Before joining Metallica as a replacement for Jason Newsted , bassist Robert Trujillo made a touching promise to his predecessor Cliff Burton , who died in 1986 at the age of 24.
Even without being Burton's direct replacement or even having personally known the original Metallica member, Trujillo revealed to writer Joel McIver that he feels a connection with the musician. This passage was published in the book *To Live Is To Die: The Life and Death of Metallica's Cliff Burton* , according to an excerpt published by Bass Player .
At the time of the Metallica auditions, Robert Trujillo was living at the home of Mike Bordin of Faith No More , a personal friend of Cliff's, who had a large photo of the late bassist in the living room. Coincidentally, this was Trujillo's rehearsal space.
“At a random moment around two in the morning, I looked up and saw this photo. And I talked to it. I said, 'Cliff, I won't let you down, I promise. I'll do my best,'” the musician recounted. “In a strange way, I feel connected to Cliff, I feel like I know him.”
Still in the interview for McIver's book, Robert Trujillo also pointed out Cliff's qualities: “Cliff was absolutely incredible for Metallica. His ideas and presence, the place he was taking bass and metal, were very special. And his stage presence – he was a very physical musician. He played what he felt, and that was the rule. His attitude was, 'I'm going to play what I feel, and if you don't like it, screw you!'” Trujillo praised.
Jason Newsted received a blessing from Cliff Burton's family.
It wasn't just Robert Trujillo who felt the great responsibility of filling the position previously held by Cliff Burton. Metallica's second bassist was Jason Newsted, who had the intense experience of playing with Cliff's amplifier just three weeks after the musician's funeral, and whose audition was witnessed by the young man's parents. "That was 35 years ago, and I will never, ever forget it," he said. Relive the details of that day here .
READ ALSO: Anthrax remembers Cliff Burton's tragic death during tour with Metallica: "He was one of us"
