Hetfield revealed his new tattoo on Metallica’s Instagram web page at present (April 17), saying he acquired it on the center finger of his proper hand in order that the famously noisy and rebellious Lemmy “remains to be capable of fly the chook on the world”.
“With the regular hand of good friend and tattoo artist @coreymillertattoo, this tattoo,” Hetfield wrote.
“A salute to my good friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister. With out him, there could be NO Metallica.
“Black ink blended with a pinch of his cremation ashes that have been so graciously given to me.
“So now, he’s nonetheless capable of fly the chook on the world.”
Hetfield has ceaselessly cited Lemmy – who died in 2015, age 70, shortly after being identified with prostate most cancers – as a key affect on Metallica.
Metallica’s 2016 album, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct Homicide One , named after the Motörhead lynchpin’s favorite amplifier.
“I beloved being murdered each night time by that factor,” Hetfield defined on the time.
“He was simply such an icon, such an inspiration to us as a band.”
He continued: “There’s definitely no means we’d be round if there was no Motörhead. And, you already know, to see your idol, your immortal one, really be mortal, it hit us fairly exhausting.
“So I felt, lyrically, it is sensible to acknowledge him and the way a lot he’s meant in our lives.”
Hetfield’s center finger is much from the one far-flung place that Lemmy’s a few of ashes have ended up.
Final month, it was introduced that a few of the Motörhead man’s stays will probably be displayed yearly at Derbyshire steel pageant Bloodstock Open Air each August.
When not on website, these ashes will reside on the Rock Metropolis venue in close by Nottingham.
Motörhead’s supervisor, Todd Singerman, commented: “Bloodstock has at all times been a particular place for Motörhead and for Lemmy. The folks and the power matched Lemmy’s values completely.
“Alan [Hungerford, festival organiser] and Vicky [Hungerford, owner, director and band booker] have been additionally nice mates, and mainly household of Lemmy, as he was the explanation that they initially acquired collectively.
“That is positively a becoming honour within the persevering with sequence of enshrinements of Lemmy’s ashes in his most beloved locations.”
Extra of Lemmy’s ashes have been positioned into bullets at his personal request and despatched to a few of the musician’s closest mates, together with Judas Priest singer Rob Halford.
A few of his stays have additionally been scattered at German steel pageant Wacken Open Air.
