Photo: Michael Ochs Archives
Cliff Burton died 38 years ago today, but he still has quite the impact on Metallica's music. During the latest episode of the band's podcast The Metallica Report, frontman James Hetfield explained how the late bassist still influences his creative decisions.
"Cliff still lives in all of us," Hetfield said. "How he lives in me is that I get to channel Cliff [going], 'What would be really cool right here?' I do hold him in such high regard that I ask for his help still. I challenge myself, 'Would Cliff like this?"
"That is a pretty high standard," Hetfield noted. "We already have pretty high standards for ourselves, but if I could impress Cliff, it was a good day."
Burton was featured on Metallica's first three albums, Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, and received a posthumous writing credit for "To Live Is to Die" off 1988's ...And Justice for All. He tragically died on September 27, 1986 while the band was on tour in Sweden supporting Master of Puppets. The bassist was asleep in the tour bus when it skidded off the road. He was thrown from his bunk and through the window, and then the vehicle rolled on top of him. Burton was only 24.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.