Lemmy's Legacy III - Speed & Roll

Hi GMC!

Welcome to Lemmy’s Legacy lesson 3! In these series of 4 lesson I’ll cover the composing and guitar style of Lemmy’s band Motorhead. These are not only a tribute to Lemmy, a legend of rock and heavy metal, this lessons are a masterclass for beginner/intermediate guitarists that want to take their guitar technique, composing and arranging skills to a new level.
Before we start, let me share some info that you need to know about Lemmy and Motorhead:

“Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer, and songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. His music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre.”
“Motörhead (/?mo?t?rh?d/) were an English Heavy Metal band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was the sole constant member, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. The band are often considered a precursor to, or one of the earliest members of, the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s.” - Wikipedia


Music Style:
This third tune is called “Speed & Roll” and recreates their faster and more agressive side. I’ve read this quote “they were the first metal band to harness that energy and, in the process, they created speed metal and thrash metal.” And that’s what I’ve covered in this third lesson. The main difference with “Punk & Roll” is the guitar tone, the tempo and the overall rhythm which is closer to what we know as Heavy, Thrash and Speed metal.


Tonality, Chord Progression & Scales:
This tune combines Blues Scale for the main riff with Aeolian mode for the other sections. The song is in E minor so the scales are E blues scale and E aeolian. It’s interesting to compare this tune with the first one (Punk & Roll) and see how the same theory concepts but played with a different Groove and feel can sound that different. The first one was more punk with classic rock roots, while this one is pure Speed Metal with classic rock roots.


Techniques:
This is also a full song lesson so you’ll get into a real Speed Metal situation. The lesson includes fast riffing, chord progressions and guitar solos so the techniques covered are palm muting, alternate picking, bending, and vibrato.


Sound:
I used LePoin plugins to create the guitar tone. These are free amp emulators that are extremely recommended. The cabinet used for this guitar tone is Lextac and before it a tube screamer emulation. Check out the settings:



I used Cubase to record audio and midi, superior drummer for drums and Trillian for bass.

Tuning: Standard Tuning

Tempo: 140 BPM