Cliff Burton

metallica’s 2nd b-ssist, and one of the greatest metal b-ssists of all time. along with steve harris of iron maiden, he was one of the first metal b-ss players to play complex b-ss lines. he also liked to play loud and often soloed (with distortion, and sometimes wah). because of this, some people have reffered to him as a “lead b-ssist”.

he co-wrote several great metallica songs, including master of puppets and orion (which was played at this funeral), and composed most of to live is to die, which was recorded as a tribute to burton in metallicas ..and justice for all alb-m.

cliff died september 27, 1986 after metallica’s tour bus overturned in rural swedan.
rip cliff burton.

when a man lies he murders
some part of the world
these are the pale deaths which
men miscall their lives
all this i cannot bear
to witness any longer
cannot the kingdom of salvation
take me home
cliff burton was the most amazingly talented b-ssist of all time. he often merged b-ss playing with electric guitar playing using a wah-wah pedal. cliff was born in san francisco on february 10, 1962 to jan and ray burton. he grew a liking for the misfits, mexican food, and h.p. lovecraft. he owned a green station wagon that he often drove around the bay area with friends in, with the misfits blasting out the windows. cliff was a cool, laid-back guy who didn’t mind going out of his way to talk to his fans. he started out playing b-ss for bands such as trauma and agents of misfortune, and was known for his headbanging and wild stage presence. cliff was soon discovered by metallica, and that was when he replaced ron mcgovney and got his own place in the band, but he would only join if metallica moved to san francisco, which they did. cliff’s greatest masterpieces are (anesthesia)-pulling teeth, the call of ktulu, and orion. his career with metallica was going great, but tragedy came with his death during a tour bus accident on september 27th, 1986. the band was on their way to denmark when the bus supposedly slipped on a patch of ice and turned onto its side beside the road. lars ulrich (drums) had broken a toe and kirk hammett (lead guitar) had a black eye, but worst of all, cliff had apparently been thrown off of his bunk-bed and halfway out the window, and then the bus crushed him when it had turned over. the rest of the guys, who were having a hard time coping with the tragedy, were brought to a hotel until they returned back to america a couple days later. cliff’s ashes were spread at maxwell ranch, a ranch where he spent a lot of his time. in 1987, a doc-mentary of performances, interviews, and footage of the guys just having a good time called cliff ’em all was released as a tribute to cliff. metallica found a new b-ssist (jason newsted) and on their next alb-m (…and justice for all) is a song that cliff had written called to live is to die that also includes some riffs that he had written as well. cliff burton will forever remain in the hearts of many as the greatest b-ssist of all time.
rest in peace cliff… i’ll see ya on the other side.
a great b-ss player and was in metallica. he sadly died in september 1986 in a bus crash, while sleeping in his bunk on tour. his last alb-m was “master of puppets”.
kill ’em all, ride the lightning, master of puppets
one of the greatest musicians who ever walked the earth. a master songwriter and an experimental technical master of the b-ss guitar. he played b-ss solos at 100 miles per hour using a wah pedal (morley) and distortion (electro-harmonix big m-ff). he joined metallica in the early eighties after about a month of begging from james hetfield and lars ulrich. when he finally joined, he wrote some of their biggest hits, and would have wrote more if it wasn’t for a bus accident on september 27th, 1986. he was only 24. his b-ss in the earlier days was a rickenbacker, in later days he used an aria pro ii sb-1000. aria should really make this b-ss more available.
“how would you f-ckheads like to meet cliff burton, the major rager on the four string motherf-cker!?”

“why don’t we all say hi to cliff? hi cliff!”

“doo, doo doo doo doo doo, doo bwah”

“mommy, i hear thunder.”
“oh, that’s not thunder… it’s cliff, up there, playing his b-ss…”
-the major rajor on the four string motherf-cker!
-first in metal to put out a kick -ss b-ss solo.
-metallica sucks without him. that’s a fact.
-didn’t give a sh-t about what people said about his style.

rest in peace cliff!
“cliff burton is my idol on the four string motherf-cker.”

“cliff was an awesome b-ssist. listen to orion.”

if cliff didn’t die, metallica wouldn’t have wore make-up in the load and reload alb-m cover. they wouldn’t have cut their hair. they wouldn’t have sold out. and they wouldn’t sound so d-mn awful today.
the jimi hendrix of b-ss guitar. born february 10th, 1962 in castro valley, california. he was the b-ssist of metallica from 1982 to 1986.

metallica’s first alb-m kill ’em all contained songs already composed before cliff had joined, but his influence would become heavy on the band’s later alb-ms. ride the lightning and master of puppets, which were landmarks in the heavy metal genre, both contained songs that were composed and polished to the level of commercial and critical success.

alas, just like hendrix, he died young. on september 27th, 1986, during a tour bus ride in rural sweden, the bus slipped on black ice, causing the bus to overturn, and cliff was crushed twice, killing him. since then, the band has had two new b-ssists, jason newsted in 1986, and robert trujillo in 2003.
you should hear cliff burton’s skills on (anesthesia) pulling teeth, on the intro of for whom the bell tolls (yes, it is actually cliff’s b-ss playing), and on the instrumental orion.

rip cliff burton
february 10th, 1962 – september 27th, 1986

cannot the kingdom of salvation
take me home
metallica’s 2nd b-ssist; one of the greatest b-ssists to ever walk the earth.

died in november 1986 on the master of puppets tour, and with him, died metallica’s greatness. …and justice for all marked the beginning of tallica’s downward spiral into the p-ssy sh-t they are today.
cliff burton rocks! couldn’t lars ulrich have died instead? maybe metallica wouldn’t suck then. because….they f-cking suck now, and lars is an -sshat !