https://realrocklab.com/people/cliff-burton/Recent content in Cliff Burton on Real Rock LabHugoen-usThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://realrocklab.com/forty-years-without-cliff-burton-the-card-draw/Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://realrocklab.com/forty-years-without-cliff-burton-the-card-draw/<p><em>On 27 September 1986 a bus went off the road near Dörarp, Sweden, and Metallica lost its bass player at 24. Four decades later the fan argument is still Jason Newsted versus Robert Trujillo, which has never been the actual question.</em></p> <h2 id="the-night-before">The night before</h2> <p>The band was on the European leg of the Damage, Inc. tour, out behind <em>Master of Puppets</em>, riding a bus between Stockholm and Copenhagen. On the night of 26 September, <a href="https://realrocklab.com/people/cliff-burton/">Cliff Burton</a> and <a href="https://realrocklab.com/people/kirk-hammett/">Kirk Hammett</a> drew cards to decide who picked a bunk first. Burton pulled the ace of spades and took the one Hammett had been sleeping in.</p>https://realrocklab.com/cliff-burton-bus-crash-at-40-the-metallica/Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://realrocklab.com/cliff-burton-bus-crash-at-40-the-metallica/<p><em>Every retrospective of 27 September 1986 tells the story from the swapped bunk. Aidan Mullen was sleeping directly above Cliff Burton, went through the same window, and told it on a podcast in August 2026.</em></p> <h2 id="the-scene-everyone-knows-minus-one-person">The scene everyone knows, minus one person</h2> <p>The bunk story is the one part of that night every <a href="https://realrocklab.com/bands/metallica/">Metallica</a> fan can recite. The band picked sleeping spots on the tour bus in Stockholm, <a href="https://realrocklab.com/people/cliff-burton/">Cliff Burton</a> won the choice, took <a href="https://realrocklab.com/people/kirk-hammett/">Kirk Hammett</a>&rsquo;s bunk, and Kirk went to sleep at the front. A few hours later the bus went over and Cliff was dead at 24.</p>