Born: 2-10-62 Died: 9-27-86
When a man lies, he murders some part of the world
These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer
Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home?
~ Cliff Burton "To Live is To Die"
On September 27, 1986 Cliff Burton was killed in a tour bus accident on a stretch of icy road in Sweden. The night before, they had just played in Stockholm. They were en route to Denmark for their next gig. The bus apparently hit some black ice and swerved off the road and flipped over, throwing Cliff out of the window. The bus landed right on top of him. Everyone else was o.k., except Lars broke a bone in his foot I believe. That night, they stayed in a hotel room in Sweden. James [Hetfield] was so pissed that he started drinking and yelling, and he broke 2 windows. Kirk and his Guitar tech. were so freaked they kept the lights on all night. Cliff's funeral took place on October 7, 1986. They played "Orion" because it was essentially "his song" as some of the band members put it. He was cremated and his ashes were spread at the Maxwell Ranch in California.
It was a huge tradgedy for everyone that knew him & for all MetallicA fans. He was one of the greatest bassists ever.