Overkill

Overkill came out as a single in 1979, as a 7-inch and 12-inch backed with Too Late Too Late, and early copies came with an Overkill badge. The band played it on Top of the Pops on 9 March 1979, and it reached 39 on the UK singles chart. It is notable for Taylor's two bass drums. He said he practiced on a second kick drum before rehearsals until, one day, Clarke and Lemmy walked in as he played the riff and told him to keep going, which is how the song got written. Classic Rock magazine pointed out the two false endings, and called it an apocalyptic introduction to the album.

Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone that he was introduced to Motörhead's music in 1979 when Overkill came out, and had never heard anything like it. Anthrax's Scott Ian said the fast double-kick drumming in Overkill was basically a template for his band. Louder Sound ranked it number one in its 2021 list of Motörhead songs, and Loudwire put it third in 2012. It was a live favourite and was often extended, and it was the closing song on the band's final tour, the last song they played live. The band reissued the single edit on a Record Store Day picture disc on 13 April 2019, together with Bomber.