Today we will tell you who Cliff Burton is. "Metallica" is a band in which he was the second bass player. It's about an American musician, a virtuoso. It is distinguished by an unusual manner of performance, high technique and a variety of tastes. In 2011, he was recognized as one of the best bass players by the results of a poll conducted by Rolling Stone.
early years
Cliff Burton was born in 1962, on February 10, in California, the city of Castro Veli. At the age of six he began to play piano. When our hero was 14, the elder brother of the future musician passed away. He was very worried about this loss. It was at that time that he began to take lessons from a local teacher on the bass guitar. Perfection of skill the musician paid at least 6 hours per day. Before graduating from school in 1980, he passed a music course in Napa Valley, at a local college. This is an educational institution in northern California. In college, his classmate and friend became Jim Martin - guitarist and leader of a group called Faith No More.
Metallica
Cliff Burton soon joined the ranks of the group, which brought him the greatest fame. Metallica members were looking for a musician to replace Ron McGovny - then bassist, who refused to continue playing in the band. According to some sources, the band attended the Trauma concert. It was in this project that our hero participated. Metallica's members were shocked by his guitar solo, and they decided that the bassist was perfect for them. After the concert, Lars and James approached our hero and invited him to join the group. Cliff Burton did not agree very long. Later, after all, he accepted the invitation, but he put the condition of moving Metallica to San Francisco from Los Angeles. The first performance of our hero in the group occurred in 1983, March 5. The concert was held on the territory of the club The Stone. While Metallica traveled within the framework of musical tours, our hero expanded the creative horizons of his companions.
Leaving a life
We have already told you how quickly Cliff Burton gained fame. His death was also sudden. During the tour of Europe in support of the album called Master of Puppets, the band members were forced to spend the nights in the awkward benches of the tour bus. Once the struggle of the members of the collective for the place was more comfortable with the help of a deck of cards. Cliff won back from Hammett the most comfortable bed. Around midnight the bus left for Copenhagen from Stockholm. At 7 o'clock in the morning the driver lost control, and the bus fell to the side from the mound. Cliff died as a result of this disaster. The driver explained the tragic event by hitting the frozen puddle. The body of the musician was cremated.
Manner of the game
Cliff Burton played in different styles. He performed both melodic solos, and high-speed, technical parties. Lemmy Kilmister - leader of Motorhead, as well as Gieser Butler had a strong influence on his performance style . The musician preferred a four-string classical bass guitar. During the speeches, he usually used tools from Aria, Alembic or Rickenbacker. The musician, as a rule, used the distortion effect. In solo he used wah-wah. James Hatfield emphasizes that our hero had a tremendous influence on the early work of the band Metallica. He was a classical pianist, actively used the foundations of musical theory, and also taught them other members of the collective. The fascination of the guitarist with the work of Lovecraft was reflected in the covers of the albums of the group, in their names, and also in the texts of some songs. Our hero instilled a love for the colleagues in the team of The Misfits. This was reflected in the creation of a number of covers. In 1987, Metallica released Cliff 'Em All - a documentary, which was a video retrospective of Cliff's participation in the team. In My Darkest Hour, Megadeth's composition is also dedicated to our hero. Dave Mustaine - the frontman of Metallica, who played in it at the beginning of the creative path, was very shocked by the death of the guitarist and also decided to dedicate his work to him. The Anthrax team dedicated their album entitled Among the Living to the musician. Also Metal Church in honor of the guitarist released the record The Dark. Released in 1988, the album Metallica under the name And Justice for All contains the composition To Live is to Die. It is written on the basis of musical motifs, which our hero came up with shortly before his death. The original text for this composition was created by Paul Gerhardt. It was Burton who took it. The text was read by James Hetfield. Now you know who Cliff Burton is. The photo of the musician is attached to this material.