DORO PESCH: 'Nobody Wrote More Sad Lyrics Than LEMMY'

German metal queen Doro Pesch says the late 2015 death of MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister provided a "wake-up call" for her as she began work on the songs that eventually became her forthcoming "Forever Warriors, Forever United" double album. Pesch, who performed several duets with Kilmister over the years, also hailed his lyric writing abilities, noting, "Nobody wrote more sad lyrics than Lemmy."

In a recent interview with Finland's Metalliluola (audio below),Pesch was asked how "Forever Warriors, Forever United" became a double album: "We did a couple of songs before and there was a video, 'Love's Gone To Hell', it was a mid-tempo song," she said. "Then, actually, Lemmy, that was heartbreaking when Lemmy died, I was going to the funeral. Then, I always thought, every MOTÖRHEAD fan thought he would always be alive and it would never, ever change. That really shook me up. That was a time when I thought, 'Man, life is not forever. Time is running out. You never know what will happen.' I definitely felt it was kind of a wake-up call. While I was sitting on the plane, the song idea, the melody and the lyrics, they popped out for 'Living Life To The Fullest', which is dedicated to Lemmy because he was 'living it up.' Then, I talked to my friend Andreas Bruhn, he worked with me for 22 years. He recorded the last duet, 'It Still Hurts', Lemmy's vocals were recorded in L.A., but he mixed it. Andreas is a cool guy, very sensitive. I said, 'I wanted to record this right away.' Then we did, then we recorded it and we recorded another song and I said 'I have another idea.' That was actually two and a half years ago. That was the time we started, like really serious songwriting and stuff. I still was on tour and doing festivals, but I always went back to Hamburg or in New Jersey, we recorded some songs in another studio, Rock City Studio, that was where we recorded the whole band stuff with my band and there was a dog, a little French bulldog, a little puppy. I was so happy he was there. He was giving so much good energy while we were there. He bit me a couple of times and I was bleeding — it was so metal.

"It was for two and a half years, concentrating on the record, just writing," she added. "I had so much fun writing so many songs. I felt no pressure; I just did it. Then, we had 35, 40 songs. I thought, 'Oh shit, I have to get rid of [some].' But, at first, it was planned as one record with 12 songs. I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to throw them all away.' Then, I talked to the record company, I said, 'I'd like to do a double record. Think about it.' They said, 'No. In this day and age, it's not common anymore.' I was already weeding out my favorite songs, I thought there were some special songs that would not make it. Then I got a phone call a couple of months ago and they said, 'Okay go for it, go for it.' I had to deliver the record. There was still the same date. It was the 25th of April. I thought, 'Oh God, now I have to finish all the songs I started.' When I knew we wouldn't do a double record, I didn't finish them all. Then we started to finish them and make some recordings. It wasn't 24 hours, but almost 24 hours every day. Yeah, I chose the ones which I thought were the most meaningful or coolest or had the most energy or the saddest songs, like a song 'Lost In The Ozone', which is a MOTÖRHEAD cover. Nobody wrote more sad lyrics than Lemmy. I thought, 'Maybe it's very empowering to people who feel isolated and alone to know you're not alone in the world.' People feel the same; even Lemmy feels that way sometimes. I loved it melody-wise and lyric-wise."

Pesch was also asked whether she will continue to do shows with WARLOCK, the band she originally rose to prominence with in the 1980s: "Yeah, we probably want to do it a couple more times, the 'Triumph And Agony' record," she said. "It's such a great record. Some songs we have never played before, like 'Make Time For Love'. It was always in the shadows because sometimes in the set you think 'One ballad is enough.' Then we rehearsed it and while we were rehearsing, we thought, 'This sounds so good.' 'Three Minute Warning', a great up-tempo song. 'Touch Of Evil' is always fun. 'Kiss Of Death' we've never played before. It was really a joy to do it. I would really like to do a live record next year, 'Triumph And Agony' live, the whole record. So maybe next year we'll want to do something like that and play some more festivals and with Tommy [Bolan, guitar], it's a joy. Now, we have three guitar players, not on the regular tour, but when we do [festivals]."

"Forever Warriors, Forever United" will be released on August 17 via Nuclear Blast. The first single from the epic collection of tracks, "All For Metal", features an assortment of metal heroes, who can also be seen in the official music video: Mille Petrozza (KREATOR),Johan Hegg (AMON AMARTH),Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT),Warrel Dane (NEVERMORE, SANCTUARY),Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR),SABATON, Ross The Boss (MANOWAR),Rock 'N' Rolf (RUNNING WILD),DETRAKTOR, Tommy Bolan (ex-WARLOCK),Andy Brings and The Ultimate Doro Clan. The album cover artwork was once again created by Doro's favorite artist, Geoffrey Gillespie. It portrays Doro in the middle of a swarm of wild metal heads exuding attitude, power and positive vibes.

The long-awaited follow-up to 2012's "Raise Your Fist" will be the German singer's first release since 2016's "Love's Gone To Hell" single.