Cliff Burton photo by Distributed by Megaforce Records; Immediate (Amazon Listing) Worthpoint; Public domain.

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Cliff Burton

Metallica bassist whose musical theory, aggressive tone and compositional imagination helped expand thrash metal’s vocabulary.

Verified record

Life, work & what’s documented

Cliff Burton was born 1962-02-10 and died 1986-09-27 at age 24. Metallica bassist whose musical theory, aggressive tone and compositional imagination helped expand thrash metal’s vocabulary. Metallica's early bassist brought harmonic imagination and aggression to foundational thrash records.

Give them their flowers

Why They're Awesome

Metallica's early bassist brought harmonic imagination and aggression to foundational thrash records.

Essential works: Master of Puppets · Ride the Lightning · Orion

Contribution and influence

What changed because they were here

Contribution: Expanded Metallica's early musical vocabulary through melodic bass, harmony and wide-ranging musical knowledge.

Influence: His performances and compositions remain an enduring reference point for metal bassists.

Connections: Member of Metallica; connected to thrash metal and the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund.

Knowledge Graph

Meaningful connections

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MetallicaBand Member Of / Cliff Burton was Metallica's bassist from 1982 until his death in 1986.Relationship source / confidence: high
Thrash metalContributed To / Cliff Burton's bass work and musical range helped expand early thrash metal.Relationship source / confidence: high

Good Deed WatchGood Deed Watch

Positive impact

Metallica and the Burton family support the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund; current official merchandise pages explicitly route proceeds to it.

Statistics / evidence

Context is not destiny

Born 1962-02-10; died 1986-09-27; age at death 24. These dates provide historical context, not a mortality model.

Death context: Cliff Burton died on 1986-09-27 at age 24. This profile states only the sourced date and age until a reviewed cause or circumstance source is attached.

Historical illness and age are context, not proof of a current crisis or a factual mortality forecast.

Astrology / interpretation

The cosmic file

SunAquarius 21.3°

MoonAries or Taurus 0.0°

MercuryAquarius 10.7°

VenusAquarius 24.7°

MarsAquarius 6.6°

JupiterAquarius 19.9°

SaturnAquarius 4.4°

UranusLeo 28.8°

NeptuneScorpio 13.5°

PlutoVirgo 9.3°

Time-stable natal aspects

Sun conjunction Venus orb 3.5°
Sun conjunction Jupiter orb 1.7°
Moon square Mars orb 6.6°
Mercury conjunction Mars orb 4.9°
Mercury conjunction Saturn orb 6.8°
Mercury square Neptune orb 3.2°
Venus conjunction Jupiter orb 5.2°
Venus opposition Uranus orb 4.8°
Mars conjunction Saturn orb 2.5°
Jupiter square Neptune orb 6.6°
Neptune sextile Pluto orb 4.2°

These placements are deterministic astronomical calculations. Interpretive meaning is presented separately and uncertainty is retained.

Calculation confidence: date_based_reliable. Moon: calculated with uncertainty. Rising sign: birth time needed. Date-based geocentric placements use a noon UTC reference. Moon is evaluated across the full UTC day. No Ascendant or houses are inferred. Astrology is interpretation, not fact, medicine, or mortality prediction.

Receipts

Sources & provenance

Wikidata item Q188973Wikidata / 2026-08-26 / identity / confidence: mediumSource ID cliff-burton:discovery_index:1. Verification: identity_discovery_only. Claims: identity.
Encyclopaedia Britannica candidateEncyclopaedia Britannica / 2026-08-26 / identity / confidence: highSource ID cliff-burton:reference_candidate:2. Verification: selected_for_editorial_use. Claims: identity, vital dates, career summary.
Cliff Burton scholarship benefit itemMetallica / 2026-08-26 / biography / confidence: primarySource ID cliff-burton:positive-legacy:1. Verification: content_reviewed. Claims: good deed or positive legacy, legacy treatment.

Batch adw-publication-batch-2026-08-26-01. Research package completeness 96/100. Claims are linked to the source IDs retained in source notes.

Research last updated 2026-08-26.

Image rights

Portrait provenance

Cliff Burton photo by Distributed by Megaforce Records; Immediate (Amazon Listing) Worthpoint; Public domain.

Exact source file · Public domain · Retrieved 2026-08-27.

Editorial identification only. No endorsement is implied.

Community

Watchlist and discussion

Community posts are member content, not verified profile facts or graph evidence.

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