Cliff Burton

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Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962–September 27, 1986) was the second bassist in the band Metallica, joining the band in late 1982 replacing Ron McGovney. He was, and still is, considered to be one of the best bassists in heavy metal history.

Burton was born in Castro Valley, California. He died on Metallica's European tour when the band's tour bus flipped over in rural Sweden, which led to him falling out of a window and being crushed underneath the wreckage when the winch cable which was lifting the bus off him snapped, dropping the bus back on top of him.

In the night after the accident, James Hetfield got drunk and ran through the streets for hours, yelling: "Cliff! Cliff! Where are ya??" Cliff's corpse was burned. At the ceremony, the instrumental "Orion" of the album Master of Puppets was played.

In a recently published interview that claims to have been conducted with Cliff Burton hours before his death, Burton predicts that Metallica would experiment with softer music and would eventually work with a "big time" producer. The 1991 release of Metallica, as well as the 1996/1997 releases of Load and Reload, which both featured much softer music compared to what Metallica had written in the early 1980s, as well as their subsequent collaborations with Bob Rock, who had worked with Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi, gave Burton's words credibility. Metallica endured a severe backlash for their supposed selling out by working with Bob Rock and making softer music, which lead many old-school fans to declare that Cliff's death lowered the quality of Metallica's music.

He co-wrote several Metallica songs, including "Master of Puppets," "Orion" and "Fade to Black."

Burton was superseded as Metallica's bassist by Jason Newsted. Quoting Newsted, "I always felt this shadow cast over me, and I always felt like I wore shoes that were too large for my feet whenever I remember who I replaced." Newsted was never really accepted by the band. For 10 years, he just was "the new one", and James Hetfield would strictly refuse to accept him as an equal to Cliff Burton.

"When Metallica lost Cliff," said drummer Lars Ulrich, "they not only lost a bassist; they lost their soul."

After Cliff's death, Metallica made ...And Justice for All in 1988. Many Metallica fans, although they never received clarification from the band, believe that the album was the band's last tribute to their fallen musician and friend. It also should be noted that the instrumental track, "To Live Is To Die", was written and composed by Cliff Burton, titled after something he once said.

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