Anthrax Talk Last Tour With Motorhead, Share Stories of Lemmy Kilmister

Anthrax opened for Motorhead on what is now their last ever U.S. tour, which saw Lemmy Kilmister take the stage in spite of several ailments. Along the run, a couple of the shows had to be nixed while others only saw Motorhead perform a handful of songs before walking offstage. In Austin, Texas, the band played three songs before calling it a night where Lem uttered the words, "I can't do it."

In an exclusive interview with Loudwire (watch above), Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian noted he believed Lemmy was on the upswing. Motorhead had finished a six week stretch in Europe where the band didn't have to cancel one show due to his health issues, though six-stringer Phil Campbell had issues of his own that forced cancellations. He went on to state Lemmy didn't look the best at his 70th birthday party in Los Angeles, but the Motorhead mainman had just flown in from Germany and his appearance was most likely attributed to jet lag.

Having toured with Motorhead over the course of their career, Anthrax had a close relationship with the iconic frontman and, subsequently, the band's crew as well as sharing the same manager in Todd Singerman. Speaking about the last tour and the legacy Lemmy left behind, Ian, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello reflected on their personal memories, including a two hour van ride where Lemmy consumed a fifth of Jim Beam, a bunch of cigarettes while casually reading through three Hustler magazines around breakfast time.

Lemmy passed away on Dec. 28, 2015, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer two days prior. The rock 'n' roll icon's cause of death has officially been deemed a combination of prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure.

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