“Cliff played guitar as well as bass – I picked up a few things from him that ended up on Master of Puppets”: Before Robert Trujillo and Jason Newsted, Cliff Burton set the musical bar for Metallica and established an indelible legacy

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The metal world of the early ’80s had not yet encountered a bass player with such formidable and dynamic musical abilities as the late Cliff Burton. At the time, only Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris had really elevated the bass guitar as an equal participant in the guitar-dominated world of metal.

Right from the beginning, Burton forged an inimitable style, both musical and otherwise. As most headbangers succumbed to the typical thrash-metal uniform of the day – black T-shirts, and leather bike jackets – Burton wore bell-bottom jeans and flannel shirts ten years before grunge deemed it cool.

“Cliff strikes me as a player who would have said, ‘This is how we’re doing it’,” said Robert Trujillo, Metallica’s bass player since 2003. “He had a vision, and he would go for that vision. Rather than a producer trying to control him.”

If you’re still sceptical about proclamations that Burton made Metallica the band they are today, look no further than Orion from Master of Puppets.

Orion begins with a multi-layered bass intro, and breaks down to a classically-inspired bassline (beginning at 03:59) that outlines a straightforward F#-A-B-E progression and supports the guitars’ 3rds and counterpoint.

Burton uses the same progression as the basis for his own melodic improvisations, adding another layer to the overall contrapuntal texture.

The actual harmonic language of these sections remains easy to follow (everything is squarely in F# minor). However, the mere presence of ensemble textures characterized by counterpoint and diatonic harmony was largely unheard of in mid-’80s thrash metal.

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Guitarist Kirk Hammett remembered Burton in the February 2005 issue of Bass Player, “Cliff was heavily into classical music, and he’d incorporate classical harmonies and techniques into his bass playing all the time.

“Whenever we went on tour he’d bring along his guitar, and he’d plug it into a Scholz Rockman with two little speakers and play along with songs for hours.

“He was actually on his way to becoming a really good guitar player – in fact, I picked up a few things from his hotel-room guitar playing that ended up on Master of Puppets.”

(Image credit: Photo by Ross Marino/Icon and Image/Getty Images)Andy Battye, who worked for Metallica on the band’s Ride the Lightning tour, also recalled Burton’s free-flowing vibe onstage. “I remember my first time seeing Cliff with Metallica. I spent the first three songs in total astonishment watching his onstage antics. After the show he told me everything sounded fine, but that I really needed to keep those drinks coming!”

It was about this time that Burton switched to an Aria Pro II bass. “We were on the Ozzy Osbourne Ultimate Sin tour and Cliff had just got an endorsement from Aria Guitars,” bass tech Eddie Kercher told Bass Player.

“After a few shows, Cliff took off the bass and started smashing it against the side-fill monitor, which made a dent at the top of the neck. He told me I’d better start ordering more basses, because he liked whacking them around!”

“Even after destroying a few side fills, putting holes in the stage, and throwing the bass out into the crowd, he was still using that instrument through the very last show he played in Stockholm. That thing never went out of tune!”

It was during the European tour for Master of Puppets that Cliff unexpectedly bid farewell to the world. What he would be doing nowadays if he’d survived that terrible coach crash in Sweden is anybody’s guess, but one thing’s for sure – it would have been awesome.

Nick Wells was the Editor of Bass Guitar magazine from 2009 to 2011, before making strides into the world of Artist Relations with Sheldon Dingwall and Dingwall Guitars. He’s also the producer of bass-centric documentaries, Walking the Changes and Beneath the Bassline, as well as Production Manager and Artist Liaison for ScottsBassLessons. In his free time, you’ll find him jumping around his bedroom to Kool & The Gang while hammering the life out of his P-Bass.