10 Amazing Bands Who Lost Members At The Height Of Their Potential

2. Metallica (Cliff Burton)

It isn€™t often that a bassist has the opportunity to make such a big impact on a band€™s sound as Cliff Burton did in Metallica. A true student of the instrument who trained himself in jazz and classical as well as rock, Burton brought a variety of influences to their sound. One of the shining examples of this is on their first album - the song Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) was entirely dedicated as a showcase for Burton€™s bass technique. On September 27, 1986, while Metallica toured Sweden in support of their then-biggest album Master of Puppets, the tour bus crashed, ejecting Burton from a window and then falling on top of him. The tragic event is made all the more surreal by the fact that the band drew cards to determine who slept in which bunk that night, with Burton€™s ace of spades allowing him to pick what he thought was prime real estate. Like other bands on this list, Metallica eventually rebounded, but it wasn€™t easy. Their next album all but muted new bassist Jason Newsted as something between a hazing ritual and a tribute to Cliff. Though they€™ve gone on to become perhaps the most successful heavy metal band of all time, many fans argue their most creatively fertile period was the Burton years, and there€™s no denying the absence of his musical muscle on later recordings. Today, Burton is still considered one of the finest bassists in the genre.