Kirk Hammett has reflected on the terrible tragedy in which his bandmate, Cliff Burton, was killed when Metallica’s tour bus crashed in 1986. Kirk Hammett spoke with Gibson TV on their official YouTube channel and says that the last show they played with Burton was one of their best.
“The last show that we played with Cliff was a spectacular show because it was the first show after maybe six or seven weeks that James [Hetfield, guitar/vocals] was finally back on guitar.
“He [James] had broken his arm during the Ozzy tour and his arm had healed enough so that he was actually able to play guitar. And it was the first show where we had James back, and it was the night that Cliff died,” Hammett told the guitar brand.
“We played really, really well and it felt that we were back a hundred percent. Everyone was so inspired, and we played that show so well because we had not played like that in four or six weeks, or whatever.
“So yeah, that last show was one of the best shows we had played all year. And in retrospect, I’m glad that Cliff’s last show was special in that regard.
“It really was in all respects one of the best shows we had played, and Cliff was very, very happy, knowing that this is just a good thing.
Hammett joined Metallica in 1982, shortly after the band was formed in 1981, and played on Metallica’s first three studio albums. Tragedy struck in the early hours of 27th September 1986, when the band’s tour bus was driving through Sweden on the Damage inc. tour, the driver lost control and the bus flipped, sending Burton, aged 24, through the window. He was the only casualty in the accident.
Hammett speaks of how he still grieves Burton’s death.
“As far as the grieving period is concerned, I think we’re all still kind of grieving ’cause I get emotional when I think about Cliff, and when we’re together I think about Cliff a lot.
“I know James and I get really, really emotional. I would say for me, there’s still some grief after all these years. After all these years I can still feel that pain.”
