Clifford Lee Burton was born in San Francisco, California on February 10th of 1962. He was the son of Jan and Ray Burton, a couple of San Francisco hippies that from they Cliff took his image, his ideals, and most of all, his attitude. Cliff used to be a very relaxed and happy who liked to sit with his friends and beer, liked to chill out, and most of all, he loved to play with passion his favorite instrument: the electric bass guitar.

On August 1982, a Californian band, whose luck went from bad to worse, heard from their manager and promoter, Brian Slagel, that a great bassist was playing with a band called Trauma at the famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go of Los Angeles. Quickly, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield went there to meet this talented bass player. They were so impressed by the way that guy played his bass guitar, that they didn�t hesitate in invite him to join their band.

At the beginning, Cliff said he wasn�t interested, but after the insistence of Lars and James, Cliff agreed but only under the condition that the band relocate to San Francisco, for he disliked the environment of L.A. city.

With all their problems, the band relocate to San Francisco, where they had a nicer receivement than in Los Angeles. And thus Cliff Burton passed to make part of one of the most important Thrash Metal Bands of all times: Metallica.

The first Metallica�s jam session with Cliff was in soundman Mark Whitaker's place, who owned an studio-conditioned garage, and where James and Lars were living at.

Short after, Jon Zazula, owner of an important record store, invited the band to play at the U.S. West Coast. Jony had tried before to get a record contract for Metallica, but after failed tries, Zazula founded his own record company called Megaforce Records, and had the honor to have Metallica as his first band signed ever.

Back at Whitaker�s place, Metallica recorded a four-track demo, and on March 5th., 1983, they played with Cliff played for first time at The Stone, in San Francisco, before a huge audience, thus beginning three rich and unforgettable years in the life of Metallica.

After their great success at The Stone, Metallica with Lars Ulrich on the drums, James Hetfield on vocals and rhythm guitar, Cliff Burton on the bass guitar, and Kirk Hammett on lead guitar, got back to the recording studio and launch to the public light their first record titled: "Kill Em All", which was produced by Paul Curcio, and immediately joined to Raven in a tour named: "Kill Em All For One Tour", which lasted 2 months and ended on September 3rd., 1983. During that tour, Metallica dedicated to write material for a new album.

On February, 1984, the quartet visited Europe for the first time next to Venom, in a tour that started in Zurich, Switzerland and covered Germany, France and Belgium, to finally land at Aarshock Festival in Zwolle, Holland.

Back at home, Megaforce Records launches Metallica�s 2nd. Album: "Ride The Lightning", which was produced this time by Flemming Rasmussen, and it�s considered as one of the fifteen essential Heavy Metal albums of all times. In it, once again Cliff displays his virtuosity on the bass guitar and gets consolidated as one of the world�s best bass players.

"Ride The Lightning" turned around the entire globe, and with it, Metallica�s fame and glory was confirmed once again.

Nineteen eighty six predicted another great success for Metallica, as well (not so well) as one of the greatest tragedies in the world of Metal.

The band was in Copenhagen recording its 3rd. Album next to Flemming Rasmussen. Finally, Metallica took over the world again with: "Master Of Puppets", a super production that is also considered within the fifteen essential Heavy Metal albums of all times.

Short after, before a gig in Adamsville, James broke a wrist in an skateboard accident. The show was canceled, and for the rest of the tour, James sang with his arm on cast, while technical assistant John Marshall substituted him on the rhythm guitar. But this was just the beginning. James�s accident was announcing a major tragedy of fatal consequences.

September of 1986. Metallica traveled by Europe promoting its new album, after an intense tour by the U.S.

At the end of performances in Oslo, Norway, and Lund, Sweden, the night of September 26th., Metallica was moving in its 2 couches to Denmark, Lars Ulrich�s birth country. When boarding the vehicle where they�ll travel, the four musicians started fighting for the sleeping places, being Kirk Hammet�s the most disputed.

In order to put an end to the discussion, they decided to leave it on luck. They took out a pack of cards and dealt among the four of them. The one with the highest card would have the privilege to choose the best place. Kirk threw a 2 of Cups, and Cliff an Ace of Spades. Thus Cliff won the right to choose the best place which was, without any doubt, Kirk�s.

Ended the discussion, all occupied their places and departed to Denmark.

It was around 6:15 in the morning of September the 27th. The 2 couches traveled somewhere on a desert road between Stockholm and Copenhagen. Despite these vehicles there wasn�t a soul at this unearthly hour.

Suddenly and for no apparent reason, one of the couches slide violently to the right and then turned to the opposite side of the road. It was out of control, until inevitably turned upside down, lying on the siding by the tarmac, just a few minutes before the little town of Ljunby. The couch had slide on black ice, which made the bus driver to loose control.

During the infernal journey of the couch out of control, Cliff broke the window with the half of his body, which got outside. The vehicle turned over his body crushing it causing instant death to Cliff.

Kirk was unconscious for a few seconds, and when he recovered knowledge, he made his way out through an escape exit, which was close to where his bandmate, Cliff Burton, was lying crushed by the bus.

Otherwise, Lars broke his tow, while the others only had superficial injuries. Three hours later, everyone were taken to a hospital.

Later, Bobby Schneider, former band manager who also resulted seriously injured, rejoined all the survivors and suggested the band to be taken to a hotel. When James Hetfield heard this, he cried and screamed: "What band? There�s no more band! We�re now just three faces!".

Passed noon, Metallica�s survivors and their technical team registered at a hotel. James Hetfield, still shocked by this terrible accident, discharged his rage breaking 2 hotel windows and yelling for several hours. The rest were so confused on their emotions, that felt asleep with the lights on.

Two days later, Metallica minus one, returned to America.

Cliff Burton�s death meant to many the end of Metallica. Despite that new bassist, Jason Newsted, has perfectly matched to the band, he�s far to long from his predecessor, for he doesn�t have the same technique nor the same thrasher spirit that Cliff Burton had. In spite all this, Metallica is still on, and shows other qualities that are also worthy of admiration and respect, but now is necessary to distinguish between the 2 faces: before and after Cliff Burton�s death.

That young 24 year old boy, full of life and given by a free and untamed spirit, didn�t exist anymore. His ashes were spread at different points around the San Francisco Bay Area.

This page of the Heavy Metal Files is a post-mortem remembering dedicated to the memory of the Master of masters. Cliff Burton, may rest in peace.

Clifford Lee Burton naci� en San Francisco, California, el 10 de Febrero de 1962, siendo hijo de Jan y Ray Burton, una pareja de hippies de quienes tom� su imagen, sus ideales y principalmente su actitud. Cliff sol�a ser un tipo muy relajado y feliz que gustaba de tomar cerveza tranquilamente, rodeado de sus buenos amigos y sobre todo, gustaba de tocar con mucha pasi�n su instrumento favorito: el bajo el�ctrico.

En Agosto de 1982, una banda californiana, cuya suerte iba cada vez de mal en peor, escuch� de su manager y promotor Brian Slagel que un gran bajista tocaba con una banda llamada Trauma en el famoso Whiskey A-Go-Go de Los Angeles. R�pidamente, Lars Ulrich y James Hetfield fueron all� para conocer al talentoso bajista. Quedaron tan maravillados con su ejecuci�n en el bajo, que no dudaron en invitarlo a formar parte de su banda.

Al principio, Cliff dijo no estar interesado, pero tras la insistencia de Lars y James, Cliff Burton acept� con la condici�n de que la banda se mudara a San Francisco, pues a �l no le gustaba el ambiente de la ciudad de Los Angeles.

Con todo y sus problemas, la banda se traslado a San Francisco, en donde fueron mejor recibidos que en Los Angeles. Y fue as� como Cliff Burton paso a formar parte de una de las bandas m�s importantes del Thrash Metal de todos los tiempos: Metallica.

La primer tocada de Metallica con Cliff Burton fue en la casa de Mark Whitaker, quien ten�a un garage que hab�a acondicionado como estudio de grabaciones y era tambi�n el lugar donde viv�an Lars y James.

Poco despues, Jon Zazula, due�o de una importante tienda de discos, invit� a tocar a la banda en la Costa Este de Estados Unidos. Jony hab�a intentado anteriormente conseguirle a Metallica un contrato con una disquera, pero tras el intento fallido, Zazula fund� su propia compa��a llamada Megaforce Records y tuvo el honor de firmar contrato con Metallica convirti�ndose as� en su primer banda.

De vuelta en el estudio de Whitaker, Metallica grab� un demo de cuatro canciones, y el 5 de Marzo de 1983, tocaron con Cliff por primera vez ante un enorme p�blico en The Stone en San Francisco, dando as� inicio a tres ricos e inolvidables a�os en la vida de Metallica.

Tras su rotundo �xito en The Stone, Metallica con Lars Ulrich en la bater�a, James Hetfield en las vocales y guitarra r�tmica, Cliff Burton en el bajo y Kirk Hammett en la guitarra l�der, vuelven al estudio de grabaciones y sacan a la luz su primer disco titulado: "Kill Em All", el cual fue producido por Paul Curcio, e inmediatamente se unieron al grupo Raven en una gira denominada: "Kill Em All For One Tour", la cual tuvo una duraci�n de 2 meses y finaliz� el 3 de Septiembre de 1983. Durante la gira, Metallica se dedic� a escribir material para su nuevo �lbum.

En Febrero de 1984, el cuarteto visit� Europa por primera vez junto a la banda Venom, en una gira que inici� en Zurich, Suiza y cubri� Alemania, Francia y B�lgica, para finalmente aterrizar en el festival Aardshock en Zwolle, Holanda.

De regreso en casa, Megaforce Records lanza a la venta el segundo �lbum de Metallica: "Ride The Lightning", el cual fue producido por Flemming Rasmussen y es considerado como uno de los quince albums esenciales del Heavy Metal de todos los tiempos. En �l, una vez m�s Cliff Burton demuestra su virtuosismo en el bajo y se consolida de una vez por todas, como uno de los mejores bajistas de todo el mundo.

"Ride The Lightning" dio la vuelta al globo entero, y con �l la fama y la gloria de Metallica se fue reafirmando cada vez m�s.

Mil novecientos ochenta y seis auguraba otro gran �xito para Metallica, a la vez que una de las tragedias m�s sonadas en el mundo del Metal.

La banda se encontraba una vez m�s en Copenhague grabando su tercer �lbum junto Flemming Rasmussen. Finalmente, Metallica vuelve a sorprender al mundo con: "Master of Puppets", una super producci�n que tambi�n est� considerada dentro de los quince albums esenciales del Heavy Metal de todos los tiempos.

Poco despu�s, antes de una tocada en Adamsville, James se quebr� una mu�eca en un accidente de patineta. El show fue cancelado y por el resto de la gira, James cant� con su brazo enyesado, mientras que el asistente t�cnico, John Marshall, lo sustituy� en la guitarra r�tmica. Pero esto era a penas el comienzo. El accidente de James anunciaba una tragedia mucho mayor y de fatales consecuencias.

Septiembre de 1986. Metallica viajaba por Europa promocionando su nuevo �lbum, luego de una intensa gira por los Estados Unidos.

Acabadas sus presentaciones en Oslo, Noruega y Lund, Suecia, la noche del veintiseis de Septiembre, Metallica se trasladaba en sus dos autob�ses hacia Dinamarca, pa�s natal del baterista Lars Ulrich. Al abordar el veh�culo donde viajar�an, los cuatro musicos comenzaron a disputarse los lugares para dormir, siendo el de Kirk Hammett el m�s discutido.

Para poner fin a la disputa, decidieron dejarlo a la suerte. Sacaron un mazo de cartas y lo repartieron entre los cuatro. Qui�n tirar� la carta m�s alta escoger�a el mejor lugar. Kirk tir� un dos de copas y Cliff un as de espadas. Con esto Cliff gan� el derecho de escoger el mejor lugar, el cual sin duda alguna era el de Kirk.

Finalizada la discusi�n todos ocuparon sus lugares y partieron hacia Dinamarca.

Eran aproximadamente las 6:15 de la madrugada del 27 de Septiembre. Los autobuses viajaban por alguna parte de una desolada carretera entre Estocolmo y Copenhague. A parte de los veh�culos no hab�a una sola alma a esa hora de la madrugada.

De pronto y por ninguna raz�n aparente, uno de los autobuses derrap� violentamente hacia la derecha y despu�s gir� hacia el lado contrario de la carretera. Estaba fuera de control, hasta que inevitablemente se volc� quedando de lado sobre una cuneta del pavimento, poco antes de llegar al poblado sueco de Ljunby. El autob�s hab�a derrapado en hielo negro, lo cual hizo que el conductor perdiera el control.

Durante la infernal traves�a del desbocado autobus, Cliff rompi� la ventana que daba hacia su litera con la mitad de su cuerpo, quedando �sta hacia afuera. El veh�culo le cay� en cima provoc�ndole una muerte instant�nea.

Kirk Hammett qued� inconsciente por algunos segundos y cuando recobr� el conocimiento, logr� escapar por la salida de emergencia, la cual estaba cerca de donde su compa�ero, Cliff Burton, yac�a aplastado por el autob�s.

Por otro lado, Lars se hab�a quebrado un dedo del pi�, mientras que los otros s�lo sufrieron heridas superficiales. Tres horas despu�s eran todos trasladados a un hospital.

M�s tarde, Bobby Schneider, quien fuera el manager de la banda y quien tambi�n result� seriamente lesionado, reuni� a todos los sobrevivientes y sugiri� que la banda fuera llevada a un hotel. Al escuchar esto, James Hetfield exclam� entre llantos: "�cu�l banda?, �ya no existe la banda! Ahora s�lo somos tres caras".

Pasado el mediod�a, los sobrevivientes de Metallica y su equipo t�cnico se registraron en un hotel. James Hetfield, trastornado por el terrible suceso, descarg� su ira rompiendo dos ventanas del hotel y gritando durante varias horas. Los dem�s estaban tan confusos en sus emociones que se quedaron dormidos con las luces prendidas.

Dos d�as mas tarde, Metallica menos uno, regres� a Am�rica.

La muerte de Cliff Burton signific� para muchos el final de Metallica, pues a pesar de que el nuevo bajista, Jason Newsted, se ha acoplado perfectamente con la banda, dista mucho de su antecesor, ya que no presenta ni la misma t�cnica ni el mismo esp�ritu thrashero que pose�a Cliff Burton. A pesar de todo Metallica contin�a a�n vigente y presenta otras cualidades que tambi�n son dignas de admiraci�n y respeto, s�lo que es necesario distinguir entre las dos fases: antes y despu�s de la muerte de Cliff Burton.

Aqu�l muchacho de 24 a�os, lleno de vida y dotado de un esp�ritu libre e incansable hab�a dejado de existir. Sus cenizas fueron esparcidas en varios puntos al rededor de la bah�a de San Francisco.

�sta p�gina de los Archivos del Heavy Metal es un homenaje post-mortem a la memoria del Maestro de maestros. Descanse en paz, Cliff Burton.