R.I.P Cliff Burton (10 February 1962 - 27 September 1986)

Cliff Burton live on the Damage inc. tour

It was 25 years ago today that Metallica bassist, Cliff Burton passed away. And it is purely by coincidence that I have been busy researching and writing a full length post on the old-school masters of Metal [so check back soon for that...]

The scene of the fatal accident in rural Sweden (1986)

It was during the European leg of the Damage Inc. tour, in support of Master of Puppets, that the Metallica tour bus skidded off the road, threw the (now renowned) bassist out of a window and  came to rest on top of Burton, eventually killing him.
It is widely cited that the rest of Metallica were greatly saddened by the passing of their friend, band mate and bassist-supreme, and that the future of the band was in peril.


Now instead of giving you a history lesson, I'd rather highlight the immense contribution Burton made to the band:

Cliff replaced the original (albeit short-lived) Metallica bassist Ron McGovney in 1982, when Hetfield and Ulrich heard him play with his former band Trauma. Hetfield described what he heard as "... amazing shredding" and eagerly started recruiting Burton as (what they initially thought to be) a guitarist.
Cliff was reluctant about relocating to Los Angeles, and would only join the band if they moved to his native San Francisco Bay area - which has since become the long-time home of Metallica.

Metallica - The early days

Burton played bass on the first 3 [and to my mind, the best] Metallica albums, Kill 'em all, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. His prowess as composer is evident with his first writing accreditation for the instrumental: (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth off the Kill 'em all disk. Burton went on to co-write 6 of the 8 songs on Ride the Lightning including the legendary chromatic intro to For Whom the Bell Tolls and the "lead bass" on The Call of Ktulu.

Burton features heavily on the critically acclaimed Master of Puppets album - which is widely considered as a landmark album for both Thrash and Metal alike. His signature playing style and use of effects (previously almost unheard of) is evident on tracks such as Orion, Damage Inc. and Cliff's favourite Metallica song - Master of Puppets.

Besides the influence Burton had on Metallica he also influenced other Metal bands. Anthrax dedicated their 1987 album Among the Living to his memory, as did Metal Church with their '86 release - The Dark.
ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine also paid tribute to the legend of Burton with the Megadeth song entitled In my Darkest Hour.

Metallica on stage with Ray Burton

In 2009 Burton was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of Metallica. His induction was accepted by his father, Ray Burton who, during the ceremony, stated that Cliff mother is still "the biggest Metallica fan".

Cliff's tremendous influence and contribution to the band, the genre and music in general is still felt, and one wonders what great heights he would have reached if he was still able to share his music with us today.

I leave you with Burton's master work, here is a video of Metallica performing For Whom the Bell Tolls, live in 1985... Rest in peace Cliff.