metallica died in a tour bus crash

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The Day Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Died in a Bus Accident

Metallica were on top of the metal world in 1986, having just signed their first major label deal and releasing their commercial breakthrough album. But the band's year ended with a crushing blow after bassist Cliff Burton died in a bus accident while touring overseas.

The group had cemented their position as the kings of thrash metal with the release of Master of Puppets , their third overall LP and first for a major label, Elektra Records. The record heavily featured Burton's signature playing style, which expanded the bass from its traditional role as an anchor rhythmic element and into melodic territory usually reserved for the lead guitar. It became Metallica's first gold album, eventually selling more than six million copies, and the group toured extensively to promote it all over the world, including extensive dates in Europe. Those concerts would prove to be Burton's last with Metallica.

On the night of Sept. 26, 1986, Metallica were traveling between tour dates in Sweden when Burton and guitarist Kirk Hammett drew cards to decide who would get to choose a bunk. The bassist drew the Ace of Spades, and chose the bunk Hammett had been occupying. "I said fine, take my bunk," the guitarist recalled in VH1's Behind the Music . "I'll sleep up front; it's probably better anyway."

In the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 1986, shortly before 7AM, the band members were awakened abruptly when the bus began to careen from side to side. The driver later told authorities that he lost control of the bus after hitting a patch of black ice. The bus left the road and flipped over on its side, and Burton – who had been asleep in the preferred top bunk – was thrown through the window. As the bus came down, it landed on top of the 24-year-old musician.

Reportedly, attempts were made to rescue him from underneath the bus by lifting it with a crane, but the crane slipped, and the bus crashed down on top of Burton a second time. Band members and onlookers have given different accounts of whether Burton died upon first impact or when the bus came down again, but the promising young star died at the scene.

Metallica front man James Hetfield has said he walked up and down the road in his socks and underwear looking for black ice and found none, and the musicians have speculated off and on over the years about whether drinking or drugs could have played a role in the accident, or whether the driver fell asleep at the wheel. An investigation cleared the driver of any wrongdoing.

Burton was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at the Maxwell Ranch in California. Metallica's "Orion" was played at the ceremony, and lyrics from "To Live Is to Die" are engraved upon his memorial stone: "Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home." Former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine wrote Megadeth 's "In My Darkest Hour" after hearing of Burton's death, and fellow thrash pioneers Anthrax dedicated their Among the Living album to him.

Burton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009, as a member of Metallica.

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Behind the Tragic Death of Cliff Burton

by Alex Hopper September 27, 2023, 11:31 am

Few rock ‘n’ roll deaths are more tragic than Cliff Burton’s. The Metallica bassist was just 24 years old when he died from a freak tour bus accident. Burton was an integral part of the metal outfit from 1982 until 1986. His adept playing can be heard on Kill ‘Em All , Ride the Lightning , and Master of Puppets .

Videos by American Songwriter

Burton died on September 27, 1986. The band was on a tour bus in Sweden when the driver lost control, flew down an embankment, and caused Burton to fly out the window. The bus eventually rolled on top of him.

[RELATED: 5 Unforgettable Rock Concert Moments]

According to the band, they were filled with anger immediately following Burton’s death. “My throat was going bad, so I was asleep in the back lounge,” James Hetfield once explained. “The tour buses you see here are all metal-sided, but it was all windows on the side, and that was the main cause of the death.

“It hit so-called black ice, skidded out and bounced once, and that’s when he went through the window, and the bus went right on him,” he continued. “It was pretty quick and I know he didn’t know what hit him.”

Hetfield immediately got out of the bus to investigate the accident. “‘Why did this happen? Where’s the driver? Let me smell your breath.'” Hetfield continued. “I walked for miles looking for this black ice in my underwear, when it’s 20 below. There were screams from the crew who were still trapped in there, screaming in pain–broken collar bones, toes, all that.”

Soon after, the band’s manager Peter Mensch urged the group to keep going.

“Peter came out and said, ‘Get your therapy out through your music–jump right back on the horse and ride on,'” Hetfield added. “We couldn’t believe this guy was telling us this. ‘What do you mean, man? This is our buddy. Screw you.’ It took us a few days to grasp the concept of that kind of strength. Cliff’s wishes were, ‘Battle on, friends.'”

After Burton’s death, Metallica brought on Jason Newsted as a replacement bassist. They’ve had a number of personnel changes in that department. Currently, Robert Trujillo is on bass duties.

Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns

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September 27, 1986 – Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton dies in bus crash

September 27, 2023
Brian Corey

On the heels of the release of Master of Puppets, Metallica hit the road on a heavy metal world tour. As the group’s rockdom hit a massive growth spurt that would see them immortalized as Gods of metal, the suffered a massive blow. While driving through Sweden the band’s tour bus skidded from the road on the morning of this day in 1986, causing it to flip. Burton was thrown from his bunk out of a window, causing the bus to crush him as it tipped over. The future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was 24 years old at the time of his death.

Following the wreck, the bus driver cited black ice as the reason for losing control. However, neither band members nor investigators could find any. Furthermore, the temperature at the time of the accident was multiple degrees above freezing. Some accused the bus driver of being drunk or falling asleep, but he was cleared of wrongdoing.

The month after the accident Jason Newsted replaced Cliff Burton . In 1988 Metallica released To Live Is to Die on …And Justice for All as a tribute to Burton. Burton received credit as a writer for lyrics and the bass part, as the components came from samples by Burton and re-recorded by Newsted.

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METALLICA Bassist Cliff Burton Dies In Tour Bus Accident Aged 24 September 27th, 1986

Cliff Burton died in a tour bus accident on September 27th, 1986 at the age of 24. Burton was the bassist for San Francisco, California-based heavy metal band Metallica.

A September 26th, 1986 appearance at the Solnahallen Arena in Stockholm, Sweden proved to be the man’s final performance, Metallica in the midst of touring Europe as part of the Damage Inc. Tour in support of March 1986 affair Master Of Puppets . Given that the sleeping cubicles on the tour bus were uncomfortable, members drew cards to determine which bunks they would occupy. Burton won via the ace of spades, choosing to sleep in guitarist Kirk Hammett’s bunk.

Shortly prior to 7am on the morning of the 27th, the tour skidded off of the road on the European route E4, 12 miles north of Ljungby; overturning several times, the bus flipped onto the grass in Kronoberg County. Burton’s body was thrown through the window of the bus, the bus subsequently falling on top of him – causing his death. Lars Ulrich (drums), James Hetfield (vocals / guitars), and Kirk Hammett sustained no serious injuries.

Cremated, Burton’s ashes were scattered at the Maxwell Ranch. The instrumental track ‘Orion’, lifted from Master Of Puppets , was played at the ceremony. Taken from the future Metallica composition ‘To Live Is To Die’, the lyrics “… cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home” are written on Burton’s memorial stone. Flotsam And Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted filled the role shortly following Burton’s passing, occupying said position until 2001. Fourth studio long-player … And Justice For All (August 1988) included the tribute ‘To Live Is To Die’, which included lyrics and bass parts from unused recordings – the bass parts re-recorded by Newsted.

Metallica were inducted into the Rock And Roll Of Fame on April 4th, 2009, Burton achieving a posthumous induction.

Clifford Lee Burton was born on February 10th, 1962 in Castro Valley, California, the youngest of three children.

His father Ray introduced him to classical music at a tender age, after which he began undertaking piano lessons. Playing Little League baseball for the Castro Valley House team, Cliff attended the following schools throughout his years as a pupil; Marshall Elementary school, Earl Warren Junior High, and subsequently Castro Valley High.

From September 1978 to January 1980, Cliff was taught bass by teacher Steve Doherty, learning in disciplines ranging from classical to jazz.

While attending Castro Valley High, Burton formed inaugural outfit EZ-Street, adopting the moniker from a topless bar situated in the Bay Area. Fellow members of the EZ-Street band included future Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin as well as Faith No More and Ozzy Osbourne drummer Mike Bordin. Burton and Martin formed a second band after enrolling as students at Chabot College in Hayward, California. Named Agents Of Misfortune, the ensemble entered the Hayward Area Recreation Department’s Battle Of The Bands contest in 1981. A video-taped audition shows Burton playing parts of what would become early Metallica tracks: signature bass solo ‘(Anasthesia) Pulling Teeth’ and the intro to ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’.

Burton became a member of Trauma during 1982, recording the track ‘Such A Shame’ with Trauma which appeared on the second Metal Massacre compilation. Trauma performed at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles that year, with Metallica vocalist / guitarist and drummer Lars Ulrich in attendance. Impressed by what later became ‘(Anasthesia) Pulling Teeth’, the two sought what they thought was a guitarist. Learning that what they had heard was a bass solo by Burton, the pair opted to recruit Burton for Metallica. Burton was asked to replace the departed Ron McGovney; Burton agreed, on the condition that Metallica relocated from Los Angeles to San Francisco – the four-stringer was not enthused with the prospect of moving to Los Angeles. Metallica moved to El Cerrito, situated across the bay from San Francisco.

Recorded prior to Burton’s entry into the ranks, the No Life ’Til Leather demo tape came to the attention of Megaforce Records owner Jon Zazula, who signed Metallica. July 1983 debut full-length studio album Kill ’Em All featured the aforementioned signature bass solo ‘(Anasthesia) Pulling Teeth’, the effort laid down in Rochester, New York with Paul Curcio. Metallica wished to name the Kill ’Em All platter Metal Up Your Ass , although the record company disliked the title and insisted that it be changed. Burton made the remark “We should just kill ’em all, man,” to the rest of Metallica, which was the inspiration for the revised title.

July 1984 effort Ride The Lightning – recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark with producer Flemming Rasmussen – marked a broadness in musical style by comparison to its predecessors, with Burton receiving songwriting credits on six of its eight tracks. A September 1984 Metallica concert was attended by Elektra Records A&R Michael Alago and Q-Prime management co-founder Cliff Burnstein, who signed the band to both Elektra Records and the Q-Prime roster.

Third studio record Master Of Puppets arrived in March 1986, the second Metallica opus to be recorded at Sweet Silence and the last to feature Burton. The record is considered among several to be the thrashers’ strongest release, initially reaching position 29 on the Billboard 200.

Cliff Burton was survived by parents Ray and Jan as well as sister Connie, and predeceased by brother Scott. Sixteen-year-old brother Scott died on May 19th, 1975 as the result of a brain aneurysm.

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33 Years After His Death, The Legend of Metallica’s Cliff Burton Lives On

The post 33 Years After His Death, The Legend of Metallica’s Cliff Burton Lives On appeared first on Consequence of Sound .

The story of Cliff Burton is the story of two deaths. There is his own tragic passing, which happened on September 27th, 1986, in the early morning hours when Metallica ’s tour bus skidded off the road in Sweden. As has become part of metal lore, the vehicle rolled down an embankment and threw the 24-year-old out of a window, ultimately landing on top of him. He died instantly.

But there was another death, 11 years earlier, that is little discussed but had a major impact on Burton’s life and career. In May of 1975, his older brother Scott was killed by a brain aneurysm at the far too young age of 16. To hear their parents tell it, Cliff, who was 13 at the time, used that as a motivating factor to dedicate himself to music. As Jan Burton put it in an interview published on a Metallica fan site, “He said to a couple of people, ‘I’m gonna be the best bassist for my brother.’”

That small stretch of time between those bookended deaths changed everything about metal and heavy rock, for good and for ill. Burton threw himself at the task of becoming a great bass player, practicing for hours at a clip and surpassing the abilities of some of his earliest teachers. He became a fixture on the Bay Area music scene, playing in bands with future Faith No More members Jim Martin and Mike Bordin, as well as the well-regarded ensemble Trauma.

It was that last outfit that helped introduce him to his future Metallica bandmates, who were allegedly blown away when they heard an early version of the solo that would become “(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth,” from the group’s debut Kill ‘Em All . James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich convinced him to step in for the recently departed Ron McGovney, and set in motion the band’s legendary and rocky path into musical infamy.

Listening to “(Anesthesia)” today, it’s not hard to understand what drew Hetfield and Ulrich to Burton. It’s not a fleet-fingered showcase a la Thundercat or Stanley Clarke, but it still carried dynamism and power through his use of effect pedals, particularly the wah-wah pedal that gave a wobble and punch to the song. Its depth and speed also revealed a player who could keep up with the speedy power chords that would mark all three of the iconic albums Burton recorded with Metallica: Kill ‘Em All , Ride the Lightning , and Master of Puppets . He could hold his own with his bandmates no matter how heavy or knotted up the arrangements became.

Burton was a presence on those first three Metallica albums, distinguishing himself as a vital piece of the puzzle. He sat nicely in the pocket, doubling up on Hetfield’s rhythm guitar parts, but in moments like the chromatic solo that opens “For Whom the Bell Tolls” or his proggy and throbbing solo work on “Orion”, he could burst through a song’s mass like a battering ram.

His contributions to the songwriting and his mere presence as this positive, leveling force within the band, not to mention his willingness to put the work in, helped propel Metallica to levels of success around the world that were unheard of at the time. And, as is oft-repeated but still worth mentioning, they did it without the support of the dual forces of commercial radio and MTV.

When that was ripped away from the world on September 27, 1986, nothing would be the same for the group after. The surviving members threw themselves into their music with even greater force, culminating in the majestic achievement that is …And Justice For All and a music video for “One” that catapulted them to crossover fame. Nothing that happened after that, from the megaton success of “The Black Album” to the cringeworthy behavior on display in the documentary Some Kind of Monster would have occurred were it not for Burton’s death. Again: for good and for ill.

(Buy: Tickets to Metallica’s Upcoming Shows )

For their part, Metallica forged ahead to become the biggest metal band on the planet, though it’s evident that the loss still weighs heavy on them. In a video released to promote a book about the making of Master of Puppets , Kirk Hammett wiped away tears when talking about his old friend. His death still looms large among the group’s fans, as proven by their successful efforts to have the bassist’s hometown of Castro Valley, California, proclaim February 10th “Cliff Burton Day ” on what would have been his 56th birthday.

Over three decades later, no one who knew him or had their lives affected by the music that he made can really let Burton go. He still looms large over Metallica in a way that Jason Newsted or Robert Trujillo never could. For all their talents, it is hard to compete with the legend that Burton was and still remains.

33 Years After His Death, The Legend of Metallica’s Cliff Burton Lives On Spencer Kaufman

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Cliff Burton museum to open near site of Metallica bassist’s fatal bus accident

The exhibits will display pictures, posters, albums, ticket stubs and more

A museum dedicated to Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is to open in Ljungby, Sweden, near the site of his fatal 1986 bus accident.

Burton died on September 27, 1986, when Metallica’s tour bus crashed. The band were in Sweden at the time, as part of the European leg of their ‘Damage, Inc.’ tour. He played bass on the band’s first three albums: ‘Kill ‘Em All’, ‘Ride The Lightning’ , and ‘Master Of Puppets’ .

The Ljungby municipality announced the Cliff Burton Museum would open on May 14 in a building partially funded by its government.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cliff Burton Museum (@cliffburtonmuseum)

Pictures, posters, albums and ticket stubs will be included, as well as interviews and photographs by Lennart Wennberg of the Expressen newspaper, the first photographer at the crash site.

As reported by Consequence , a major exhibit will feature a stage that recreates Metallica’s final concert with Burton in Stockholm, with copies of the instruments played by Burton and drummer Lars Ulrich .

Renowned music journalist Joel McIver, who wrote Burton’s biography in 2009, will give a speech at the museum’s opening on the musician’s life and work. Speaking to NME , McIver said: “The fact that a museum devoted to Cliff is opening now, 36 years after his death, confirms what fans of Metallica have known all along.

“The fact is that his legacy is growing stronger as the years pass, rather than diminishing, as has been the case with countless other musicians. [A] crucial point is that the Cliff Burton Museum is supported by the Swedish government. Someone in an office somewhere obviously knows what Cliff means to the fans who come to pay tribute every year, at the stone installed by members of Metallica’s Swedish fanclub.

“I can’t think of an equivalent memorial anywhere else, with the possible exception of Jim Morrison’s grave at Pere Lachaise in Paris. Even that is just a gravestone rather than a full-on museum.”

Over the years, Metallica and their fans have continued to pay homage to Burton and his legacy.

A petition by Metallica fans lead to an official Cliff Burton Day in California, observed annually since 2018 on February 10. This year’s commemoration was celebrated with a livestream on what would have been the icon’s 60th birthday.

In it, the likes of Exodus guitarist Gary Holt , Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin and more shared their memories of Burton.

On the 30th anniversary of Burton’s death, his band shared an emotional video from his family and launched a Facebook page set up in his memory.

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Was the bus driver guilty in death of metallica’s cliff burton.

Cliff Burton was a successful bassist playing for the iconic heavy metal band Metallica between 1982 and 1986. In late 1982, he was discovered by Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield at a show at Whisky A Go-Go. At that time, the pair was quite impressed by Burton’s use of the wah-wah pedal, so they asked him to join Metallica. Although he initially declined the offer, he agreed to join them by the end of the year.

Burton first joined Metallica on stage at the nightclub The Stone back in March 1983. Throughout his career in the band, Burton performed on Metallica’s first three studio albums, but sadly, the 24-years-old bassist died in a bus crash in Sweden while touring to support ‘Master Of Puppets’ in 1986. Although it was ruled an accident, James Hetfield thought otherwise. Let’s learn the details of the tragic incident.

James Hetfield Thought The Bus Driver Was To Blame For The Tragic Accident That Killed Cliff Burton

In 1986, in Sweden, Metallica was on the Damage, Inc. tour in support of their ‘Master Of Puppets’ album. While on the road, the band members were quite dissatisfied with the sleeping cubicles on their tour bus. So, Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton decided to draw cards to determine which bunks they would sleep in. Burton drew an ace of spades and chose to sleep in Hammet’s bunk.

On September 27 at around sunrise, while Burton was asleep, the bus driver lost control and skidded off the road. The bus overturned as a result and flipped onto the grass. Although Ulrich, Hammett, and Hetfield survived the crash with no fatal injuries, Burton was thrown through the bus window and pinned under the bus. Unfortunately, the young bassist died at the scene.

Following the tragic accident, the bus driver said that the cause of the crash was a patch of black ice on the road. However, James Hetfield later recalled the incident in a Rolling Stone interview and claimed that the bus flipped because the bus driver was drunk. According to Metal Hammer, Hetfield also stated that he walked in his underwear down the road to look for that black ice but found none.

In a 1993 Rolling Stone interview, James Hetfield recalled the incident as:

“I saw him dead. It was really, really terrible. We were up late that night – I was drinking vodka, he was smoking his preferred substance. We went to sleep, and then when the bus was getting jostled around, I knew we were not on the road anymore. When it hit the side, I went out of the escape hatch, went around, and saw people yelling. It was freezing cold, we were in our underwear.

I saw the bus lying right on him and saw his legs sticking out. I freaked. The bus driver, I recall, was trying to yank the blanket out from under him to use for other people. I just went, ‘Don’t fucking do that!’ and I already wanted to kill the guy. I don’t know if he was drunk or if he hit some ice. All I knew was, he was driving, and Cliff wasn’t alive anymore.”

As reported by Metal Hammer, James Hetfield also said:

“Coming out and finding your buddy under the bus is not something you want to go through. Our first reaction was anger – one of the things we were good at.

‘Why did this happen? Where’s the driver? Let me smell your breath.’ I walked for miles looking for this black ice in my underwear when it’s 20 below. There were screams from the crew who were still trapped in there, screaming in pain – broken collar bones, toes, all that.”

As it appears, James Hetfield insisted that the bus driver was to blame for the accident. However, it is not crystal clear whether he was right or not.

Was The Bus Driver Really To Blame For Cliff Burton’s Death?

After the investigations on the accident, the police confirmed that they found no ice on the road. The freelance photographer who attended the crash scene the next morning, Lennart Wennberg, also said that the road was dry and the temperature was above the freezing point. Therefore, it is unlikely that a block of black ice caused the accident.

Later on, Ljungyby detective Arne Pettersson told a local newspaper that the tracks at the crash site were exactly like the ones that happen when drivers fall asleep while driving. However, the bus driver testified that he had slept during the day and was well-rested. Following that, the second bus driver who was carrying the band’s equipment confirmed his testimony.

As a result, no charges were laid against the driver. Today, it still remains a mystery what caused the bus to flip over. Nevertheless, the authorities are pretty confident that a piece of black ice wasn’t the reason.

Below, you can check out an interview where Metallica members talked about the accident which resulted in Cliff Burton’s death.

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This Day In Music History – Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Dies in Sweden

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On September 27, 1986, Metallica’s tour bus crashed in southern Sweden as the band was promoting their Master of Puppets album. Cliff Burton died from the accident at the age of 24.

Burton was the bassist on Metallica’s first three albums, Kill ‘Em All , Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets . His unique playing style grabbed the attention of Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield during a club show for his then band, Trauma. His use of wah wah pedal and bass solos were used in place of traditional guitar solos. Metallica soon relocated to San Francisco on Burton’s behest and began recording demos.

On songs like “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Master of Puppets” and “Orion” feature Burton’s raw shredding style. Routinely mistaken for guitar solos, Burton’s riffs were the driving force for many of Metallica’s early hits. “Orion” is particularly impressive because it’s the only instrumental song on Master of Puppets and is an eight minute bass solo. “Orion” is only rarely played live to this day. Metallica only began playing “Orion” again in 2006 and only a handful of times since. Burton is not only considered the best Metallica bassist but one of the best metal bassists of all time. In 2009, Burton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Metallica.

Live videos of “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Master of Puppets” are below.

What is your favorite solo or song by Cliff Burton?

Metallica – “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth”

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Museum Dedicated to Metallica’s Cliff Burton Set to Open Near Site of Tragic Bus Accident

By Daniel Kreps

Daniel Kreps

A museum honoring the legacy of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is set to open in May in Ljungby, Sweden, near where Burton died in a tragic tour bus accident in 1986.

The Cliff Burton Museum, funded in part by the Swedish government, will feature ephemera from Burton’s tenure with the heavy metal legends — pictures, videos, tour posters, and more — as well as remembrances from first responders at the Sept. 27, 1986 crash site where Burton was killed at the age of 24.

(A decade ago, members of the Swedish faction of Metallica’s fan club raised money to install a Burton stone memorial at the crash site, with fans often making the pilgrimage to the monument.)

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“We primarily want to honor Cliff Burton, who died so tragically in the middle of his career, and talk about who he was as a person and a musician,” the founders of the museum told Guitar World . “Our second main purpose is to create a meeting place for all those who seek the memorial site in the small community of Dörarp. We want to continue the fine work that the fans started when they started raising funds to make Cliff’s memorial stone.”

The museum will open its doors on May 14 with a launch event featuring a talk by Bass Player magazine editor Joel McIver, who penned a biography about Burton.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cliff Burton Museum (@cliffburtonmuseum)

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Metallica’s ‘Gateway’ to Classical Music Came From Cliff Burton

Metallica found their "gateway" to classical music via late bassist Cliff Burton , drummer Lars Ulrich recently affirmed. Ulrich said as much amid the rockers' " S&M2 " concerts in San Francisco, where the group repossessed their 1999 collaboration and live album S&M (short for "Symphony and Metallica") with the San Francisco Symphony last month at the city's new Chase Center.

Indeed, without Burton's open-minded music taste, Ulrich envisions the group may not have been introduced to classical material quite as early. But the two seemingly disparate entities realigned Sept. 6 and 8 when Metallica played with 76 members of the SF Symphony led by music director Michael Tilson Thomas — colloquially known as "MTT" to orchestra fans — and conductor Edwin Outwater. The original S&M was conducted by Michael Kamen, who died in 2003. Burton was the early Metallica bassist who died in a tour bus crash in 1986. The performances from S&M2 will screen at 3,000 movie theaters worldwide on Wednesday (Oct. 9).

"Cliff was definitely the gateway to a lot of that classical stuff," Ulrich told Rolling Stone . "When he started talking about classical music in '83, '84, James [Hetfield] and I weren't — or at least maybe I , I don't want to speak for James — we weren't maybe ready to sort of receive that stuff, but slowly his persistence got things like classical music or Simon and Garfunkel, on our radar. It took a little longer for us to open up."

The drummer continued, "But I now see an intersection between some of the darker, more dissonant, and more minor stuff we play ... MTT sometimes calls up and says, 'You gotta check out this performance,' and he'll invite me to some stuff like Mahler or Bach or pieces on the darker side. I appreciate a lot of the orchestral stuff but, over the last 20 years, I've figured out how to navigate toward the stuff I'm leaning more towards."

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett echoed the overall sentiment. In fact, he surmised many early classical icons were looking for an outlet like heavy metal before the electrified genre was fully realized. It's a fascinating idea that's been proposed by other artists and music critics in the past.

"I suspect that a lot of these composers were looking for something like heavy metal, and it just didn’t exist," Hammett added. "If they had the ways and the means, they probably would have been heavy-metal artists."

This week, Metallica may be on the cusp of a huge announcement for 2020 . Last month, the veteran metal outfit stunned fans when they issued a statement revealing frontman James Hetfield had entered rehab for addiction treatment. For Metallica tickets on future tour stops, check here .

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The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Metallica

Thrash metal superstars Metallica have been tearing up stages around the world since 1981. In that time they've released some of the greatest albums in metal history, from 1984's "Ride the Lightning" to 1986's "Master of Puppets" and 1991's self-titled, hit-packed blockbuster known as "The Black Album." They've inspired almost every metal group that came after them and made millions of kids pick up guitars and turn to music as an outlet for their own problems.

But you don't devote your life to angry metal songs unless you've got some real pain and rage buried within. And singer-rhythm guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and whoever's on bass (currently Robert Trujillo) are no strangers to suffering. From broken homes, abusive childhoods, and the death of a bandmate to the scorn of fans, touring disasters, and addiction, this is the tragic real-life story of one of history's greatest metal bands.

James Hetfield's family didn't believe in medicine

Listen to just two or three Metallica songs, and you'll realize lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and lyricist James Hetfield is carrying a lot of pain and anger. He is a metal frontman, after all. (Not that we want anyone to suffer, but we doubt Metallica would be recognizable at all if its members had nothing to be angry about.) A lot of that comes from Hetfield's childhood, which was dominated by his parents' Christian Science worldview that denounced medicine.

"Our parents didn't take us to the doctor," Hetfield told Metal Hammer in 2020 (as excerpted by Loudersound ). "We were basically relying on the spiritual power of the religion to heal us or to shield us from being sick or injured. And so at school I wasn't allowed to sit through health class, to learn about the body, to learn about illnesses and things like that." He continued, talking about how even trying out for his school's football team was a problem because his parents forbade him to get a physical.

Hetfield, fortunately, survived this upbringing, but his mother died after being diagnosed with cancer and refusing treatment (per the book "And Justice for All" ). Hetfield sang about losing his mother in a number of songs. According to Rock Celebrities , "Mama Said" is about his relationship with her, and Songfacts reports "The God That Failed" is about how Cynthia Hetfield's religious beliefs failed to save her life.

Music helped Kirk Hammett survive an extremely dark childhood

"James comes from a broken home, and I come from a broken home, and when I joined the band, we kind of bonded over that," Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett told Playboy in 2001, according to Scraps from the Loft . "I was abused as a child. My dad drank a lot. He beat the s*** out of me and my mom quite a bit."

It's tragically not too surprising, since you might not expect folks with healthy childhoods to make a living playing thrash metal. For Hammett, music wasn't just a hobby; it became a place of comfort and peace, even if he preferred material full of rage. Hammett went on to say that, once he got a guitar around the time he was 15 years old, he mostly stayed in his room. "I've definitely channeled a lot of anger into the music," he said.

Playing the guitar became Hammett's go-to method of releasing pain or calming himself down. "Basically, guitar playing and music saved my life," Hammett said on the podcast "Backstaged: The Devil in Metal" ( per Vermilion County First ). "It was a type of therapy for me. It made me feel better when I knew that I wasn't feeling great." It's a habit he's maintained over the years. "I'm prone to depression like most people," he continued. "My guitar helps me through all that."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website .

A former bassist quit the music scene after leaving the band

Starting a band with friends is the ultimate dream. What could possibly be better than rocking out with close pals onstage? For Ron McGovney, that's how it all started. Having met in middle school, McGovney and James Hetfield jammed together in their teenage years. Later on, Hetfield met Lars Ulrich, and the pair started Metallica. Eventually, McGovney joined the heavy metal group as their bassist.

McGovney played shows with Metallica and even recorded a four-track demo. Tensions started to mount between the bassist and the rest of the band in 1982, with him suspecting they were looking at Cliff Burton to replace him. After hearing how Dave Mustaine had reportedly poured beer over his bass one day, McGovney claimed he kicked the band out of his home, bringing a close to his time in Metallica.

Speaking to Shockwaves , McGovney revealed the event left a sour taste in his mouth and he quit music. "I was so disgusted with the whole thing that I sold all my equipment: my amps, my cases, I even sold my Les Paul which would now be worth about $1,200," he said. "I was just so pissed with the whole thing." McGovney stayed away from the music scene for four years, until another friend convinced him to join Phantasm. His return was short-lived, though; McGovney quickly grew tired of fans attending the band's shows just because he'd been in Metallica, and he left the music business altogether.

Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica and held a grudge for years

Everyone in Metallica drank, leading them to nickname themselves "Alcoholica." But Loudwire reports that original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine was in a league of his own when it came to knocking back a bottle. He admits it, saying he was a "violent alcoholic" and stating, "I lost all inhibitions when I was drinking, and that didn't go over too well in the end." In his 2011 autobiography , Mustaine details a particularly nasty fistfight with bandmates Hetfield and original bassist Ron McGovney that irreparably soured his relationship with the group. He was temporarily fired, but his return was short-lived.

According to the Loudwire article, in spring 1983, James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, and bassist Cliff Burton handed Mustaine a bus ticket and kicked him out of the group without warning, ultimately replacing him with current axeman Kirk Hammett. But Mustaine didn't take the rejection lying down. Metal Insider reports the fiery-haired and even more fiery-tempered rocker funneled his rage into a new band: fellow "Big Four" thrash outfit Megadeth, which has sold upward of 50 million albums all on their own ( per Warner Music Group ).

But despite his more-than-respectable success, Mustaine remained hurt over his firing for years, especially since Metallica has proven to be considerably more popular than his band. You can see a very unmetal therapy session between Mustaine and Ulrich on YouTube , as part of Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster" documentary.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Cliff Burton died in a tour bus crash

It's 1986, and Metallica, flying high off the success of their still-legendary third album, "Master of Puppets," were out on tour. Sadly, not all of them would survive it.

Ultimate Classic Rock reports that on September 26, the group was asleep on their bus in Sweden when the vehicle slipped on black ice and crashed violently. Almost everyone made it out alive. But 24-year-old bassist Cliff Burton , who had defeated Hammett in a card-drawing competition and therefor got to sleep in the top bunk, was thrown through the window and trapped under the bus when it fell over. Whether he died on impact or when the bus fell on top of him a second time, during an unsuccessful rescue attempt, is up for debate. There have also been questions about whether the bus driver fabricated the black-ice story to cover up alcohol impairment or falling asleep at the wheel, but he was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing.

The loss was devastating for Metallica, and the whole metal community mourned. Former guitarist Dave Mustaine, who hated the band at the time for firing him, wrote "In My Darkest Hour" after hearing the news, while fellow Big Four thrashers Anthrax dedicated their most popular record, "Among the Living," to the bassist's memory. Unsurprisingly, the loss still hurts for Burton's former bandmates, who detailed the tragedy to Hammer. "Coming out and finding your buddy under the bus is not something you want to go through," Hetfield remarked, per Loudersound. "Our first reaction was anger –- one of the things we were good at."

Jason Newsted was ruthlessly hazed

Bassist Cliff Burton's death put the band in a difficult position. Not only were they devastated at the loss of a friend, but they had to figure out how to soldier on as a band. They auditioned replacements and ultimately tapped bassist Jason Newsted for the position, per Hauraki . Joining one of the most respected metal groups of the day was a dream come true for Newsted, but it wasn't a cakewalk. Getting hired was one thing. Getting fully accepted was another matter entirely.

Newsted ultimately endured hazing that would've made the worst college frats blush. The Hauraki article reports that Newsted's new bandmates even turned down his bass to nearly inaudible levels on 1988's "...And Justice for All." He eventually earned their respect by taking it on the chin and reliably doing his job. But it was rough going for a while. And although some of the abuse was just the kind of "messing with the new guy" shenanigans you'd expect bored 20-somethings to indulge in, a lot of it came from a darker place.

"[We] took a lot of our resentment, a lot of our grief, a lot of our despair around Cliff's death out on Jason," Hetfield later admitted, according to Ultimate Classic Rock . "Right from the beginning there was a lot of hazing that just separated him, and he was always thought of as 'the new guy.' I wish that that didn't have to happen. ... We were brutal with him."

Metallica lost a best metal performance Grammy... to Jethro Tull

Ultimate Classic Rock reports that in order to prove they weren't out of touch, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences introduced the Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 1989. Jane's Addiction, AC/DC, and Iggy Pop were among the contenders, but Metallica was the favorite to win. The previous year's "...And Justice for All," spearheaded by the hit single "One," had been yet another leap forward not just for the band, but for heavy music as a whole. But none of those bands won. Proving once and for all that the Academy was indeed out of touch, the award went to the fifth nominated artist: Jethro Tull .

"Everybody in that room was certain that Metallica would get the Grammy," Alice Cooper, who presented the award alongside Lita Ford, later commented, according to Classic Rock (excerpted in Loudersound ). "There was a two-minute pause, then everybody broke out laughing. They thought I was doing a joke." According to the article, Jethro Tull wasn't even present; they were considered such long shots that their record label, Chrysalis, didn't think they should bother to attend the event.

Meanwhile, Metallica's label, Elektra Records, was left holding the bag after the mystifying ceremony. "The record company had already made 10,000 one-sheets to put in record stores that said 'Grammy Award Winner,'" drummer Lars Ulrich later said to Rolling Stone . "So we said, why don't we just put a sticker on them that says, 'Grammy Award Loser'?"

Metallica's joint tour with Guns N' Roses was a disaster

Billboard reports that Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Tupac, N.W.A., U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other artists put out landmark hits in 1991. But the two biggest rock titans at the time were undoubtedly Metallica, who released the self-titled record known as "The Black Album," spearheaded by hits "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters," and Guns N' Roses , who put forth "Use Your Illusion I & II" in September to enormous fanfare.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock , the two bands decided to join forces for a brief 1992 stint in North America. It made sense on paper for two of the biggest bands on earth to share a bill, but the partnership was fraught with drama and controversy, largely due to the antics of Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose. On one fateful night in Montreal, it all fell apart. During the opening notes of "Fade to Black," James Hetfield accidentally wandered into the path of a pyrotechnic blast and had to be rushed to the hospital with second- and third-degree burns. Guns N' Roses agreed to take the stage early to appease a restless crowd, but then Rose stormed offstage halfway through the show, complaining about sound issues.

The crowd lost it. The ensuing riot spilled into the streets, where fires were set and cars were overturned. At least three police officers and 10 rioters were reportedly injured. "I go and light myself on fire," Hetfield later remarked on VH1's "Behind the Music," "and he upstages me."

The band struggled after 1991's self titled Black Album

Metallica's 1983 debut, "Kill 'Em All," is considered to be the birth of thrash metal, per Loudwire . Classic Rock History reports the following year's "Ride the Lightning," with hits like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Creeping Death," was a huge leap forward for the group. Loudersound isn't alone in calling 1986's "Master of Puppets" the greatest metal album of all time. Kerrang details how 1988's "...And Justice for All" pushed the whole genre forward, and The Wall Street Journal has receipts on how their 1991 self-titled "Black Album" became a landmark, blockbuster smash hit not just for the band, but for heavy metal as a whole. Throughout the '80s and early '90s, it seemed like Metallica, flying the metal flag high enough for the world to see, could do no wrong.

Then it all came to an end, at least for a time. Pitchfork details the creative and popular slump that seized the once-beloved band in the mid-'90s. Metallica proved they had no place to go but down by going down with 1996's "Load" and 1997's "Reload." Then the band sued Napster for allowing people to pirate their music. They had a point, but to fans, this firmly proved they'd become the very thing they swore to destroy: the establishment.

Then in 2003, they hit their lowest point yet: the release of the much-maligned "St. Anger," which the article calls "laughably bad."

Metallica aired its dirty laundry in Some Kind of Monster

In the early 2000s, Metallica hit another rough patch. Not only had they not put out a beloved record in more than a decade, but tensions within the group were at an all-time high. The 2004 documentary " Metallica: Some Kind of Monster " goes into all of this.

As detailed in the movie, the band was already reeling from fan backlash to the Napster lawsuit when James Hetfield entered a rehab clinic to deal with heavy alcohol use. Then, Jason Newsted, who'd played bass with the band since 1986 and long since shed the "new guy" stigma, left the band. (According to Loudwire , he cited Hetfield's disapproval of his side project, Echobrain, as his reason for leaving.) The group tapped Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo to replace Newsted, but the problems continued. The film documents numerous backstage fights showing a band pushed to the edge, including one where Hetfield storms out of the room after getting into it with Ulrich. Throughout it all, Kirk Hammett is something of a peacekeeper, but there are moments where he openly laments the exclusion of guitar solos in their then-upcoming album "St. Anger" (which ended up being their least popular record).

It might not seem particularly metal to air your grievances so publicly, but the movie was well-received, with the Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calling it a "fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how Metallica survives one of their more turbulent periods."

Band members have dealt with addictions

The members of Metallica were never known for hard drug use like Ozzy Osbourne and members of Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, or Guns N' Roses, but that doesn't mean they were strangers to unhealthy substance use and addiction. James Hetfield had already been to rehab for alcohol misuse once, as shown in 2004's "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster." In 2019, a message on the band's website (as detailed in Rolling Stone ) read, "As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years. He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again." Fortunately, Hetfield has recovered, and Blabbermouth reports that Lars Ulrich thinks the band is in "a very healthy place" as of 2020.

But Hetfield wasn't alone. Guitarist Kirk Hammett was reportedly a heavy drinker as well. According to Female First (summarizing an interview with Kerrang), Hammett said he would "go out after a show and carry on all night. I'd go back to the hotel room and play guitar for two or three hours and not remember anything the next day. ... I stopped drinking and now I go back to my room and play guitar and remember everything!"

The article also reports that Hammett used cocaine for years, but ultimately beat it in an unconventional way: by spending huge amounts of money on comic books to get his mind off things.

James Hetfield publicly announced he feels he's too old to play anymore

Metallica are now respected elder statesmen of rock and metal. They're revered by countless up-and-comers and millions of fans around the world thanks to multiple game-changing albums and some of the most instantly recognizable hits in metal history, from "Sad but True" and "Seek and Destroy" to "Master of Puppets" and "Battery." They've dealt with addictions, loss, fan backlash, and internal conflict, and somehow came out the other side as the same old Metallica fans have loved for decades.

But all that hard living has taken its toll, and none of the four (or any surviving previous members) are spring chickens anymore. According to Loudersound , James Hetfield became emotional at a May 2022 show in Brazil, telling the audience that he fears his age has caught up to him. "I've gotta tell you I wasn't feeling very good before I came out here," he said to the crowd . "Feeling a bit insecure, like I'm an old guy, can't play anymore. All this bull**** that I tell myself in my head. So I talked to these guys, and they helped me — as simple as that. They gave me a hug and said, 'Hey, if you're struggling onstage, we've got your back.' And I tell you, it means the world to me."

This prompted his bandmates, likely no strangers to similar feelings themselves, to run up and embrace him. "And seeing you out there," Hetfield continued through tears, "I... I am not alone. I am not alone, and neither are you."

Here Is A New Video Tour Of CLIFF BURTON Crash Site In Sweden

The Otis Gibbs YouTube channel has uploaded a new video tour of the site of METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton fatal 1986 bus accident near Ljungby, Sweden. Check it out below.

Burton died on September 27, 1986, when METALLICA 's tour bus crashed. Cliff and his bandmates were in Sweden at the time, as part of the European leg of their "Damage, Inc." tour.

Cliff was asked to join METALLICA in 1982 after the band saw him perform with his group at the time, TRAUMA .

The bassist was not willing to move to Los Angeles, where METALLICA was based, so they decided to move to the San Francisco area so that he would join.

Burton played on METALLICA 's first three studio albums — "Kill 'Em All" , "Ride The Lightning" and "Master Of Puppets" — and co-wrote classic songs like "Ride The Lightning" , "For Whom The Bell Tolls" , "Fade To Black" , "Creeping Death" and "Master Of Puppets" .

Burton 's initial replacement in the group was Jason Newsted , who stayed in the lineup until 2001. Robert Trujillo joined in 2003 and remains in the band to this day.

February 10, 2018 was proclaimed "Cliff Burton Day" by Alameda County supervisors. The late METALLICA bassist would have turned 56 years old on that date had he lived.

Cliff 's huge talent and achievements were chronicled in book form with the 2009 global publication of "To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton" , written by U.K.-based author Joel McIver and published by Jawbone Press . The foreword was provided by METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett .

A museum honoring Cliff 's legacy opened in May 2022 in the Ljungby municipality. The museum includes pictures, albums, posters and tickets, along with interviews and photos from the first photographer at the crash site, Lennart Wennberg of the Swedish newspaper Expressen . There is also a film of recollections from first responders at the crash scene as well as a stage that recreates METALLICA 's last performance with Burton in Stockholm, with copies of the bass and drum kit he and drummer Lars Ulrich used, plus a poster with Burton 's last autograph.

Back in 2016, Ulrich spoke to Seattle's KISW 99.9 radio station about Burton 's tragic loss when METALLICA 's tour bus skidded on ice while the group was on tour in Scandinavia and Cliff was thrown out the window and crushed. Lars said: "We were so shocked and stunned that we didn't know what hit us. And, like most, I guess, kids in their early 20s who get ambushed with that type of thing, we jumped into a bottle of, in this case, vodka, for me, and stayed in there for quite some time. We weren't mature enough or seasoned in life enough to know how to deal with this other than just to sort of, basically, almost hide behind the alcohol and compartmentalized it. So the next few months were very difficult, and it was crazy, but we just put the blinders on and started auditioning bass players. And we knew in our hearts that Cliff would be the first one to kick us in the ass and tell us to keep going, if he could see us mope. And so there was no moping; we just kept going the best we knew how to."

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was asked in an interview with TeamRock what he thinks Burton might have thought about the drastic changes in its look and sound that METALLICA made through the 1990s and early 2000s with albums like "Load" , "Reload" and "St. Anger" . Hetfield replied: "Well, I certainly would have thought there would have been some resistance, for sure. I think the 'Black Album' was a great album and I appreciate the fact that we did have the balls to do that… I would certainly think that the 'Load' and 'Reload' [era], I would have had an ally that was very against it all — the reinvention or the U2 version of METALLICA ."

Asked if Hetfield was personally comfortable with the more "alternative" image and music METALLICA made on those albums, the singer/guitarist replied: "No, no, not at all. There’s some great, great songs on there but my opinion is that all of the imagery and stuff like that was not necessary. And the amount of songs that were written was… it diluted the potency of the poison of METALLICA . And I think Cliff would have agreed with that."

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Baroness survives incredible bus accident off cliff and rocks on

It’s not easy to keep an independent rock band alive for nearly 20 years. It’s akin to an act of survival. That’s literally so for Baroness, which features one lone original member, John Baizley. While touring England in 2012, the metal band’s bus flew off a viaduct near Bath and plunged 40 feet. Remarkably, there were no fatalities. However, the injuries were severe.

Baizley, Baroness’s vocalist-guitarist, suffered a broken left arm and left leg. Bassist Matt Maggioni and drummer Allen Blickle each fractured vertebrae. The rhythm section never returned to Baroness. “I was fully conscious during the experience,” Baizley recalled. “I had enough time to fully consider what was happening, and I made my peace. I knew that we were likely to die.

“We dropped 40 feet off of a cliff. We were airborne over the tops of pine trees. It’s incredible that nobody died. We lost control for two and a half miles. The brake system and the emergency brake all failed. It was a near-death experience that completely destroyed my body. My left arm was broken in 17 places. It took three days to convince the doctors in the hospital not to amputate it.”

Baizley and guitarist Peter Adams, who sustained minor injuries, returned to Baroness. However, Adams left the band in 2017. “I feel a sense of gratitude to the people who have joined the band to keep this alive,” Baisley said while calling from his Philadelphia home. “I’m still friendly with everyone who was ever in Baroness. I never lost sight of what was good about this band.”

Baroness, which will perform Wednesday at Lucky You Lounge, can be filed under alternative metal since the band combines the power of metal and the wit and melody of post-punk. “It’s not one genre that influenced me while growing up,” Baizley said. “Look at bands like Slayer and Metallica and all that influenced them.”

Metallica vocalist-guitarist James Hetfield called Baisley after his bus accident. Metallica’s tour bus crashed in Sweden in 1986, killing bassist Cliff Burton. “When you’re at the bottom of your own barrel and somebody calls you with a shared experience, well, it saved that day for me,” Baizley said. Music also saved Baizley. “The next couple of records we made were about that accident in some form or other,” Baizley said. “I couldn’t help but write songs from that experience.”

“Purple” was one of the finest albums released in 2015. Hurt and healing are all over the urgent and gritty songs. “Shock Me,” “Kerosene” and “If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?)” are powerful and poignant. “Energy was harnessed, and that album was made,” Baizley said. Baizley has used color to convey his feelings with each album.

Baroness’ 2007 debut is the “Red Album.” “The Blue Record” followed in 2009. “Yellow & Green” dropped in 2012. “Gold & Grey” was released in 2019. “Colors for me have always been an easy way to connect the two very important aspects of my life, which is music and the visual side of things,” Baizley said. “What I do with colors is kind of similar to what Led Zeppelin did with numbers.” Led Zeppelin’s first four albums are numeric, from one to four.

Baroness, which also includes guitarist Gina Gleason, bassist Nick Jost and drummer Sebastian Thomson, is finishing up its latest album, which is complete with the exception of vocals. Forty songs were written, but it’s unknown if the new songs will be previewed. “We’ll see how things go since we start our tour tomorrow,” Baizley said. “Hopefully, we’ll hit our stride by the time we play Spokane.”

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Anthrax's Scott Ian recalls horror bus crash that killed Metallica's Cliff Burton: "I think about him weekly"

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian opens up about his time on the road with Metallica on 1986's Damage Inc. tour, and his memories of the night Cliff Burton was tragically killed

Anthrax may be the only band among the Big Four to hail from America's East Coast, but they share a profound bond with their thrash metal brethren, and old friends Metallica in particular.

In a new Metal Hammer interview, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian discusses meeting Metallica for the first time, as well as his band's experience of the 1986 Damage Inc. tour, during which Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was tragically killed in a tour bus accident.

Reflecting on Anthrax's rising fame in the '80s, Ian recalls the celebratory atmosphere the two bands enjoyed while on tour together, saying,"It was truly unbelievable because it really wasn't that long before that nobody knew who we were, and we were just trying to get anyone to listen to what we were doing".

He continues: "We felt so strongly – and I include Metallica in this – about what we were doing musically at that point and knew the world needed to hear it. We really felt like we had something to say. So when you're standing on stage, and you're looking out at 3000 British people on your first ever tour in England and they're going fucking nuts, they're singing your songs, that are even still new to you…

"Every night, we would all just hang out, and ask how this had happened. It really put both of us on the map in the UK and we got to do it together which made it that much better. Every night was a celebration of what we had been working so hard to accomplish for the three or four years before that.”

Sharing one memory he recalls with particular fondness, Ian continues, "The last night of that tour was Hammersmith Odeon and Music For Nations threw a party for both bands. It was kind of the end of the UK run before we went off to Europe and so we had a big party. It was chaos! I mean, it was nuts.

"I have memories of running around with Cliff through the halls of the hotel late at night. We found the room that has the laundry sheets and I remember pissing down them, doing all kinds of stupid shit as you would when you're 22 and just finished your first ever tour, every show sold out and never had done anything like that in your life. It was pretty fucking fabulous and fantastic, a mind blowing experience."

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Referring to the incident which saw Burton tragically killed, the guitarist adds, "Of course, it all went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows less than a week later of course, in Sweden. "We all went through that together again and certainly in the context of being in a band I think it was the worst thing that had ever happened to any of us, completely inconceivable and unknown.

"Even all these years later, there are parts of me that are still in denial about it, like how it possibly could have happened. Everyone pretty much walks out unscathed but we lost Cliff. It's still so unbelievable. I think about him weekly – I’ve got a giant photo in my house.”

When questioned as to what exactly took place when he discovered the news of Burton's passing, the guitarist says, "We were there when Kirk and James were brought to the hotel in Copenhagen that night, after the accident. We stayed with them all night. I think Lars had gone home to his dad's house, but James and Kirk came to the hotel and had to fly out the next morning.

"I remember Charlie [Benante, drums] and Frankie [Bello, bass] taking James outside to just walk him around the block a few hundred times to try and clear his head, while I stayed up all night talking to Kirk.

"They flew home and we flew back a few days later, then got another flight straight to San Francisco. I stayed with James in his tiny little apartment in the city for a couple of days and we just spent every day out at Kirk's mom's house. I was with James, Lars and Kirk and a lot of their friends from other bands.

"That's how I met Mike Borden from Faith No More because he was super close with Cliff. We spent like a week, you know, just literally sitting around Kirk's mom's house, drinking beer and telling stories. It was one of the deepest, most powerful experiences humans can go through together.”

Liz works on keeping the Louder sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.

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5 Girls Injured, 2 Seriously, In Monsey Tours Bus Crash: Police

W EST MILFORD, NJ — Two girls were seriously injured Tuesday afternoon after the charter bus they were riding in crashed into a tree in West Milford, according to police.

Officers were called to the scene of the crash on East Shore Road (CR 704), south of Storms Island Road, just after 3:15 p.m. Police said they found the bus on the side of the road with front end damage, and there were multiple people inside with various injuries.

The bus was operated by Monsey Tours of Brooklyn, N.Y., according to township police. The transportation company could not immediately be reached for comment.

Based on an initial investigation, police said the bus was southbound on East Shore Road when it struck a tree, causing one of the branches to break off and enter the passenger compartment of the bus.

The two girls with severe injuries were taken via helicopter to area hospitals, police said; their conditions were not specified. Three other girls were transported to Chilton Medical Center with minor injuries.

Officials did not specify how many people were on the bus, or give an age for the victims. Police did say that the girls' families have been notified.

Orange & Rockland County Fires said on Facebook that the bus had 56 passengers and Hatzoloh EMS requested eight ambulances from Monsey, New Square, Spring Valley and Kiryas Joel.

Rockland Daily said it was one of three buses taking students from Sharei Torah School in Brooklyn to Greenwood Lake for a boating trip.

East Shore Road was shut down for several hours due to the crash, according to West Milford Police, who will continue probing the cause of the crash. The Passaic County Sheriff's Office and Passaic County Prosecutor's Office were also on scene for the initial investigation.

The article 5 Girls Injured, 2 Seriously, In Monsey Tours Bus Crash: Police appeared first on Nanuet Patch .

'I don't know why I'm alive,' says survivor still recovering from deadly Manitoba bus crash a year ago

Josephine stokotelny survived june 15, 2023, crash near carberry that left 17 people dead, 8 others injured.

This 86-year-old survived one of Manitoba's deadliest crashes

Social sharing.

Josephine Stokotelny doesn't remember much about what happened on June 15 of last year.

But she knows it's the day her life changed.

The 86-year-old was among the 25 people on the small bus that departed Dauphin, Man., and was then involved in a collision with a semi-trailer near Carberry, at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway.

"From Neepawa we were driving to the No. 1 highway … and I don't remember seeing what happened," she said.

The crash was one of the deadliest in the province's history, leaving 17 people dead and eight others injured.

Josephine Stokotelny knew many of the people on the bus that day.

"I was very sorry about all these people that died," she said. "And that's why I keep their picture handy and pray for them."

She and her three children spoke with CBC about the crash, her long road to recovery, and questions that remain unanswered nearly a year later.

Woman, 86, with grey hair and glasses stands surrounded by her three children. The woman on the left has blond hair, the man in the back has a long beard, baseball cap and glasses, The woman on the right is blonde.

It was a Thursday morning when the group on the bus — mostly seniors from the Dauphin area — headed out on a day trip to the casino near Carberry, a roughly 200-kilometre drive to the south.

Don Stokotelny, Josephine's son, knew she was on the bus. She had mentioned she was taking a trip to the casino the day before, he said.

That's why on June 15, 2023, when a friend came into his shop talking about a crash, he immediately feared the worst.

"It hit me and I said, 'I think my mom's on that bus,'" said Don.

Remembering the victims of the fatal Manitoba bus crash
Family, first responders bring out Manitoba bus crash victims' photos in solemn procession as names released

As bits of information about the crash trickled out, Don and his sisters, Mary Marzyk and Lynda Thompson, were among the families desperate to learn the fates of their loved ones.

Hours passed before the family got a sign their mom was alive.

Thompson had called a phone line set up for families and was connected to someone at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre.

They asked her to describe her mom, including any identifying features like tattoos, said Thompson. There was a woman at the Winnipeg hospital who had not been identified.

"I said, 'No, my mom wouldn't have any tattoos, but she would have a gold chain and a cross,'" said Thompson. "With that information they said, 'We think you should come here to HSC.'"

The woman was Josephine, and her injuries were extensive.

'Broken from head to toe'

She wasn't breathing on her own. She had a severe head injury, broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and more injuries, said Thompson.

"She was broken from head to toe."

Woman lying in hospital bed. Woman with blond hair wearing purple stands beside her

As doctors and nurses worked to help her heal, the family gradually explained to her what she had lived through — giving her facts, introducing the names of survivors and victims, one person at a time.

"The last person that we shared had passed away was the lady she went on the trip with," said Thompson. "She went on the trip with a girlfriend, and that was the name that we left for last."

Josephine spent two months at Health Sciences Centre, then a month in hospital in Dauphin, before ending up at Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg for three months of rehabilitation.

She credits the staff there for helping her learn to walk again.

"I really appreciated that," said Josephine, who now uses a walker.

Woman with grey hair, pink and white shirt and blue shorts sits outside in a wheelchair.

She's now in assisted living in Dauphin, instead of her own home. A brain injury has left her with memory issues.

She can't do the things she used to, like driving to see family or going on outings with her friends, said Thompson.

There are parts of her old life Josephine misses — she can't sing like she used to, for example.

"I used to be the choir director here in our Ukrainian Catholic church in Dauphin and I miss that very much," she said.

"I don't know why I'm alive, but anyway, I thank God that I still have my church, and I have my family here, and I'm very thankful."

So is her family.

Woman with grey hair sits in the middle. From left blond woman with pink shirt, man with long beard and baseball hat, blond woman with purple shirt, blond woman with white shirt and blond young man with blue shirt surround her.

Thompson and her brother describe their mother's recovery as a miracle.

"What hasn't changed is her love of life and her energy and her positivity, her faith — all of those things have remained constant," said Thompson.

Questions after crash

There are still unknowns about what happened at the intersection the day of the crash.

RCMP have said dashcam footage shows the semi, which was travelling eastbound on Highway 1 and hit the southbound bus, had the right-of-way.

The investigation into the crash is continuing, police said. In January, RCMP told CBC a package had been sent to the Manitoba Prosecution Service for review and direction on whether charges should be laid.

Semi had right of way in southwestern Manitoba collision with bus, RCMP say
Proposed changes to site of fatal Manitoba collision spur mixed reactions from victim's family

Don Stokotelny said he asks himself every day what could have happened.

"But in saying that, I knew the driver personally. We also know his family," he said.

"I'm a human being too. I make mistakes, and if he made a mistake, just total forgiveness from our family. It happens every day. It can happen to anybody."

The family wants to see safety improvements at the intersection. Earlier this year, the Manitoba government announced $12 million to upgrade it.

"On a personal level, I hold no grudge to anyone," said Marzyk. "But I would like to see that intersection safe."

Woman on the left with blond hair, brown jacket and jeans stands hugging a woman with grey hair, colourful sweater and blue pants. The woman on the right is standing with the help of a walker.

The family say they're grateful to everyone who has helped them along this journey, and they're treasuring the moments they've had together since the crash.

"Getting [Josephine] her second chance, you obviously cherish it more," said Don.

But "quite often you think, well, we get to do this — but, like, there's 17 other families that don't anymore," he said.

"I think we've all learned that whenever there is an opportunity to spend time with family, to make sure you make the most of it and appreciate it, because things could change so quickly," said Thompson.

As the first anniversary of the crash approaches, they're keeping the others on the bus that day in their thoughts.

Man who survived deadly June bus crash doesn't want anyone involved to be forgotten
Monument honouring victims of deadly Manitoba bus crash planned for Dauphin city park

"We just are so sorry for everybody who don't have the opportunity to be here like my mom is," said Marzyk.

A monument honouring the victims will be unveiled at CN Park in Dauphin on June 15.

Josephine wants to be there to see it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reporter, CBC Manitoba

Alana Cole is a reporter at CBC Manitoba. Email: [email protected]

DA for Suffolk County, Long Island, delivers comments on new charges in the Gilgo killer case. Streaming now on News 12 New York.

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Police: 2 children injured in Monsey Tours bus crash remain in critical condition

Police say two children hurt in tuesday’s charter bus crash on the border of greenwood lake and west milford, new jersey remain in critical condition..

Blaise Gomez

Jun 5, 2024, 9:34 PM

Updated 18 hr ago

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Five girls injured when tour bus from Brooklyn hits tree in West Milford

1-minute read.

Five girls were injured, two seriously, in West Milford on Tuesday afternoon when a tour bus from Brooklyn hit a tree, authorities stated.

West Milford police said officers responded to multiple 911 calls around 3:15 p.m. about a bus crash on East Shore Road in the township. Police said in a release that officers discovered a Monsey Tours bus from Brooklyn was traveling southbound on the road and struck a tree "causing one of the branches to break off and enter the passenger compartment of the bus."

Two of the girls were seriously injured. One was flown to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson and the other to Hackensack University Hospital in Hackensack, police said. Three other passengers suffered minor injuries and were taken to Chilton Medical Center in Pequannock. Police said all parents of the injured girls were notified.

Police did not say what group the bus passengers were with or where they were traveling to.

East Shore Road was closed for several hours to allow for an investigation by the West Milford Police Crash Investigation Unit, Passaic County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Investigations Unit, the police release stated.

The investigation remains active.

5 girls hospitalized after tour bus slams into tree branch hanging over N.J. road

Updated: Jun. 05, 2024, 10:49 a.m. |
Published: Jun. 05, 2024, 10:04 a.m.
Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Five girls were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon when a chartered tour bus crashed into a tree branch hanging over a Passaic County road, authorities and the bus company operator said.

The injured were on the bus owned by Monsey Tours of Brooklyn, New York, that crashed about 3:15 p.m. on County Road 704 (East Shore Road) south of the Storms Island Road intersection in West Milford, police said.

“The bus was traveling south on East Shore Road when it struck a tree, causing one of the branches to break off and enter the passenger compartment of the bus,” West Milford police Chief Shannon Sommerville said in a statement.

Stories by Anthony G. Attrino

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A bus crashes into vehicles in southern Turkey, leaving 10 dead and 39 injured

At least 10 people died in a chain-reaction crash involving four vehicles on a highway in southern Turkey on Sunday, an official said.

Emergency rescue teams and police officers work on the aftermath of a multi vehicle crash accident near Mersin, southern Turkey, Sunday, May 26, 2024. A passenger bus has crashed into vehicles on a highway in southern Turkey, killing at least 10 people and leaving 39 others injured. The accident occurred in the province of Mersin late on Sunday, when the bus veered into the opposite lane in heavy rain and crashed into two vehicles. (IHA via AP)

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A passenger bus crashed into vehicles on a highway in southern Turkey, killing at least 10 people and leaving 39 others injured, officials said Monday.

The accident occurred in the province of Mersin late on Sunday, when the bus veered into the opposite lane in heavy rain and crashed into two cars. A truck later slammed into all three vehicles, Gov. Ali Hamza Pehlivan told reporters.

The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals and at least eight of them were in serious condition, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

There were 28 passengers on board the intercity bus, which was traveling from the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to Adana, in the south of the country, Anadolu reported.

IMAGES

Metallica Band 1986 Bus Tragedy
September 27, 1986
Achtergrond
Metallica Tour bus .... RIP Cliff Metallica Tour, Seek And Destroy, Bus
Cliff Burton Metallica honored exactly 30 years after the bus Crash
Was The Bus Driver Guilty In Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton?

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COMMENTS

The Day Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Died in a Bus Accident
Metallica were on top of the metal world in 1986. But the band's year ended with a crushing blow after Cliff Burton died in a bus accident while touring overseas.
37 Years Ago: Metallica's Cliff Burton Dies in Bus Crash
But on Sept. 27, 1986, in the midst of a European tour, tragedy struck as Burton was killed in a bus crash. Loudwire contributor Jon Wiederhorn co-authored Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian 's ...
Cliff Burton
Spastik Children. Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 - September 27, 1986) was an American musician who served as the bassist for the metal band Metallica. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence. Burton's early musical ventures include performing in bands such as EZ-Street and Agents of Misfortune, and frequently collaborating ...
"I could hear James down on the street, drunk. He was screaming, 'Cliff
By the summer of 1986, Metallica were incapable of doing wrong. Buoyed by the success of Master Of Puppets, the band set off on a two-month European tour with support act Anthrax.The tour included a headline show at London's Hammersmith Odeon on September 21. At a post-gig party, Metallica were in a jubilant mood, swigging booze like it was going out of style, throwing food around and ...
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Metallica 's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett have recalled the tour bus crash that killed bassist Cliff Burton 30 years ago this month - and how their first reaction to the tragedy was anger. Burton died in Sweden on September 27, 1986, when he was thrown out of a bus window after the driver lost control, and the vehicle then rolled over him.
Behind the Tragic Death of Cliff Burton
The Metallica bassist was just 24 years old when he died from a freak tour bus accident. Burton was an integral part of the metal outfit from 1982 until 1986. Burton was an integral part of the ...
Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton dies in bus crash
While on a world tour, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died in a bus accident in Sweden on September 27, 1986 at the age of 24.|While on a world tour, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died in a bus accident in Sweden on September 27, 1986 at the age of 24.
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No event had such a dramatic impact on Metallica's history, though, as the death of the bassist Cliff Burton. Following the success of their debut Kill 'Em All (1982) and its followup Ride the Lightning (1984), Metallica went on a worldwide Damage, Inc., tour in 1986 in support of Master of Puppets.Their fame had exploded during the preceding years, and by September, 1986 the group was on the ...
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Metallica at a Ride The Lightning photoshoot (Image credit: Fin Costello / Getty Images) As we now know, Cliff died in the crash, his body thrown through the bunk-side window and crushed by the weight of the bus falling on him. Back at the hotel that first night without Cliff, they got drunk. No matter how much they drank, none could find sleep.
METALLICA Bassist Cliff Burton Dies In Tour Bus Accident Aged 24
Cliff Burton died in a tour bus accident on September 27th, 1986 at the age of 24. Burton was the bassist for San Francisco, California-based heavy metal band Metallica. A September 26th, 1986 appearance at the Solnahallen Arena in Stockholm, Sweden proved to be the man's final performance, Metallica in the midst of touring Europe as part of ...
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A museum dedicated to Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is to open in Ljungby, Sweden, near the site of his fatal 1986 bus accident.. Burton died on September 27, 1986, when Metallica's tour bus ...
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James Hetfield Thought The Bus Driver Was To Blame For The Tragic Accident That Killed Cliff Burton. In 1986, in Sweden, Metallica was on the Damage, Inc. tour in support of their 'Master Of Puppets' album. While on the road, the band members were quite dissatisfied with the sleeping cubicles on their tour bus.
Tour Bus Crash Kills Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton in 1986
This Day In Music History - Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Dies in Sweden. On September 27, 1986, Metallica's tour bus crashed in southern Sweden as the band was promoting their Master of Puppets album. Cliff Burton died from the accident at the age of 24. Burton was the bassist on Metallica's first three albums, Kill 'Em All, Ride the ...
Museum Dedicated to Metallica's Cliff Burton Set to Open in Sweden
A museum honoring the legacy of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is set to open in May in Ljungby, Sweden, near where Burton died in a tragic tour bus accident in 1986.. The Cliff Burton Museum ...
Cliff Burton Was Metallica's 'Gateway' to Classical Music
The original S&M was conducted by Michael Kamen, who died in 2003. Burton was the early Metallica bassist who died in a tour bus crash in 1986. The performances from S&M2 will screen at 3,000 ...
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Cliff Burton died in a tour bus crash. Icon And Image/Getty Images. It's 1986, and Metallica, flying high off the success of their still-legendary third album, "Master of Puppets," were out on tour. ... Metallica's joint tour with Guns N' Roses was a disaster. Gie Knaeps/Getty Images. Billboard reports that Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Tupac, N.W.A., U2 ...
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Metallica's tour bus crashed in Sweden in 1986, killing bassist Cliff Burton. "When you're at the bottom of your own barrel and somebody calls you with a shared experience, well, it saved ...
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In a new Metal Hammer interview, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian discusses meeting Metallica for the first time, as well as his band's experience of the 1986 Damage Inc. tour, during which Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was tragically killed in a tour bus accident. Reflecting on Anthrax's rising fame in the '80s, Ian recalls the celebratory ...
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Officers were called to the scene of the crash on East Shore Road (CR 704), south of Storms Island Road, just after 3:15 p.m. Police said they found the bus on the side of the road with front end ...
'I don't know why I'm alive,' says survivor still recovering from
Josephine Stokotelny doesn't remember much about what happened on June 15, 2023. But she knows it's the day her life changed. The 86-year-old was among the 25 people on the bus that crashed ...
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2:06. 2:42. Police say two children hurt in Tuesday's charter bus crash on the border of Greenwood Lake and West Milford, New Jersey remain in critical condition. News 12 has learned that the ...
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A bus crashes into vehicles in southern Turkey, leaving 10 dead and 39
Photos. 1. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A passenger bus crashed into vehicles on a highway in southern Turkey, killing at least 10 people and leaving 39 others injured, officials said Monday. The accident occurred in the province of Mersin late on Sunday, when the bus veered into the opposite lane in heavy rain and crashed into two cars.

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James Hetfield Thought The Bus Driver Was To Blame For The Tragic Accident That Killed Cliff Burton

Was The Bus Driver Really To Blame For Cliff Burton’s Death?

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