“Without him, there would be no Metallica”: James Hetfield has had Lemmy's ashes tattooed onto his middle finger

Metallica’s James Hetfield has had Lemmy Kilmister’s literal ashes tattooed onto his middle finger, making it a contender for one of the most metal tattoos, well, ever. 

The Iron Cross and Spade imagery often sported by the late Motörhead and rock ’n’ roll legend was made from a mix of black ink and a “pinch” of Lemmy’s ashes. 

The bassist passed in 2015 aged 70 after a short battle with cancer, having enjoyed a prolific ear-splitting career that saw him help make more than 20 albums and play an insane number of shows.

After his death, Lemmy’s ashes were encased in a series of bullet casings, which were sent to some of his closest friends. That list included Whitfield Crane, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and Michael Monroe.

“With the steady hand of friend and tattoo artist @coreymillertattoo, this tattoo. A salute to my friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister,” the post reads. “Without him, there would be NO Metallica.

“Black ink mixed with a pinch of his cremation ashes that were so graciously given to me.”

The reaction has been, as you can imagine, very positive, with one commenter offering: “Absolutely the most badass tribute possible.”

It's unclear how Hetfield sourced the ashes for the tattoo, but it's possible they were supplied by someone who had been given one of those Lemmy-engraved bullet casings.

Now, Metallica had previously paid tribute to Lemmy with their track, Murder One, (which featured on their 10th album, 2016's Hardwired…to Self-Destruct), but this is a completely different level of immortalization altogether.

Indeed, Metallica’s Instagram post says the tattoo means Lemmy “is still able to fly the bird at the whole world” – and we’re sure Lemmy would applaud the spirit of that sentiment.