Bass Busters Part II
February 26, 2007 by Jo Minor
Cliff Burton (Metallica)
Bassist Cliff Burton was hired into the band in the periods of Metallica’s infancy, a time where they have not yet tasted the sweet, and potentially corrupting, taste of commercial success and fame.
When the band members first hear the sound of Burton’s bass playing, the thought that this guy actually played lead guitar - Burton’s wah pedal bass solos were something unheard of and became the man’s trademark contribution to the band, and heavy metal in general. This exact bass solo is captured in the band’s debut album Kill ‘Em All - where it’s entitled Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).
From the time of his hiring and onwards, Burton was the star attraction of Metallica - people used to flock to their venues just to see the man perform live. Burton was even larger than then lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and this volatile combination was to be short-lived.
After all of his contributions to the band - including co-writing the brilliant instrumental The Call of Ktulu, Burton died in a tragic bus accident in which he was flung out of the emergency window of the bus. Burton’s tragic death inspired the creation of the “Burton board” - a board that has since helped blocked the emergency escape window in buses all over Europe, in case of such accidents.
Burton helped spawn the Metallica craze worldwide, and his contributions to the band’s first three albums (Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets) were priceless. The band never fully recovered from his departure, and continued down the path of a slow and agonizing self-destruction.
Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
The prime driving force behind heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, Steve Harris writes almost all of the band’s songs unaided, and is known to present completed songs to the other members of the band in the studio - which means he writes all of the guitar, bass, drum and vocal parts and melodies himself!
Being one of the few remaining original members, Steve Harris has been the persona and spirit of Iron Maiden. His characteristic bass playing, which utilizes the higher strings of the bass guitar instead of the lower ones, creates a clunky, metallic sound to the band’s songs. Harris has also written countless bass guitar intros for Iron Maiden songs, for instance, for songs like Killers, Remember Tomorrow, Wrathchild and Innocent Exile - among others.
Harris, being the leader of the band, is still spearheading the band’s rise in their post-millennium years with such highly acclaimed albums like Brave New World, Dance Of Death and A Matter of Life and Death. Last year’s release, A Matter of Life and Death, garnered significant success for the band - selling over 150,000 copies in the United States alone and gaining respectable reviews from the metal community and media.
A Matter of Life and Death was a darker, more philosophical album compared to some of the band’s classic works - yet it was full of the Maiden touch, thanks to Steve Harris. The album’s lyrical content focused on the effects of war and religion, but in a very unbiased and objective manner - thus paving the way for some brilliant lyrical contributions from Harris and some of the other members of Iron Maiden as well.
Even though Iron Maiden are currently in the twilight years of their long and illustrious career - which has spanned for more than two decades - Steve Harris will always be remembered as the ultimate driving force of heavy metal’s true and formidable monarchs, who never gave in to the commercial success they have attained over the years.
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