Jason Newsted & Robert Trujillo Talk About Cliff Burton + Stuff 

And the memory remains ..

3:50

I'm a simple man,

Cliff is sorely missed. I think people get it wrong in their assessment of him. Many think he was this amazing virtuoso on the instrument and compared to other thrash bass players at the time he was but I can think of 100 guys who possess more technique and command of the instrument than he did. Thats not what made him so great. He was no slouch on the bass of course but his greatness came from his unique approach. The hardest thing to do as a musician is to burn your idols in a sense, to become a musician that is singular among a sea of other musicians. Cliff Burton stood out and he stood out from a position that is usually in the background. His solo on Orion isn't anything mindblowing from a technical standpoint but it sounds amazing and wasn't like any other bass riff ever recorded. For years I thought it was a guitar solo. His approach was very free form and came from within rather than being a result from years of study in technique and composition. He didn't really have any creative input on Kill Em All outside of Pulling Teeth but when lightning came out you immediately hear his presence as a creative force in the band. The songs were far better constructed and had way more melodic content which Hetfield himself claimed came from Cliff. That band would not have developed the same way without his input on the early albums. He is a big part of what made the band great when they were making the records they will always be most remembered for. Justice is a very good album but its missing an element that was there prior. Even with the fan remastered versions where the bass is audible that special character Cliff brought is completely gone. No one sounded like him, no one played like him, no one had the presence he did, and no one had the creative juice that he had. He wasn't a virtuoso as many claim but he was a pure musician which is far more important. Anyone can become a virtuoso, it just takes way more practice than most are willing to put in but Cliff had intangibles that are not achievable through hours of study and practice. Thats why he was special. Like Randy Rhoads, Cliff didn't hang around long enough to achieve a great body of work. We are left with just a few pieces of audio and video which came from a talent early in their development as an artist. Who knows what could have been. Its a sad story.

I've been thinking about this the past few days - Cliff is like Geezer Butler on steroids. RIP.

I didn't realize at the time. I happen to see cliff on the Master of puppets tour opening for Ozzy in Albuquerque New Mexico. That what a privilege it was. Cause sadly it wasn't long after that he talken from us ...... RIP

1:20

We love you Cliff, And we will never forget :)

just glad i got to see them with cliff in 86,with ozzy meriad okc anybody remember that show

I have been practicing Cliff's solos on my guitar ever since I've been a Metallica fan. And when I saw the fading audio of anesthesia, I almost cried. For a bass player, Cliff inspired me to headbang harder and use the sound on my guitar to be like his bass on the solos. Even though I never met or seen cliff when he was alive, cliff is my #1 role model for being a guitar player. WE MISS YOU CLIFF R.I.P. \m/ Burton forever !!!!!!!!!!

Its wonderful how a bassist of the skill and ability and position of Rob Trujillo, the Bassist of the biggest Heavy Metal Band in the history, is so humble and accepts Cliff as much much greater than him, and feels that yes, he has to fit in HIS shoes, that he is filling in for him, that he has to live up to his expectations. Rob all the way man, amazing bassist, amazing guy

Hearing Cliff's voice, wow

That's true Cliff was the leader of the band and even was teaching james about music theory because cliff was a trained musician and he knew his shit!! There would be no kill em' all ,ride the lightning,or master of puppets with cliff who knew about harmony's and made these songsbecome legendary!!James was second in command behind cliff almost all the lyrics written on all Metallica albums were written by James!! James respected Cliff more than any man on this planet!

RIP Cliff Burton!!! We miss you SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Thumbs up if Cliff is your idol!!!!

I remember watching Cliff Em' All not long after his death and my old man who knows nothing about heavy metal music who thinks it's nothing but a bunch of pots and pans banging together says "Is that bass he's playing?" wid a genuine, stunned, impressed look on his face

that indeed made me cry... Rob is a great...excelent bassist. But an even better person... :´)

cliff burton bass the man was and is the very best and made people think about bass in a way no one ever did the man mastered and became a legend !!!!!

We still keep Cliff alive whenever we play something from Kill em, Ride the Lightning, & Master of Puppets. Always in our thoughts & in our hearts so, in a way he is immortal.

Miss you alot cliff I tried to do your solos on my channel but there hard!!! The fact you wrote anesthesia when you were 18,19 makes you brilliant