Cliff Burton

See also: Burton

Clifford Lee Burton , born on February 10th, 1962 and dead September 27th, 1986, was the second bass player of Metallica. It joined the group at the end of 1982.

Burton was born with Castro Valley, in California. Having parents Hippie S, it was influenced much by this movement (it always carried pants to “legs of elephant”) and by various artists of Jazz or blues. It started to play Piano at six years and it is only adolescent which it started to play of low. It belonged to several Californian groups.

The members of Metallica were seeking a bass player more serious and more skilful than their current bass player, Ron McGovney, (as they tell it in the comments of the album Garage, Inc. ) whereas they attended a concert of the group of Cliff of the time, Trauma. They then heard what they believed being a solo of guitar endiablé and, wondering where the guitarist was, they realized that Cliff played of low by using a pedal “wah-wah”. They decided to recruit it at once, following what they had to settle with San Francisco.

Cliff then did not cease monopolizing the cassette player when the group was in round, and made discover with the inveterate rockers group a broad selection of artists with whom they were not very familiar - as the groups Misfits and Thin Lizzy or the large pianist Glenn Gould playing of the Bach.

Its manner of playing was unusually varied for a player of heavy metal, energy of high-speed pieces of rock'n'roll to very elaborate melodies while passing by pretenses of solos of guitar. The only influence which can clearly be recognized in its style is that of Geddy Lee, of the group Rush; as this last (and contrary to other virtuosos of metal which seems to prefer the low ones to 5 or 6 cords) Cliff played on low usual with 4 cords.

The September 27th 1986, at the time of the round of Metallica in Europe for the promotion of the album Master Off Puppets , their bus was turned over on a small country road in Sweden. Cliff Burton was made crush twice by the bus (first once at the time of the accident and second once at the time of an unfruitful attempt to raise the bus with a Treuil) and is deceased.

Its body was incinerated the October 7th with crematory of Castro Valley (his birthplace), and its ashes were widespread to Maxwell Ranch, one of his preferred places of exit.

He was the joint author many songs of Metallica, like Master off Puppets , Orion , For Whom The Bell Tolls , or Fade to Black . In addition to its solo - Pulling Teeth Anaesthetized on Kill 'EM All, the best examples of its talents of author and of interpreter are the songs Leper Messiah , Orion (of Master Of Puppets ) or The Call off Ktulu ( Ride The Lightning ).

Following its death, the group was lengthily called in question and decided to continue by recruiting finally Jason Newsted like new bass player. The song To Live is to Die , appeared on the following album of Metallica, is dedicated to him: it takes again the last pieces which he had written, and one intends James Hetfield there to quote a sentence that Cliff had said in an interview:

When has man dregs He murders

Some leaves the world off

Thesis are the blade deaths which

Men miscall their lives

All this I boat bear

To witness any to skirt

Boat the kingdom off salvation

Take me home

(For the anecdote, the beginning of this sentence: " When has man dregs He murders nap leaves the world" off; had already been heard at the character of Merlin, in the film " Excalibur " of John Boorman, in 1981.)

Apart from Metallica, Dave Mustaine (a former guitarist of Metallica) wrote a song In My Darkest Hour , which he said to be in memory of Cliff Burton. In the same way for Joe Satriani which wrote in its memory Guitar in memory off Cliff Burton .

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