Metallica Shares Their ‘The Call of Ktulu’ Performance For Cliff Burton

It’s been almost four decades since Cliff Burton passed away, and Metallica still hasn’t forgotten him, as he was their beloved friend. During one of their recent shows, the band paid tribute to Burton by playing the instrumental ‘The Call Of Ktulu’ for him.

Cliff Burton joined Metallica as their bassist after impressing Ulrich and Hetfield with his wah-wah use. Soon after Burton’s addition, the band entered the studio to record the ‘No Life Till Leather’ demo. They impressed concert promoter Jonathan’ Jonny Z’ Zazula with it, and Zazula helped the band rise to success by signing them to his record label, Megaforce Records.

On November 6, Metallica took the stage to celebrate the lives of Jonathan and Marsha Zazula at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. They then posted a video from the show on Instagram with the caption, “And for the final video from last week’s celebration of Jonny & Marsha Z, here’s one for Cliff…”

In the video, Metallica played the song ‘The Call Of Ktulu,’ which featured Cliff Burton’s bass playing. The song appears on the album ‘Ride The Lightning,’ which was one of the three albums Burton had a chance to contribute. Sadly, an unfortunate bus crash took the life of the bassist in 1986, and he only spent four years as a Metallica member.

Losing a close friend and bandmate like Cliff Burton in such a tragic accident was a traumatic experience for the rest of the band. It was devastating, especially for James Hetfield, who had been battling heavy alcohol addiction. It took many years for Metallica to overcome Burton’s death, and they now continue his legacy through his music.