Birth School Metallica Death - Vol I

Birth School Metallica Death - Vol I by Paul Brannigan, Ian Winwood Page B

Book: Birth School Metallica Death - Vol I by Paul Brannigan, Ian Winwood Read Free Book Online
Authors: Paul Brannigan, Ian Winwood
Tags: music, Arts & Photography, Heavy Metal, Musical Genres
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underground metal scene of both Northern and Southern California was mixed. By combining a traditional power rock sensibility with the whiff of a glam rock aesthetic – without fully committing to either – the group’s appeal stood some way behind the teeth of those chomping at metal’s increasingly jagged cutting edge. After witnessing a performance at The Stone club, writing in
Metal Mania
Ron Quintana observed, ‘The guitarists had funny matching outfits, so they stood out more – whereas Cliff looked more like a regular guy.’ Hardly the kind of fulsome soundbite a band might choose to place on flyers and posters advertising future live performances.
    A more positive recollection is held by Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza, the one-time singer with early day San Francisco thrashers theLegacy – who later became Testament – and after that front man for local heroes Exodus. Souza recalls seeing Trauma play when he was a high-school student, and hearing voices in the Northern Californian metal scene declaring, ‘Those guys are [gonna be] the next big thing.’ Asked to identify an outstanding feature of Trauma’s sound, Souza is quick to nominate the playing of Cliff Burton. ‘His style was just so awesome,’ he says, ‘so radical … I think people thought he was just too much for [that band] maybe.’
    Despite this, Burton did realise a number of achievements with Trauma. In March 1982 the band supported Saxon at the Keystone Club in Palo Alto, the final date of the English group’s US tour in support of their defiantly dodgy
Denim & Leather
album. The San Francisco band also contributed the track ‘Such a Shame’ to Brian Slagel’s
Metal Massacre II
– with the group’s management desiring as well that the group sign to Slagel’s Metal Blade label, despite an acute lack of funds on the part of company. In the same year, Trauma travelled south on Interstate 5 in order to play three concerts in Los Angeles.
    It has often been reported that James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich first encountered Cliff Burton at the Troubadour, at the third of the band’s three LA showcases. In truth, they already met and spoken to the man who would soon enough come to be known as ‘the Windmill’, at both that earlier appearance at the Whisky, as well as at a video shoot for the Trauma song ‘I Am the Warlock’, where they were introduced by Ulrich’s friend Patrick Scott.
    ‘Trauma’s manager – his name was Tony [Van Lit] – had contacted me through K. J. Doughton to come and watch them shoot a video,’ Scott recalls. ‘So they came down to Santa Ana, which is by Los Angeles, to shoot a video in a professional studio. I didn’t know much about the band other than hearing a tape of them, and I knew I’d be sitting there all day long by myself, so I called Lars just as a friendly thing to come and watch. He wasexcited about it and I wasn’t sure why, and he brought James with him, which I didn’t think much about then – it was something to do – and Lars and James were talking to Cliff a lot, the whole time. I didn’t really know where they were going with it at that time, but soon after that Lars told me, “Remember that guy, that bass player?” and I said, “Of course,” and he told me the whole thing about them trying to get him.’
    Dave Mustaine recalls Burton being what he describes as a ‘star bass player’, before adding ‘that term alone – “star bass player” – should tell you something, because bass players are typically the bottom of the rock ’n’ roll food chain. Guitar players and singers are at the top, drummers in the middle, bass players at the bottom. I was once quoted as saying, “Playing bass is one step up from playing the kazoo,” which certainly pissed off a lot of bass players, but it’s essentially true. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and Cliff was certainly not a glorified kazoo player. He was brilliant. The first time I saw him play, I knew he was

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