So desperate were the teenage James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich to persuade Cliff Burton to join their band that, after the homebody bassist point-blank refused to move from his home in San Francisco to Metallica's Los Angeles base, the pair decided that they and guitarist Dave Mustaine would relocate to the Bay Area instead. It may have been the smartest decision Hetfield and Ulrich ever made.
In addition to being a formidable performer on stage, Burton's musicianship and compositional skills elevated Metallica head and shoulders above their thrash metal contemporaries: the six songs he co-wrote on the group's second record, 1984's Ride The Lightning were so obviously superior to the two to which he did not contribute (Escape and Trapped Under Ice) as to be embarrassing.
Speaking earlier this year, Lars Ulrich acknowledged that Burton “added a whole other dimension to the Metallica sound”, and challenged his bandmates in ways they never anticipated.
In a 2013 interview with Revolver, the drummer explained: “He was up to challenge the normalcy, to challenge the status quo, to just fuck with things musically, attitude-wise - the way he dressed, the way he carried himself, his sense of humor, his relationship with the music that inspired him, the music that he played. It was always very unconventional, and it was very unusual.”
This week, during an appearance on the latest episode of the band's own weekly podcast The Metallica Report, James Hetfield was asked if Burton's influence still feeds into the quartet's contemporary songwriting.
His response was immediate and unequivocal.
“Absolutely,” Hetfield answered [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]. “Cliff still lives in all of us. The way he lives in me is I get to channel, you know, Cliff, what would be really cool right here? And I do - I do hold him in such high regard that I ask for his help still. And I challenge myself, Would Cliff like this?' That, to me, is a pretty high standard. We already have high standards for ourselves, but you know, if I could impress Cliff, it was a good day.”
Metallica recently announced dates for their 2025 North American tour.
