Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has looked back on recording for his heavy metal side-project Probot with Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister.
The Ace Of Spades singer/bassist was one on a long list of guest stars on Grohl’s 2004 album, which also featured late Venom leader Conrad ‘Cronos’ Lant, Soulfly/ex-Sepultura singer/guitarist Max Cavalera and Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, among many others.
Lemmy contributed his voice and thunderous low end to the single Shake Your Blood. In the new issue of Metal Hammer, Grohl looks back on recording the track, revealing that Kilmister showed up to the Los Angeles sessions at 10:30am and asked, “Who wants to drink?”
Grohl continues: “In the sink were two dirty pint glasses. He washes them out with his hand. He pours about three-fourths whiskey in each and tops it off with a little Coke. And then he stirs it with his finger. He hands it to me and I’m like, ‘Here we go.’”
The singer/guitarist adds that he was impressed by Kilmister’s commitment to Probot, as he had two sets of lyrics for what would become Shake My Blood, the unused draft being called The Blind Could See. After recording that day, the debauchery continued.
“[Kilmister] says, ‘Who wants to do some drugs?’” Grohl recalls. “It was me and [producer] Nick Raskulinecz, and we’re like, ‘No, we’re cool, man.’ He pulls this little packet of speed out of his rolled-up sleeve. And I’m like, ‘I’m gonna watch Lemmy snort rails off the Neve desk? This is nuts!’ And he just takes a pinch out of it and eats it and swigs it back and he goes, ‘Who wants to go look at some tits?’”
Shake Your Blood was released as Probot’s second single in December 2003, ahead of the album dropping in February 2004. During a 2004 Rolling Stone interview, Kilmister revealed that he wrote the song’s lyrics in 10 minutes. The album proved a moderate commercial success, charting at number 68 on the Billboard 200 and 24 on the UK Albums chart.
Kilmister passed away on December 28, 2015: four days after his 70th birthday and two after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Grohl attended Lemmy’s funeral, which was live-streamed via Motörhead’s website, and delivered an emotional eulogy. The Foos man remembered him as “the one true rock’n’roller who bridged my love of AC/DC and [Black] Sabbath and [Led] Zeppelin with my love of GBH and the Ramones and Black Flag”.
The new Hammer contains the full interview with Grohl, who talks with Scott Ian, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello of New York thrash metal veterans Anthrax. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.
