Cliff Burton: Difference between revisions
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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While on their European tour, Burton and [[Kirk Hammett]] randomly picked from a deck of cards to see who would get the top bunk on the bus. Burton pulled the Ace of Spades sealing his "victory," and so he chose to sleep on [[Kirk Hammett]]'s bed, as Hammett recalls on MTV's 1992 Bio of the band as well as in the VH1 show "Behind the Music". Burton died when the band's tour bus hit [[black ice]] (though it is still disputed that they may have crashed because the driver may have been drinking) and flipped over in [[Ljungby Municipality|rural Sweden]]. As the bus was skidding out of control and eventually rolled over on the grass, Burton fell out of a window, and was crushed by the bus. It is unknown whether Burton was still alive at this point. He was crushed again when the [[winch]] cable lifting the bus off him snapped, dropping the bus on him a second time. The other people on the bus recount seeing Burton's feet sticking out from under the bus. That image has haunted them ever since. |
While on their European tour, Burton and [[Kirk Hammett]] randomly picked from a deck of cards to see who would get the top bunk on the bus. Burton pulled the Ace of Spades sealing his "victory," and so he chose to sleep on [[Kirk Hammett]]'s bed, as Hammett recalls on MTV's 1992 Bio of the band as well as in the VH1 show "Behind the Music". Burton died when the band's tour bus hit [[black ice]] (though it is still disputed that they may have crashed because the driver may have been drinking) and flipped over in [[Ljungby Municipality|rural Sweden]] (Kronobergs län). As the bus was skidding out of control and eventually rolled over on the grass, Burton fell out of a window, and was crushed by the bus. It is unknown whether Burton was still alive at this point. He was crushed again when the [[winch]] cable lifting the bus off him snapped, dropping the bus on him a second time. The other people on the bus recount seeing Burton's feet sticking out from under the bus. That image has haunted them ever since. |
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Burton's body was cremated. At the ceremony, the instrumental "[[Orion (song)|Orion]]" from the album ''[[Master of Puppets]]'' was played. Orion was never played in full live until November 2005 although bits of the song would be used to to bridge between other songs. |
Burton's body was cremated. At the ceremony, the instrumental "[[Orion (song)|Orion]]" from the album ''[[Master of Puppets]]'' was played. Orion was never played in full live until November 2005 although bits of the song would be used to to bridge between other songs. |
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Revision as of 15:43, 30 May 2006
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. His life and tragic death have inspired at least two songs and bassists such as Billy Sheehan, Les Claypool and John Myung.
Early years
Burton was born in Castro Valley, California. He started playing the piano at age six. In 1976 at the age of 14, Burton picked up the bass guitar and started playing in local bands, while taking lessons with a local music teacher, Steve Hamady. According to his parents, Cliff would spend four to six hours a day perfecting his bass guitar skills, even after he joined Metallica. Upon finishing high school, he took a music course at a junior college.
The band
The other members of Metallica were looking for a bass player who was a bit more proficient than their current bassist, Ron McGovney. As they tell the story in the liner notes to "Garage, Inc.", they attended a show by Burton's band Trauma, heard what they thought was a wild wah-wah guitar solo, wondered where the guitar was, and discovered it was Burton playing his bass through a wah-wah. They recruited him when, after constant pleas, he agreed to join on the sole condition that Metallica would relocate from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area. The music scene in Los Angeles was "too plastic" for Burton.
Burton would reportedly monopolize the tape player in any touring vehicle, and deliberately expose the band to a variety of music styles ranging from The Misfits, Pink Floyd, and Thin Lizzy to legendary classical pianist Glenn Gould playing Bach.
Style of playing
His playing style was unusually varied for a heavy metal bassist, from rapid-fire riffs and mock guitar solos to very melodic playing. Burton never played bass with a guitar pick; he only used his fingers. Two rock musician influences that can clearly be heard in his playing are Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister and Rush frontman Geddy Lee. Unlike other, later virtuoso metal and progressive metal bassists who favor 5-string or even 6-string bass guitars, he only played a standard 4-string bass.
Influence
James Hetfield has admitted that Burton's influence was highly responsible for much of Metallica's early music and image. Originally trained on piano, Burton used his large knowledge of theory to add to the band's sound, both through his bass work and teaching James how to theorize and harmonize.
Cliff's obsession with surreal horror writer H.P. Lovecraft gave the band a large array of album cover art and song topics (i.e. The Call Of Ktulu, The Thing That Should Not Be). The band has also noted that their love of The Misfits, Samhain, and all things Glenn Danzig came directly from Cliff forcefeeding a Misfits tape to them on tour, playing it to the point of monotony and using the dashboard as a drumset.
Cliff was by and large, the most respected member of the band and James "looked up to him like an older brother". He was said to have been quiet and kept to himself most of the time, however when he spoke, everyone listened. His no nonsense, non-conformist attitute perfectly fit the mold of the band at the time. An example would be his "unfashionable," hippie image of straight down hair, eternally clad bell-bottom jeans, faded denim jacket and flannel shirts. A popular debate among Metallica fans is the direction the group would have taken in the late 80's and 90's had Cliff been around. His influence within the group explains why Metallica had such a hard time coping with his death for many years following the bus accident.
Death
While on their European tour, Burton and Kirk Hammett randomly picked from a deck of cards to see who would get the top bunk on the bus. Burton pulled the Ace of Spades sealing his "victory," and so he chose to sleep on Kirk Hammett's bed, as Hammett recalls on MTV's 1992 Bio of the band as well as in the VH1 show "Behind the Music". Burton died when the band's tour bus hit black ice (though it is still disputed that they may have crashed because the driver may have been drinking) and flipped over in rural Sweden (Kronobergs län). As the bus was skidding out of control and eventually rolled over on the grass, Burton fell out of a window, and was crushed by the bus. It is unknown whether Burton was still alive at this point. He was crushed again when the winch cable lifting the bus off him snapped, dropping the bus on him a second time. The other people on the bus recount seeing Burton's feet sticking out from under the bus. That image has haunted them ever since.
Burton's body was cremated. At the ceremony, the instrumental "Orion" from the album Master of Puppets was played. Orion was never played in full live until November 2005 although bits of the song would be used to to bridge between other songs.
Songs
He co-wrote several Metallica songs, including "Master of Puppets," "Orion," "For Whom The Bell Tolls," and "Fade to Black."
The best examples of his unique bass playing style are:
- The intro of "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (Which is usually mistaken for a guitar.)
- The epic bass solo "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" from the album Kill 'Em All
- The lead bass in the instrumental "The Call of Ktulu" from Ride the Lightning
- The lead bass in the instrumental "Orion" from Master of Puppets.
- The intro of "Damage Inc."
He wrote many of the riffs used in "To Live is to Die" which is featured on the ...And Justice for All album, and the song is dedicated to him. There are only these lyrics, also written by Burton, in the entire song, intoned by James Hetfiled about three-quarters of the way through:
- "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?"
The line "These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives" is actually from the book Lord Foul's Bane in the Thomas Covenant series written by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Successors
Burton was succeeded 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 says he was never really accepted by the band. For his entire time in Metallica, he was just the "New-kid", and James Hetfield would strictly refuse to accept him as an equal to Cliff Burton. Jason eventually left the band. To temporarily fill the missing slot, Bob Rock took over bass duties on St. Anger. Soon after, Robert Trujillo was selected as their new bassist.
Metallica's tribute to Cliff
After Burton'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", is Burton's last writing credit and is said by the band to be mainly made up of his unused riffs, and the spoken part also penned by him. In addition, the Megadeth song "In My Darkest Hour" was also influenced by the death of Burton. Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, who was once Metallica's lead guitarist alongside Burton, has validated this claim. In 1987 Metallica released the tribute documentary Cliff 'em All, a retrospective of Burton's time in the band.
Others take a more dim view of the situation, with doom-drone pioneers Sunn O))) having a cover of For Whom the Bell Tolls titled "F.W.T.B.T (I Dream of Lars Ulrich Being Thrown Through the Bus Window Instead of My Master Mystikall Kliff Burton)".
Discography
N/A
Easy Street aka EZ Street
N/A
Demo
EP
Full Length
N/A
- 1982 - Demo
N/A
Equipment
Bass guitars:
- Rickenbacker 4001
- Aria Pro II SB-1000 in black.
- Alembic Spoiler
Amps:
- Mesa Boogie 4"x12" and 1"x15" cabinets
- Ampeg SVT-1540HE Classis Series enclosure
Effects:
- Morley Power Wah Boost
- Electro Harmonix Big Muff
References
