Jason Newsted remembers Cliff Burton 40 years after Metallica bassist’s death: “Maybe if I try really hard, I could be a tenth of as good”

Metallica’s Jason Newsted has looked back at his memories of Cliff Burton, 40 years after his death. READ MORE: Metallica live in Amsterdam: still the greatest heavy metal band around The iconic musician and metal icon was tragically killed after the band’s tour bus crashed while in Sweden on September 27 1986. He was the band’s second bassist and played on their first three studio albums: ‘Kill ‘Em All’ (1983), ‘Ride The Lightning’ (1984) and ‘Master Of Puppets’ (1986). He also co-wrote classic songs including ‘Ride The Lightning’, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’, ‘Fade To Black’ and ‘Master Of Puppets’. After his passing, it was Newsted who took his place in the group – staying there until 2001, and later being replaced by Robert Trujillo, who joined in 2003 and is still in the group today. Now, 40 years after Burton tragically died, Newsted has looked back at his memories of the bassist and reflected on his admiration for the bassist. “Cliff could wake up and do it,” he said. “James [Hetfield, frontman] could wake up after how many ever beers and do it. Just wake up 10 minutes out of bed and play as good as I could after working for five hours to get to that spot.” He went on to discu...