Metallica Song 'ManUNkind' Pays Tribute to Cliff Burton

Metallica Song ‘ManUNkind’ Pays Tribute to Cliff Burton

2016-12-19

metallica hardwired to self destruct image album art cover

Story by Anne Erickson

Metallica’s opening track off ‘Hardwired’ pays homage to late bass player Cliff Burton

If you’ve been listening to Metallica’s latest album, “Hardwired…to Self-Destruct,” you may have a hunch the album’s opening track, “ManUNkind,” is somehow inspired by late bass player Cliff Burton. As it turns out, current bass player Robert Trujillo says, indeed, he did craft the bassline on that track as a nod to Burton.

“When I had written that, I was definitely thinking about Cliff,” Trujillo said in an interview with Canada’s Exclaim! TV. “In a way, that to me is a tip of the hat to Cliff Burton and the spirit of Cliff. If you hear that little thing before ‘ManUNkind,’ for me personally, that was with Cliff in mind.”

Burton passed away in 1986, closely following the release of Metallica’s famed “Master of Puppets” album. Bass player Jason Newsted held down low-end duties for the band up until 2003, when Trujillo became Metallica’s full-time bass player.

In addition to the Burton tribute, “Hardwired…to Self-Destruct” also includes the song “Murder One,” which Metallica penned to pay homage to late Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of Kilmister’s death, as he passed away in December of 2015.

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.