This day marks the 38th anniversary of the tragic bus accident in which Cliff Burton lost his life. His Metallica bandmates often described him as a friend and a mentor figure in equal measure due to his immense knowledge of music, while his high-octane playing style, which some even described as “lead bass,” made the thrash giants’ first three albums all the grander.

In the latest episode of “The Metallica Report” podcast, James Hetfield said his late friend “absolutely” still lives within him, noting how he’d often think about whether Burton would approve of a particular lick or song he’s currently working on (transcription via Blabbermouth):

“Absolutely. Cliff still lives in all of us. The way he lives in me is I get to channel, you know, ‘Cliff, what would be really cool right here?’ And I do — I do hold him in such high regard that I ask for his help still. And I challenge myself, ‘Would Cliff like this?’ That, to me, is a pretty high standard. We already have high standards for ourselves, but you know, if I could impress Cliff, it was a good day.”

Jason Newsted, who joined Metallica as Burton’s successor in 1986 and occupied that position for the next 15 years, suggested last year that James Hetfield never really recovered from the loss of his bandmate:

“I don’t think that James will probably ever recover from the Cliff thing because of his abandonment and separation; [because] of things that happened to him and his family and suffering so far beyond his control. This is kind of shit that cuts so deep, you know, no matter how many people you’re talking with, it’s still going to be there.”

“So within all of that, he had to find a way to compartmentalize, you know, there’s a thing I’ve learned over these past years with the respect that I’ve always had great respect for the guy, but even more so now there was never a time I didn’t respect him.”