Orgasmatron: why is Motörhead's monster a steam train?
Tusks, horns, chains and a face where the front of a locomotive should be. If you have ever wondered what a train has to do with the word Orgasmatron, the short answer is: a late change of title.
A purple, stormy sky. A long train thundering out of a round frame, carriages stretching back into the gloom. And where the engine should have a boring metal front, there is a face: huge curved horns, tusks, chains, a tongue hanging out between the fangs. It is Motörhead's old friend Snaggletooth, and this time he is the locomotive.
It looks wild, but it is not random. It is the cover of a different album.
An album called Ridin' with the Driver
The record was meant to be called Ridin' with the Driver, and a title like that more or less asks for a train. The painter, Joe Petagno, has said that Lemmy, who was into model trains at the time, wanted a locomotive on the sleeve, so that is what he painted.
Then the band changed the title to Orgasmatron, after the slow, crushing title song. By then it was too late to start the painting again. So the train stayed, the new title went on top, and fans have been scratching their heads about it ever since. If that sounds familiar, Black Sabbath's Paranoid went through almost exactly the same thing.
The man who made the monster
Joe Petagno is an American artist who met Lemmy in 1975 and went on to design most of the band's sleeves. Snaggletooth, sometimes called War-Pig, first appeared on the band's self-titled album in 1977. Petagno built him out of animal skulls he found in a library book: a dog's head, a gorilla's, oversized wild boar tusks, then horns, chains and spikes on top. The idea was that an animal skull would suit the band better than a human one. Hard to argue with that.
On Orgasmatron he gave the beast a whole train to drive, which may be the most Motörhead thing ever painted.
A new band on board
Orgasmatron came out in the summer of 1986 on GWR, the band's own new label. It was the first studio album with two guitarists, Phil Campbell and Würzel, next to Lemmy, and the only full studio album with Pete Gill on drums. Lemmy said they cut it in just eleven days, with producer Bill Laswell. Lemmy was not too pleased with the final mix, done in New York, but the band had road-tested the songs on tour and it shows: this is a gang playing at full speed.
About the poster
This is the Orgasmatron sleeve printed as a large 55 × 75 cm (22 × 30 in) portrait poster, from 2021. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Megadeth on the back.
Browse all original Motörhead posters.
Quick answers
Why is there a train on the Orgasmatron cover?
The album was originally going to be called Ridin' with the Driver, and Joe Petagno painted the train for that title. The name changed to Orgasmatron too late to redo the painting.
Who painted the Orgasmatron cover?
Joe Petagno, the American artist who created Motörhead's mascot Snaggletooth and designed most of the band's sleeves.
Who played on Orgasmatron?
Lemmy on bass and vocals, Phil Campbell and Würzel on guitars and Pete Gill on drums. It was produced by Bill Laswell.
How big is the poster?
55 × 75 cm (about 22 × 30 inches), portrait. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
A Megadeth poster. The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which side goes on the wall.