Posted Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:03am

Michael "Würzel" Burston, a longtime guitarist for the legendary metal band Motörhead, passed away on July 9th at the age of 61. Cause of death has been listed as ventricular fibrillation, triggered by cardiomyopathy. Würzel served as a guitarist for Motörhead for over 11 years before leaving in 1995, giving a decade of stability and countless riffs to a band that has seen no shortage of lineup changes. Shortly after Burston's death, Motörhead dedicated their performance at last night's Sonisphere festival to their fallen comrade, as frontman Lemmy told the crowd, "We'd like to dedicate this set and our lives to Wurzel."

For many, Motörhead is Lemmy, but Würzel's contributions to the band cannot be ignored. Following the departure of guitarists Eddie Clarke and Brian Robertson, Würzel became a full-time member of Motörhead in 1984. His tenure with the group lasted from 1986's Orgasmatron until 1995's Sacrifice. Würzel also scored songwriting credits on "Killed By Death," "Deaf Forever," and "Eat the Rich." Although Würzel parted ways with Motörhead in 1995, he still made guest live appearances with the group, most recently at the 2009 Guilfest. Outside of Motörhead, Burston had a solo career and was also a member of the band Leader of Men.

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"He was wonderful," drummer Mikkey Dee told a Swedish newspaper after news of Würzel's death (via Blabbermouth). "He wrote lots of fucking great Motörhead riffs. I remember missing that when he was not in the band anymore. I missed the simple, classic Motörhead riffs. We never wrote those after that. They ended with him. He was wonderful, he was really funny. There was a lot of rock and roll in the old man."

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