Hellraiser
Motorhead
Originally released on the "March Or Die" album
Version 1.3
December 14th, 1997
Transcribed by Matt Javes ([email protected])
and Gus Siewert ([email protected])
Visit Catch My Smoke — The Motorhead Tab Page
http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~ktulu/motorhead
Tune down to Eb.
.  = palm mute
b/r = bend/release
h/p = hammer on/pull off
< > = artificial/pinch harmonic
/  = slide up/down
~   = vibrato
Where a separate bass line is not shown, the bass plays the same as the
guitar (play root notes of chords).
Bass Intro

G|—0————————|—————————————————| play the verse
D|——————————|—————————————————| riff from here
A|——————————|—————————————————| on until the
E|——————————|——3—3—3—3—3—33—33| fill (below)
vol swell—
Bass under 1st guitar fill

G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————3—3h5—5—5—5—5—3———————————————————————————————————|
A|—————————————————————3—4—5—————————————————5—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—/——|
E|—33—33—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Guitar Fill
e|———————————————————————|———————————————————————|——————|
B|———————————————————————|———————————————————————|——————|

G|—b—p3———3—3—————————|—b—p3———3—3—5~——————|——————|
D|————————h5—————5———————|————————h5—————5~——————|——————|
A|———————————————————————|———————————————————————|—5—5—|
E|———————————————————————|———————————————————————|—3—3—|
The bass plays the verse riff under this, except during the intro (see
above).
Verse
Guitar (play muted notes only after first line of verses)
e|———————————————————|
B|———————————————————|

G|———————————————————|
D|———————————————————|
A|—5——5——5—5—5—5—5—5—|
E|—3——3——3—3—3—3—3—3—|
|       . . . . . . |
|Bass               |

G|———————————————————|
D|———————————————————|
A|———————————————————|
E|—33—33—3—3—3—3—3—3—|
Pre—Chorus (Bass does a slide up at the end)
e|——————————————————————————————|————————————————————|
B|——————————————————————————————|————————————————————|

G|————————5—————————————————————|———————5————————————|
D|—3———3——5—————————————————————|—3———3—5——5—5—5—5—5—|
A|—3———3——3—————————————————————|—3———3—3——3—3—3—3—3—|
E|—1———1———————1—2—3—1—2—3—1—3——|—1———1——————————————|
Chorus         x3                      x1
e|———————————————|———————————————————————|
B|———————————————|———————————————————————|

G|————3——————5———|———————————————————————|
D|—5——3———3——5———|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3———————|
A|—5——1———3——3———|—1—1—1—1—1—1—1—1—3——3——|
E|—3——————1——————|—————————————————1——1——|
. . . . . . . . .  .
Solo Backing
e|————————————————————————————————————————————————|—————————————————|
B|————————————————————————————————————————————————|—————————————————|

G|————————————————————————————————————————————————|—————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————————————————————|——3——3————5——52——|
A|———————————5—3—————————————3—1~————————————5—3——|—51——13——53——30——|
E|—3—4—5—3—5—————5—1—2—3—1—3—————3—3—4—5—3—5—————5|—3————1——3———————|
x3                                         x1
e|———————————————|——————————————————————————————————————————|
B|———————————————|——————————————————————————————————————————|

G|————3——————5———|——————————————————————————————————————————|
D|—5——3———3——5———|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3———3——3————5——52——————————|
A|—5——1———3——3———|—1—1—1—1—1—1—1—1——51——13——53——30——5———————|
E|—3——————1——————|——————————————————3————1——3———————3———————|
. . . . . . . .
Coda w/guitar & bass fills/solos
e|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
B|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

G|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5|
E|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3|
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
|Bass

G|———————————————————————————3—5—7——5—3———————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————3—5———————————————5—5—5—5—3h5—3h5—3h5—etc.——|
A|—————————————3—4——5—————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—3—3—3—3—3—5————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

About Motorhead

Motörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, known mostly by his stage name Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band pre-dated, but are sometimes regarded as part of, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, and particularly No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, cemented Motörhead's reputation as one of Britain's foremost rock bands.

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------------------|
A|---3---------------|
E|-------------------|
            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5h7---------|
            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------7p5---------|
            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5/7---------|
            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

Forum

Motorhead — Hellraiser (ver 3) bass tabs