10 GUTSIEST Moves Metallica Ever Made (And Whether They Paid Off)
7. Replacing Cliff Burton
Some people tend to forget just how important Cliff Burton was to the formation of Metallica. For as much as James Hetfield gets dubbed the "King of the Riff," Burton's complex musical mind molded some of the greatest melodic passages on every one of the band's early classics. It seemed like he could go further and further down the musical rabbit hole, but things looked pretty bleak after a cold night in Switzerland.
Driving to their next gig, Metallica's bus veered off the road and rolled on its side, flinging Burton out the window and killing him instantly. For any other band, this would be a crippling blow that they would not recover from. After all, Burton had been responsible for most of the band's sonic evolution across every album, whose bass parts were almost separate songs unto themselves.
Though the band cancelled the tour and returned to American to bury their friend, they were given a godsend once Jason Newsted turned up for a bass audition. Being a thrash alumnus of the band Flotsam and Jetsam, Newsted fit right into the Metallica mold and brought his own spin on the classic tunes while paying tribute to Cliff. Newsted had his work cut out for him once he joined, but over time he has earned his stripes as an integral part of the Metallica family.