Overkill Motorhead: Inside the Song That Built Thrash Metal
Overkill Motorhead is the song that gave heavy metal its double bass drum heartbeat.
Motorhead released it as a single on 16 February 1979, a month ahead of the album of the same name.
Lars Ulrich has called it the record that changed how he thought about drumming forever.
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⚡ Key Takeaways
- Overkill is Motorhead’s title track from their second studio album, released as a single on 16 February 1979.
- Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, and Phil Taylor wrote the song in about ten minutes after Taylor got a new double bass drum kit.
- The single reached number 39 on the UK Singles Chart, Motorhead’s first Top 40 hit.
- The Overkill album reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Silver in the United Kingdom.
- Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has credited the song’s double kick drum intro as a turning point for his own playing.
What Is Overkill Motorhead About?
The song is about playing as hard and as loud as physically possible, with almost no other message.
Lemmy wanted the album to capture the band’s live sound rather than a polished studio record.
The lyric that says the only way to feel the noise is when it is good and loud sums up the whole approach.
Producer Jimmy Miller, who had previously worked with the Rolling Stones, helped push that raw energy onto tape.
Who Wrote Overkill Motorhead?
Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, and Phil Taylor wrote the song together in December 1978.
Lemmy had already sharpened his rhythm section instincts years earlier in Hawkwind, before founding Motorhead.
Taylor had just gotten a drum kit fitted with two bass drums, unusual gear for a rock band at the time.
Eddie Clarke has said Taylor started playing with them, Lemmy joined in on bass in the key of E, and the riff came together in about ten minutes.
The band liked the result so much they made it the title track of their second album.
How Did the Double Bass Drum Sound Begin?
The double bass drum intro began as Phil Taylor testing his new kit while the other two members listened.
Eddie Clarke jumped in on guitar once Lemmy started playing along, and the song took shape on the spot.
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has said Taylor was the first drummer he ever heard use that double kick pattern.
Ulrich first heard the song in a record store in 1979 and has said it changed how he approached drumming.
Phil Taylor’s new double bass drum kit gave Overkill Motorhead its opening riff.
Image Credit: Photo by Andrew King, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Where Was Overkill Motorhead Recorded?
Motorhead recorded the song at Roundhouse Studios in London during December 1978 and January 1979.
Some additional work took place at Sound Development Studios, also in London.
Jimmy Miller produced the sessions, bringing experience from his earlier work with the Rolling Stones.
Bronze Records released the single on 16 February 1979, a month before the full album arrived.
How High Did Overkill Chart in the UK?
The single peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart in 1979.
The chart run made Overkill Motorhead’s first single to reach the UK Top 40.
The album version fared even better, with the Overkill album reaching number 24 on the UK Albums Chart.
The album earned a Silver certification in the United Kingdom for shipping more than 60,000 copies.
Why Did Lars Ulrich Call It a Turning Point?
Lars Ulrich has called Overkill the first time he heard a drummer use double kick drums that way, according to Loudersound.
The Metallica drummer discovered the song in a record store in 1979 and has said it blew his head off.
Ulrich built much of his own thrash metal drumming style around the double kick pattern Phil Taylor introduced here.
Metallica later covered the song live in 1995, and that recording appeared on the 1998 covers album Garage Inc.
How Has Overkill Motorhead Influenced Thrash Metal?
Overkill Motorhead helped hand the double kick drum pattern to a whole generation of thrash metal bands.
The thrash metal band Overkill took its name directly from this song and album.
Grave Digger covered the track on their 2008 EP Pray, and the song closed Motorhead’s final tour in 2015.
Phil Campbell, who joined the band five years after Overkill was written, still kept it a nightly set closer for the rest of Motorhead’s career.
The band carried that same speed forward a year later into Ace of Spades, cementing the sound Overkill had introduced.
As of 2026, Loudwire and Louder Sound both still rank Overkill among Motorhead’s greatest songs, with Louder Sound placing it at number one in 2021.
People Also Ask
What is Overkill by Motorhead about?
Overkill is a song about playing as hard and as loud as possible, built around Phil Taylor’s new double bass drum kit and Lemmy Kilmister’s lyrics celebrating raw volume over any deeper message.
The band wanted the studio version to sound as close as possible to how they played live.
Overkill became the title track of Motorhead’s second studio album, released in March 1979.
Who wrote Overkill?
Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, and Phil Taylor wrote Overkill together in December 1978, after Taylor started experimenting with a new double bass drum kit and Clarke and Kilmister joined in on guitar and bass within about ten minutes.
Producer Jimmy Miller, previously known for his work with the Rolling Stones, produced the finished recording.
What album is Overkill from?
Overkill comes from Motorhead’s second studio album of the same name, released through Bronze Records on 16 March 1979, one month after the single.
The album reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart and earned a Silver certification in the United Kingdom.
How high did Overkill chart?
The Overkill single peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart in 1979, making it Motorhead’s first single to reach the UK Top 40.
The parent album performed even better, reaching number 24 on the UK Albums Chart.
Did Overkill influence thrash metal?
Overkill influenced thrash metal directly through its double bass drum intro, which Metallica’s Lars Ulrich has credited as the first time he heard a drummer use that pattern.
The thrash metal band Overkill later named itself after this song.
Watch the Official Overkill Motorhead Video
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Overkill
1979, 2 CD Edition
The album that gave thrash metal its blueprint.
Motorhead’s first UK Top 30 album.
Bomber
1979, 50th Anniversary Edition
The follow-up that kept building on Overkill’s speed.
Released the same year, twice as fast.
Ace of Spades
1980, 50th Anniversary 2 CD Edition
The album that turned Overkill’s momentum into legend status.
Motorhead’s most famous record.
No Sleep ’til Hammersmith
1981, 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Hear Overkill played live at full speed.
Hit number 1 on the UK Albums Chart in 1981.
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Overkill has outlasted the scene it helped invent, still turning up on best-of lists more than four decades later.
Read the complete lineup history of the members of Motorhead across four decades of the band.
Nearly fifty years on, Overkill Motorhead still sounds like the moment heavy metal found a faster gear.
Last updated: July 11, 2026