Today, February 10, 2012, would have been Cliff Burton‘s 50th birthday.

The revered Metallica bassist played on the band’s first three albums — Kill Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets. His charging, finger-picking basslines added much to the early Metallica and thrash metal music sound.

Burton was tragically killed almost 26 years ago when Metallica was on a European tour to support the Master Of Puppets album. The tour bus skidded off the road and crashed in southern Sweden killing Burton aged just 24.

Obviously Metallica has continued to grow and can comfortably call themselves one of the biggest metal bands of all time. I think it’s telling of the person Burton was and the impact he made that after over a quarter of a century both the fans and band remember him fondly and miss him dearly.

We here at Geeks of Doom are thinking of you, Cliff, and remembering you on your 50th birthday.

Cliff Burton Solo & “Whiplash”