Cliff Burton
Metallica bassist whose musical theory, aggressive tone and compositional imagination helped expand thrash metal’s vocabulary.
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.
Why They’re Fucking Awesome
Metallica's early bassist brought harmonic imagination and aggression to foundational thrash records.
Essential works: Master of Puppets · Ride the Lightning · Orion
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.
Meaningful connections
- 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
Positive impact
Metallica and the Burton family support the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund; current official merchandise pages explicitly route proceeds to it.
Evidence and disposition
Celebrate documented work and impact. Do not imply the scoped search proves an absence of controversy or harm.
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.
The cosmic file
No reliable birth time was established in this review, so the profile uses an astrology exemption and presents no Ascendant or houses.
Birth-data confidence: no reliable time verified in this pass; No claim made beyond calendar-date sun sign already present in the prior pack.; Do not calculate or publish houses, Moon, or ascendant until a rated time source is reviewed.. Astrology is interpretive and is never medical prediction. A rising-sign link requires reviewed AA, A or B-rated birth-time evidence without an uncertainty qualifier.
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.
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.