and owner of Six Feet Under in Upland, California, who was highlighted on the reality show LA Ink, completed the piece.

James Hetfield had admitted to being upset by Kilmister's passing and also called the latter Metallica's "godfather”, as he spoke to Kerrang! in 2016:

“When he was around, it just felt like things were going to be OK.”

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Lemmy passed away at home in Los Angeles, California, on December 28, 2015, from congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, and prostate cancer.

Sky News reported that James Hetfield has reportedly talked about Motörhead's influence on Metallica in the past and urged for Motörhead to be admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. He also said,

"With the passing of Lemmy, it's really, really important for me to see Motorhead acknowledged in that - because there's no more rock'n'roll person on this planet than Lemmy."

On the other hand, Radiox reported that a part of Lemmy's ashes were dispersed at the Wacken Open Air Festival in northern Germany, where the band performed multiple times over the years. Additionally, the other part has been used to ink the band's tour manager, Eddie Rocha, and production assistant, Emma Cederblad.