British heavy metal band Motörhead melted faces for the better part of 40 years, from their formation in the middle 1970s until the death of frontman Lemmy Kilmister in 2015, according to Loudwire. Per The Guardian, the band wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult subjects in their lyrics, discussing such things as promiscuity, substance abuse, and gambling, among others. What’s more, they helped popularize a bit of graphic art that, for a time, was affiliated with heavy metal. Though they weren’t the first band to use an umlaut (the two dots over the second o), they were definitely one of the biggest (possibly second only to Mötley Crüe). As was often the case with umlaut-using bands, there was no reason for it other than the fact that they liked it, as Kilmister once told The Wave.

However, it almost all wasn’t. There was a time early in Motörhead’s existence when paying their dues and getting little recognition was making the band members, Lemmy in particular, think about calling it quits.

A now-defunct magazine was unkind to Motörhead

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