Members of Metallica were forced to relive the tragic Swedish bus crash in which they lost their original bass player Cliff Burton in 1986. The band were forced to take a 28 hour bus trip from Oslo in Norway to Riga in Latvia after their plane was grounded due to the volcano ash from Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland.
Guitarist Kirk Hammett told journalists that it had opened old wounds. “When we boarded the bus again this week and had to travel overnight, I realized that those bad memories are still here. I still haven’t overcome the fear of buses. But the show must go on.I just could not relax, thinking, ‘Wow, those buses have changed a lot since we traveled.’ They are so much more comfortable. You see, we did not use this means of transportation for more than two decades since the tragedy.”
Cliff Burton was succeeded by Jason Newstead who played with the band until 2001.
Watch Metallica perform live with Cliff Burton playing ‘For Whom The Bells Tolls’
