Hellraiser (Ozzy Osbourne and Motörhead song)
"Hellraiser" is a song written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, and Lemmy Kilmister. The song was recorded by Osbourne for his 1991 album No More Tears and also by Motörhead for their 1992 March ör Die album. Motörhead's version was released as a single.
Ozzy Osbourne version
| "Hellraiser" | |
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| Song by Ozzy Osbourne | |
| from the album No More Tears | |
| Released | 19 October 1991 |
| Recorded | 1991 |
| Genre | Heavy metal |
| Length | 4:51 |
| Label | Epic |
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The song appeared in the first trailer for Painkiller. It was also used as entrance music by the professional wrestling tag team The Hell Raisers (Hawk Warrior and Power Warrior) in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was also featured on Radio X in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, although the song was removed in later versions such as the mobile port and Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition due to licensing issues.
Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Randy Castillo – drums
- John Sinclair – keyboards
- Zakk Wylde – guitars
- Bob Daisley – bass
Motörhead version
| "Hellraiser" | ||||
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| Single by Motörhead | ||||
| from the album March ör Die | ||||
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| Released | 1992 | |||
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| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 4:38 | |||
| Label | Epic/Sony | |||
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Motörhead's recording of the song was used in the 1992 film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, and was released as the A-side of the single and as the sixth track on their tenth studio album, March ör Die.
The B-sides of the CD single Hellraiser were "Name in Vain", which also appears on the album March ör Die, and "Dead Man's Hand" (which was also released on The One to Sing the Blues CD single, 7" & 12" vinyl singles).
The title track also appears on The '92 Tour EP.
"Hellraiser" is the first of two tracks that Mikkey Dee recorded with Motörhead before officially joining the band, the other being "Hell on Earth".
A video for "Hellraiser" was made, featuring Lemmy playing poker against Pinhead (Doug Bradley) from the Hellraiser films.
This version also has some minor lyrical alterations.
Single track listing
- "Hellraiser" (Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Lemmy)
- "Name in Vain" (Phil Campbell, Würzel, Lemmy)
- "Dead Man's Hand" (Campbell, Würzel, Lemmy, Phil Taylor)
Personnel
- Lemmy – vocals, bass
- Phil "Wizzo" Campbell – guitars
- Michael "Würzel" Burston – guitars
- Mikkey Dee – drums
30th anniversary
On October 29, 2021, a new version of "Hellraiser" was released to commemorate its 30th anniversary. It features a mashup of both Ozzy and Lemmy's vocals in one song, using the former's version as the main template. An official animated music video, with Ozzy, Lemmy and Phil Taylor fighting against demons, and directed by Mark Szumski and Gina Niespodziani, was released on YouTube the same day.
The video starts with the duo playing an arcade video game, as that used to be a frequent hobby of Lemmy. Guitarist Zakk Wylde said about them: "Lemmy was buddies with Ozzy forever. They toured Europe together when Saint Rhoads was in the band and Lemmy would take Randy out to go play Asteroids wherever they went. So it was just a quick phonecall – 'can you write some songs?' 'sure'." Ozzy said "I had great fun with Lemmy – you couldn’t be serious around him. Even just writing the songs, we could instinctively tell whether it was going to be good or not. We always used to go out to the pub and have a real laugh. It was a true rock'n'roll lifestyle he lived and I miss him terribly, you know."