Motörhead is really loud.

They are so loud that halfway through the three songs in the pit I thought I had forgotten to put my earplugs in but after a quick check (sticking my finger in my ear) they were firmly in place, the band was just that loud.

Motörhead was formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy. Motörhead are a heavy metal band that helped pioneer speed metal and thrash metal even though Lemmy dislikes those labels, saying that they just play “rock n’ roll”. The current band members are: Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister – vocals, bass (1975–present), Phil Campbell – guitar, backing vocals (1984–present) and Mikkey Dee – drums, percussion (1992–present).

I was lucky enough to shoot them on the current tour when they stopped in San Diego on Jan 31, 2011

All photos taken with a Nikon D700 and the following three Nikkor lenses 16mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8

The full gallery: