Overkill - Motörhead (Overkill, 1979)

While Eddie is disturbing, it's entirely possible that Motörhead lead singer Lemmy Kilmister just might be the most genuinely frightening living creature in rock music. Dude's ugly. He wouldn't look out of place in Hogwarts... come to think of it, those things on his face might just be hogwarts! He's also a bit of a genius. Mark my words, if it's not already happening, Motörhead - especially early period - are going to be amongst the most frequently cited influences by young bands across a wide spectrum of music, not just metal. I would have loved to have included their most popular song 'Ace of Spades' but I couldn't find it on iTunes. I think it is probably one of the finest songs of the last half of the last century. If asked to provide the one song that best exemplifes heavy metal it would have to be 'Ace of Spades'. Happily you can watch the video of the song on You Tube. The thing about Motörhead in the early '80s is that they played so raw and so fast, and were free of the prancing, 'faeries wear boots', hair band aesthetic that was becoming so dominant in 'metal' that any self-respecting fan of the band really had to look outside the metal genre to find their musical peers, which frankly, at the time, meant punk rock.