Metallica is perhaps one of the best bands of all time, if not the best, according to the majority of heavy metal enthusiasts. And it’s safe to say that their first three albums solidified that legacy with the iconic lineup of James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Cliff Burton, and drummer Lars Ulrich. Unfortunately, only Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets featured Burton’s shredding prowess. The 24-year-old bassist passed away in a tour bus accident in Sweden 38 years ago. But according to James Hetfield, a co-founder of Metallica, Burton’s influence has never really faded.
When writing songs for Metallica, James Hetfield continues to draw inspiration from Cliff Burton.
More than 40 years after the release of their explosive debut album Kill ‘Em All, Metallica is continuously producing new music. “Would Cliff like this?” is another question co-founder James Hetfield frequently poses while writing songs.
“That is a pretty high standard, in my opinion,” Hetfield stated when he spoke on The Metallica Report podcast on September 25. “It was a good day if I could impress Cliff, but we already have high expectations for ourselves.”
According to Hetfield, Burton “still lives in all of us.”
“I get to channel, you know, ‘Cliff, what would be really cool right here?'” stated the 61-year-old iconic frontman and rhythm guitarist for Metallica. “And I do — I do respect him so much that I continue to ask for his assistance.”
To join Cliff Burton, the band moved to San Francisco.
James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, co-founders of Metallica, went to the Whisky A Go Go nightclub in Los Angeles at the end of 1982 to see a band called Trauma play. The duo enlisted Cliff Burton, a bassist who was unknown at the time, after being impressed by his “amazing shredding.”
Burton consented because he thought Trauma was “beginning to get a little commercial”—but only if the band moved to San Francisco, his birthplace. Metallica traveled from Los Angeles to the Bay Area in hopes of enlisting Burton.
The band was traveling to a show in Sweden in September 1986 when their tour bus veered off the road and landed in the grass. Unfortunately, Burton was slain right away.