1962-1986
On September 27, 1986 Metallica
was out promoting their “Master of Puppets” album with a world tour. It was a
Saturday morning, the band asleep in their tour bus when the bus skidded off
the road and flipped onto its side. Cliff Burton died from the crash.
We all know Metallica as the metal behemoth it is
today: headlining Big 4 concerts and selling countless albums across the world.
All of this is built on the foundation of the band’s early days and the three
albums that in the same amount of years turned them from exciting new band to
greatest band in the world.
On Kill ‘Em All,
Ride The Lightning, and Master Of Puppets, Cliff Burton’s
basslines are there for all to hear – not buried under the steam train of noise
from his bandmates but just as loud, proud, fast, and heavy as them. He was an
exceptional talent, one that disappeared all too soon.
Burton brought
something different to the band, both musically and aesthetically. In
photoshoots, next to his spandex and high-top sneaker wearing bandmates stood
Burton in full denim and leather boots, often with his ‘Misfits’ arm tattoo on
display.
Burton’s musical
body of works may be in relatively short supply, but it’s quality that counts.
With those three classic metal albums to his name, quality was assured and a
new benchmark was raised.
As good and great as
Cliff’s replacement Jason Newsted and his subsequent replacement Robert
Trujillo are, Burton’s leather boots have never been filled.
Cliff Burton, gone but never forgotten.
Read the book ‘To live is to die’.
Watch the film ‘Hesher’.
Listen to his music
Blake Devonport
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