Metallica frontman James Hetfield has paid tribute to his late friend Lemmy by using some of the Motorhead star’s ashes in his latest tattoo.
In a post to Instagram, Hetfield showed off the new design of an ace of spades inside what appears to be a iron cross inked on to his middle finger.
The singer of the US heavy metal band revealed he had the ink mixed with a “pinch” of Lemmy’s remains which he was given after the veteran rocker died in 2015 aged 70.
“A salute to my friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister,” he wrote alongside the post.
“Without him, there would be NO Metallica.
“Black ink mixed with a pinch of his cremation ashes that were so graciously given to me.
“So now, he is still able to fly the bird at the world.”
He said his friend, tattoo artist Corey Miller, helped create the artwork with his “steady hand”.
The design appears to be a nod to Motorhead’s hit track Ace Of Spades, the title track of their fourth album.
Singer and bassist Lemmy – whose real name was Ian Kilmister – was best known as the only continuous member of British rock band Motorhead, who he co-founded in 1975.
The band helped pioneer heavy metal music in Britain with a string of albums including 1980 hit Ace Of Spades.
The rocker had suffered failing health since August 2015 and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer on Boxing Day that year, just 48 hours before he died.
His Hollywood funeral saw rock heavyweights including Nirvana and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and Metallica members Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo pay tribute.
US rockers Metallica rose to become one of the biggest heavy metal bands in the world after forming in the 1980s.
The group, who have released a host of chart-topping albums, have previously discussed how Motorhead influenced their sound.
