MOTÖRHEAD was forced to end its performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany earlier today (Friday, August 2) after only six songs due to frontman Lemmy Kilmister's health.
According to people attending the concert, MOTÖRHEAD spent less than half an hour on stage — 45 minutes less than scheduled — including drawn-out pauses between tracks and an unusually early solo spot, presumably to allow Lemmy enough time to gather his strength to perform.
After MOTÖRHEAD left the stage, Wacken Open Air co-founder Thomas Jensen announced to the shocked audience that the concert was over.
Bill Peters, host of the long-running "Metal On Metal" radio show and head of Auburn Records, was in the crowd during MOTÖRHEAD's set. He said: "[Lemmy] did not look or sound good at all and could not continue the set.
"Phil Campbell did a guitar solo before 'The Chase Is Better Than The Catch' while Lemmy left the stage. The solo ended but Lemmy did not return. There was eerie silence on the stage for several minutes. Lemmy came back to play one more song (my favorite MOTÖRHEAD song) but left the stage immediately after it ended. Wacken festival organizer Thomas Jensen came onstage and announced to the crowd he did not know what to do or say about a situation like this. It seemed very serious to me. Hopefully I am wrong."
MOTÖRHEAD played the following songs:
01. I Know How To Die
02. Damage Case
03. Stay Clean
04. Metropolis
05. Over The Top
06. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
A number of photos of MOTÖRHEAD's abbreviated performance at Wacken Open Air 2013 can be found at Rocknroll-Reporter.de.
MOTÖRHEAD canceled a handful of shows on its European festival tour last month after Lemmy suffered a haematoma (where blood collects outside of a blood vessel). The news of Lemmy's latest medical issue followed reports that he was also recently fitted with a defibrillator because of heart problems.
MOTÖRHEAD's new album, "Aftershock", will be released in the fall. The follow-up to 2010's "The Wörld Is Yours" was recorded at Maple Sound Studios in Santa Ana, California with longtime producer Cameron Webb.
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Metal fans have almost assumed he's immortal and have just taken for granted he'd always be there, but now it's become very real that Lemmy's lifestyle is catching up with him. That picture alone shows he was in bad shape.