Motörhead is a British rock-band, which was created in 1975 by Lemmy Kilmister, after he was fired from the Hawkwind band. The group was a mastermind and ideologist of the heavy metal new-wave in Britain.
The original name of the band was Bastards. It was changed to Motörhead soon enough after the formation. The word “motorhead” means a person addicted to amphetamine. It is a strong and provocative name, that fully represents the band’s character and music style.
The Motörhead logo is composed of a wordmark and their signature emblem. The wordmark is arched and executed in the Old English style lettering with bold gothic lines, which make the visual identity bright and remarkable. The closest font to the Motörhead typeface is Fette Unz Fraktur, which was designed by Peter Wiegel.
The two dots above the second “O” do not affect the pronunciation of the word, Lemmy Kilmister just loved the way it looks, so the Motörhead got its “Ö”.
The color palette of the Motörhead logo is monochrome, and the nameplate is sometimes drawn in red, which is a symbol of passion and power. The combination of black and white makes the band’s famous emblem stand out.
The most recognizable part of the Motörhead logo is its emblem. The Snaggletooth was created in 1977 and has never left the band’s logo.
It is a fanged mug with tusks and spikes, which was designed by a famous artist Joe Petango and first appeared on the cover of the Motörhead debut album. Petagno came up with the idea of a hybrid of gorilla, wolf and dog with wild boar tusks. Lemmy Kilmister added the helmet, chains and spit.
The drawing is very detailed, and first was made in ink. The Snaggletooth was only slightly modified during the history by the artist. The band worked with Joe Petango for more than 30 years.
It is a unique mascot, reflecting the band’s spirit and mix of punk and blues in their music. The iconic Snaggletooth, also known as War-Pig, is a timeless symbol of rebellious and rejecting everything individuality.
Not many bands have such a legendary image in their visual identity, and the Motörhead logo stands out with its ugly and cool fanged face.