Would METALLICA be less commercial if Cliff Burton were around? James Hetfield Answers

From a 1992 interview with James Hetfield during the Black Album era. #shorts

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#metallica #jameshetfield #cliffburton

[damiencurrency]

Of course you had to include James’s monster burp at the end 😂😂😂😂😂

[sirfizz]

part of the way we see Cliff seems to just be that because he died while they were at the peak of their thrash era, we only know him is that wild kid in early, angsty Metallica. So our concept of him is a bit idealized.

[CGJUGO]

_Just because we're not playing a thousand miles an hour the whole time. If that means we sold out, then... (rolls eyes) whatever.._ (Paraphrased) - Cliff Burton, 1986

[robdixson]

I love how he doesn't get ruffled by questions with implied insults in them, he starts to poke fun at the guy, then quickly reigns it in and gives thoughtful answer.

[kidthunder]

James is a classy dude. He just took that snide remark right on the chin and politely responded.

[joebobjenkins]

If Cliff was around we could probably hear the bass in Justice.

[JerryAsbury]

Lol the look James made when he burped is fucking hilarious.

[TakoyakiStore]

I remember reading an interview with Cliff Burton that took place in 1986 and he talked about being a fan of REM and wished that he could explore that type of music more.

So out there is an alternate universe where Kirk Hammett pulled the wrong card and died in that bus accident rather than Cliff. Kirk would've been remembered as this amazing guitarist while Cliff would be viewed as ruining Metallica's sound from thrash to a more grunge or alternative sound. And Justice for All would've still happened and all would've shit on the new guitarist. The Black album would've also happened and became an alternative/grunge hit before Nevermind.

[maxhowlett]

Also Cliff was HEAVILY into classical stuff. If anything, Metallica would have probably gotten less fast and metal sooner than they did. With success of MoP, Justice would've likely had way more experimentation intrumnetally than they had. S&M would have probably happened way earlier too.

[PiazzaGurl]

I’m glad he’s always clarifying what Cliff liked. People now do the same because of how Rob plays. People be very surprised what the group listens to. Kirk loves Funk and classic Reggae. Lars loves Jazz music, James listen to punk and Queen. Just cuz you play a certain genre doesn’t mean that’s all you listen to. And you can tell they way they play, their sound.

[Rose-B]

I respect a band that experiments and evolves, doesn’t push the same album over and over.

[bonemaplegaming]

He pretended not to hear the “commercial” statement.

[PONY]

What a lot of "fans" don't get is that just because a band plays a certain type of music dsnt mean
they ONLY listen to that genre.
Randy Rhoads (Ozzy band) used to listen to classical music. He actually played classical piano.

[psychobillynumbnuts]

They were already calling Metallica sell outs when Cliff was around

[Ariel_thenotsolittlemermaid]

Can we talk about what an awful question this is though?
"Hey, your bandmate died, why don't you just sit and think about how things would be if he were here"...

Edit: for everyone who says that I can't know whether or not James was hurt by the question- that's true, but neither could the interviewer.
The interviewer couldn't anticipate James' reaction or feelings, and there was a pretty big chance he'd be hurt by the question- so for someone who (presumably) doesn't know James personally to come and ask him a question that has high chances of deeply hurting him, put him in a position where he has no other choice but to answer said question even if he's hurt, and then film his reaction; that's an asshole move.
And make no mistake, the interviewer 100% knew what he was doing. Probably was hoping to make James sad so sad he'd get an emotional answer which will gather more media attention... that's how these people operate.

[tylerjacobson]

Cliff was the one that made them more diverse and melodic. If anything cliff would’ve lead them down a more proggy route which people would’ve hated. Hetfield was the fast guy. People are seriously stupid.

[deletedhero]

I think people have a massive misconception of Cliff, he wasn't really that into thrash haha he wanted Metallica to go in a different direction. I think if he'd stayed Metallica would be more like stoner rock like kyuss. He was also very into southern rock and would have loved a lot of stuff on load and reload but the image they had during that time? No way he would have stood for that haha.
Cliff actually said in an interview that one day they'd slow their sound and get a big producer.

[ruledtrendy]

I've heard the reason Justice is so aggressive is because of the anger they felt at Cliff's death

[LTCamaro]

I loved cliffs influence. You can tell when he was gone. There was less classical influence, and melodic nature took a hit also. He was 100% their best combo.

[beforethenever]

Hetfield speaking the words ‘Pink Floyd’ is one of the greatest things ever. My two favourite bands of all time: Metallica & Pink Floyd 🖤