Today we will tell you who Cliff Burton is. Metallica is the group in which he was the second bass player. This is an American musician, a virtuoso. He is distinguished by an unusual manner of performance, high technology and a variety of tastes. In 2011, he was recognized as one of the best bass players according to a survey conducted by Rolling Stone.
early years
Cliff Burton was born in 1962,
February 10, in California, the city of Castro Veli. At the age of six, he began to play the piano. When our hero was 14, the elder brother of the future musician passed away. He was worried about this loss. It was at that time that he began to take bass guitar lessons from one of the local teachers. The musician devoted at least 6 hours a day to improving mastery. Before graduating from school in 1980, he took a music course in the city of Napa Veli, at a local college. This educational institution is located in northern California. At college, his classmate and friend was Jim Martin, the guitarist and leader of a band called Faith No More.
Metallica
Cliff Burton soon joined the ranks of the group that brought him the most fame. Metallica members were looking for a musician to replace Ron McGowney - the then bassist who refused to continue playing in the band. According to some sources, the band attended a Trauma concert. It was in this project that our hero participated then. The members of Metallica were shocked by his guitar solo, and they decided that the bass player was perfect for them. After the concert, Lars and James approached our hero and invited him to join his group. Cliff Burton did not agree for a very long time. Later, he nevertheless accepted the invitation, but set the condition for Metallica to move to San Francisco from Los Angeles. The first performance of our hero in the group occurred in 1983, on March 5. The concert was held at The Stone Club. While Metallica traveled as part of music tours, our hero expanded the creative horizons of his companions.
Leaving life
We already told you how quickly gained fame Cliff Burton. His death was also sudden. During a tour of Europe in support of an album called Master of Puppets, band members were forced to spend nights in uncomfortable bunks on a tour bus. Once the struggle of the team members for a comfortable place was decided with the help of a deck of cards. Cliff won Hammet's most comfortable bunk. Around midnight, the bus left for Copenhagen from Stockholm. At 7 a.m., the driver lost control and the bus fell on its side from the embankment. Cliff died as a result of this disaster. The driver explained the tragic event by a collision with a frozen puddle. The body of the musician was cremated.
Manner of play
Cliff Burton played in different styles. He performed both melodic solos and high-speed, technical parts.
Lemmy Kilmister , the leader of Motorhead, as well as
Geezer Butler, had a strong influence on his performance style
. The musician preferred the four-string classical bass. During performances, he usually used instruments from Aria, Alembic or Rickenbacker. The musician, as a rule, applied the effect of distortion. In solo, he used wah-wah.
James Hetfield emphasizes that our hero had a tremendous influence on the early work of Metallica. He was a classical pianist, actively used the basics of musical theory, and also taught them to other members of the collective. The guitarist’s passion for Lovecraft’s work was reflected on the
album covers , in their names, as well as in the lyrics of some songs. Our hero instilled in his colleagues a love of The Misfits. This resulted in the creation of a number of covers. In 1987, Metallica released Cliff 'Em All, a documentary that was a video replay of Cliff's involvement. Megadeth's In My Darkest Hour is also dedicated to our hero. Dave Mustaine, the frontman of Metallica, who played in it at the beginning of his career, was very shocked by the death of the guitarist and also decided to devote the work to him. Anthrax has dedicated an album called Among the Living to the musician. Also, Metal Church in honor of the guitarist released the album The Dark. Released in 1988,
Metallica's album , And Justice for All, contains To Live is to Die. It is written on the basis of musical motives that our hero invented shortly before his death. The original text for this composition was created by Paul Gerhardt. Burton took it. The text was read by James Hetfield. Now you know who Cliff Burton is. A photo of the musician is attached to this material.