I know i'm like 2 months late but happy anniversary to @lambofgodofficial's magnum opus "Sacrament"!
Released on August 22nd, 2006, Sacrament became Lamb Of God's absolute undeniable masterpiece and a defining album for the entire NWOAHM (New Wave Of American HeavyMetal) movement tarting in the early 90s and ending in the mid 2000s. The album cover features a stark, minimalist aesthetic continuing the band's dark, thematic imagery. Featuring black background with a distinctive purple coloured pattern and a goblet and coins on the cover artwork. The album cover artwork for Sacrament was designed and directed by longtime collaborator K3n Adams and the album is notable for being the first Lamb Of God album for moving away from the band's iconic “Papyrus" font for the album title on the cover.
With hits like "Redneck", "Walk With Me In Hell" and "Descending" the album became an instant hit and classic debuting at no. 8 on the Billboard 200 charts with 63'000 copies sold in it's first week and peaked at no. 8 on the billboard 200, and also reached number 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart.
The album was produced by Machine, and was notoriously difficult to make due to conflicts between band members, and frontman Randy Blythe's heavy drinking which made him difficult to work with. Sacrament is widely known as Lamb Of God's defining masterpiece alongside the 2004 album "Ashes Of The Wake". The band captured the making of Sacrament in a YouTube video on their official YouTube channel called "Lamb Of God - The Making Of Sacrament", and the name is, literally what the video is about: A 1 hour documentary of the writing, recording and touring process for Sacrament, capturing the band members talking, tracking and writing the album, giving fans a raw peek into the creative process. This album has some of Randy's best vocal moments of his career.
What is your favourite song off Sacrament? Mine is "Blacken The Cursed Sun"! That intro riff is unforgettable. Let me know what your favourite song is. The tracklist is: Walk With Me In Hell Again We Rise Redneck Pathetic Foot To The Throat Descending Blacken The Cursed Sun (my number one!) Forgotten (Lost Angels) Requiem More Time To Kill Beating On Death's Door
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Metallica's former legendary bassist Cliff Burton who died in a tragic bus accident on September 27th, 1986, who died 40 years ago. He was just 24.
Cliff Burton was born in Castro Valley, California, to Raymond "Ray" (1925–2020) and Janette "Jan" Burton (1925–1993). He had two older siblings, Scott (1958–1975) and Connie (1956–2026). Burton's interest in music began when his father introduced him to classical music and he began taking piano lessons. In his teenage years, Burton developed an interest in rock, classical, country, and eventually heavy metal. He began playing the bass at 13, after his brother Scott Burton, died from a brain aneurysm. His parents quoted him as saying, "I'm going to be the best bassist for my brother." He practiced up to six hours per day, even after he joined Metallica. Along with classical and jazz, Burton's other early influences varied from Southern rock and country to the blues. Burton cited Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Stanley Clarke, Lemmy Kilmister, and Phil Lynott as major influences on his style of bass playing.
He joined Trauma in 1982 and footage shows Burton playing what would become "Anaesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" and "For Whom The Bell Tolls". In 1982, Trauma traveled to Los Angeles to perform at the Whisky a Go Go. Among those in attendance were James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, both members of Metallica, which had formed the previous year. Upon hearing, as Hetfield described it, "this amazing shredding" (parts of which later became "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth"), the two decided to recruit Burton for Metallica. They asked him to replace former bassist Ron McGovney, (who had left prior) and since Burton thought that Trauma was "starting to get a little commercial," he agreed. The idea of moving to Los Angeles did not sit well with Burton, who said he would join only if the band relocated from Los Angeles to his native San Francisco Bay Area. Metallica, eager to have Burton in the band, left to make a home in El Cerrito, a town located across the bay from San Francisco.
Burton's first recording with Metallica was the Megaforce demo. A demo tape the band had made prior to Burton's joining, No Life 'til Leather, managed to come into the hands of Jon Zazula, owner of Megaforce Records. The band relocated to Old Bridge, New Jersey, and quickly secured a recording contract with Zazula's label. Their debut album, Kill 'Em All, features Burton's showcase, "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth", which displayed his use of effect pedals, such as a wah-wah pedal and Electro Harmonix Big Muff, which are not commonly used by bassists.
Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All, was originally intended to have the name of one of their earlier demo releases (predating Burton's participation), which was Metal Up Your Ass, but the record company did not like the title and insisted on changing it. Burton said "We should just kill 'em all, man," which gave the band members an idea for the new title. The album was released on July 25, 1983, through Megaforce Records. The album did not do well commercially but did well in the underground thrash metal scene.
The band's second studio masterpiece of an album, Ride the Lightning, which is my favourite album by the band personally, showcased the band's rapidly evolving musical growth. Burton's songwriting abilities were growing, and he received credit on six of the album's eight songs. Burton's playing style and use of effects is notably showcased on two tracks: the iconic, chromatic intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (often mistaken as a electric guitar intro), and the "lead bass" on "The Call of Ktulu". The band's improving musicianship on Ride the Lightning caught the attention of major record labels. Metallica was signed to Elektra Records, and began working on their third album, Master of Puppets, which is considered by most critics to be a landmark album in heavy metal. Among the tracks featured in the album are the instrumental "Orion" (which features a prominent lead bass section) and the title track, which was Burton's favorite Metallica song. Master of Puppets was the band's commercial breakthrough release, and Burton's final album with Metallica.
Burton's final performance was in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Solnahallen Arena on September 26, 1986, one day before his death. The final song the band performed with Burton was "Fight Fire with Fire", coincidentally my favourite Metallica song of all time.
DEATH 🕊️🤘🏻🎸:
Burton's final performance with Metallica on September 26, 1986 was hosted at Solnahallen in Stockholm, Sweden on the Damage Inc. tour in support of the Master of Puppets album. Their next scheduled show at the Saga Theater in Copenhagen, Denmark had their tour bus driving south overnight along European route E4 (now G 557). Band members complained that the bunks on their tour bus were unsatisfactory and uncomfortable. The story of how Burton won the bunk differs between the two band members, as guitarist Kirk Hammett stated on VH1's Behind the Music, he and Burton drew cards, and Burton picked the ace of spades, thereby getting the first choice of bunk. Burton told Hammett "I want your bunk". Hammett replied "Fine, take my bunk, I'll sleep up front, it's probably better anyway". However, Ulrich's version of the event was that Hammett and Burton drew straws, (some people believe this is somehow related to Metallica's song "The Shortest Straw" however it is not confirmed to be) while Burton drew the long straw, winning the choice of bunk. Cliff was sleeping when, according to the driver, shortly before 7 AM on September 27, the bus skidded off the road 19 kilometres (12 miles) north of Ljungby, Sweden, just north of Dörarp, and flipped onto the grass in Kronoberg County. With no safety restraints on the bunks, Burton was thrown violently through one of the windows of the bus, which fell on top of him right afterwards, killing him instantly, he was 24 years old. The bus driver later claimed that the crash was caused by the bus hitting a patch of black ice on the road, but James later stated that he first believed the bus flipped because the driver was intoxicated. Hetfield also claimed that he walked a lengthy distance along the road unsuccessfully searching for the point in which the bus lost traction from the black ice.
Burton's body was cremated and the ashes were scattered at the Maxwell Ranch. At the ceremony, the song "Orion" (which is widely considered his musical soul captured on tape and Cliff‘s masterpiece) was played. Metallica would go on to hire Jason Newsted from Flotsam and Jetsam to replace Burton on October 28, 1986. Both Ray and Jan Burton appeared at Newsted's second audition, in which Jan Burton embraced him following his hiring, telling Newsted "You are the one, Please be safe". He would remain with the band until his departure on January 17, 2001.
Many metal bassists have expressed admiration, or have cited Burton as an influence to their playing, including Adam Duce, Alex Webster, Chi Cheng, Dick Lövgren, Johnny Christ, Justin Chancellor, Liam Wilson, Mike D'Antonio, Martín Méndez, Paolo Gregoletto, Paul Gray, Paulo Jr., Reginald Arvizu, Tony Campos, and Troy Sanders.
Metallica wrote a tribute to Burton titled "To Live Is to Die" for their 1988 album...And Justice for All. Burton would receive a writing credit for the lyrics in the middle of the song, as well as the bass lines being a medley of unused recordings Burton had performed prior to his death.
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine wrote "In My Darkest Hour" after finding out Cliff died.
In 2006, a memorial stone was unveiled in Sweden near the scene of the fatal crash. The lyrics "...cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home" from "To Live Is to Die" are written on Burton's memorial stone. On April 4, 2009, Burton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Metallica bandmates James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett. Subsequent bassists Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo were inducted as well. During the ceremony, the induction was accepted by his father Ray Burton, who shared the stage with the band and said that Cliff's mother was Metallica's biggest fan.
Fun Fact About Cliff Burton 🎸: Cliff famously hated trends and wore blue bell bottom jeans, denim jacket, a Misfits shirt, a band Cliff loved alongside other bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, he also wore brown trainers, skull rings, had a Misfits tattoo to show his love for the punk band, members of Metallica said he had a large you-know-what and he was described as a warm, down-to-earth and an independent person and he absolutely will be missed. Cliff Burton played on the first three Metallica albums, alongside some demos. He played on the first three Metallica albums "Kill 'Em All" (1983), "Ride The Lightning" (1984) (which is my favourite Metallica album, I know I already said that but I wanted to say it again!), and "Master Of Puppets" (1986) (the band's landmark album and widely considered their masterpiece). His bass playing on masterpieces like "Anaesthesia - (Pulling Teeth)", "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "The Call Of Ktulu", "Orion", and solidified Burton as a legendary bassist in the metal world. Cliff Burton still inspires many young fans to pick up a bass guitar as millions (including me) look up to him as he treated his bass like a lead instrument rather than just keeping the low-end heavy and demanded to be heard.
Out of these three albums, "Kill 'Em All" (1983), "Ride The Lightning" (1984) and "Master Of Puppets" (1986), what is your favourite song since they feature Cliff Burton? Mine is "Fight Fire With Fire"! That riff is so fast and the solo is insane, not to mention the bass line under it keeps it heavy, and I can hear it at times. Rock In Peace Clifford Lee Burton, gone, but never forgotten. "Cannot the king of salvation take me home?" 🕊️🎸🤘🏻⚡️🔔
I know I’m like a week late but happy 1st birthday to Lorna Shore's album, "I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me"! This album was only released a year ago on the 12th of September 2025 and features amazing symphonic blackened deathcore songs like "Prisons Of Flesh", "Oblivion" and "Glenwood".
The album features multiple hits such as "Oblivion", "Unbreakable", "Glenwood", "Prison Of Flesh" and "In Darkness" and has a few long songs like Oblivion being 8 minutes, Prison Of Flesh" and "Death Can Take Me" being 7 minutes and Forevermore being a 9 minute and 47 second epic. The rest of the songs are either 4, 5, or six minutes. Lorna Shore did an absolutely fantastic job with this album and was easily one of my favourite records of 2025! I didn't enjoy the band's style of music, but now in 2026 I gave it another chance like in early to mid 2026 and I absolutely love it. "War Machine" has become my favourite song on the album, because of its aggressive sound and awesome breakdown, even though basically all of them are aggressive and have breakdowns, "War Machine" stood out to me.
The band recorded the 10-song album at producer Josh Schroeder's studio, Random Awesome Recordings which is located in Midland, Michigan. The breakdowns are brutal, and vocalist Will Ramos solidified his place in the metal world as a force of nature.
What is your favourite song off this album? Mine is "War Machine"! The album's tracklist is: Prison Of Flesh Oblivion In Darkness Unbreakable Glenwood Lionheart Death Can Take Me War Machine A Nameless Hymn Forevermore
Let me know your favourite song (if you want). Thank you, @LornaShore for this incredible album! (I felt like writing thank you at the end because I’m feeling good rn as in I’m chilling)
I’m like nearly a month late but happy 25th anniversary of System Of A Down's album "Toxicity". This 2001 masterpiece was released on September 4th, 2001 by System Of A Down (SOAD).
The album features multiple hits that were played on radio such as "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", "Aerials" and "Prison Song". The lineup at the time, were Serj Tankian (Vocals), Darron Malakian (Guitar), Shavo Odadjian (Bass) and John Dolmayan (Drums).
On the 3rd of September 2001, System Of A Down were about to release their landmark album "Toxicity" (released just a day later), they were going to do a free, outdoor promotional concert at a parking lot on Schrader Boulevard, California, to thank local fans, ahead of their second album. The band only expected a few thousand people to show up however that was absolutely not the case as an overwhelming amount of people of 15'000 people showed up. The venue had a legal capacity of about 3'500 to 5'000 people. Between 10'000 and 15'000 eager fans showed up on Labor Day, completely packing the surrounding streets and overwhelming safety limits and the venue could not handle this many people so System Of A Down were forced to cancel the show. At first, System Of A Down initially refused to cancel and offered to tell the fans the show was cancelled, however local authorities and the fire marshal told them they were not allowed to do that as they would be arrested. Local authorities and the fire marshal cancelled the performance before the band could take the stage to prevent a crowd crush. The fans waited over an hour with no clear communication, security crew members started taking down the band's stage banner. The fans were furious about the removal and cancellation, the large crowd rushed the stage, destroyed $30'000 worth of sound and equipment and threw objects at police. The next day on September 4th, 2001, System Of A Down dropped "Toxicity" and it became a massive success.
In 2001, leaked audio of System Of A Down's music leaked online which eventually became known as "Toxicity II". The band was disappointed that fans were hearing low-quality versions of their music, so they went back into the studio and polished the songs and turned it into "Steal This Album!" which released the following year in 2002.
To this day, "Toxicity" is known as one of metal's biggest masterpieces ever released, and pushed System Of A Down into the mainstream. The album's tracklist is: Prison Song Needles Deer Dance Jet Pilot X Chop Suey! Bounce Forest ATWA Science Shimmy Toxicity Psycho Aerials Johnny (a song to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album)
I know i'm late but happy birthday to my favourite album of all time and Five Finger Death Punch's most commercially successful and popular album "Got Your Six" which turns 11 this year! 🤘🏻5️⃣🖐🏻☠️👊🏻🤘🏻
Released on September 4th, 2015, Got Your Six became a highly popular metal album in the 2010s, debuting at number 2 on the billboard 200, and becoming what is known to be Five Finger Death Death Punch's highest selling, biggest, best and most popular album in the band's history.
With hits such as "Jekyll And Hyde", "Wash It All Away", "I Apologise", "My Nemesis" and the title track, "Got Your Six", the album became an absolute powerhouse in modern metal. It became extremely successful and the band's biggest album. The album was produced by the band's producer Kevin Churko, who mixed the album incredibly well. Now, in 2026, Got Your Six still continued to be played by metalheads. Love them or hate them, Five Finger Death Punch are a massive force in the modern metal community. Still continuing to sell out stadiums all across the world.
The album's tracklist is: Got Your Six Jekyll And Hyde Wash It All Away Ain't My Last Dance My Nemesis No Sudden Movement Question Everything Diggin' My Own Grave Meet My Maker Boots And Blood You're Not My Kind This Is My War I Apologise
What Is your favourite song? My favourite song from this incredible album is Got Your Six! It is also my favourite song by the band.
I know I’m late but happy birthday to the highly technical and progressive thrash metal masterpiece of an album "…And Justice For All" released 38 years ago!
Songs like "One", "Blackened", "Harvester Of Sorrow", "Dyers Eve", "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" and the long, technical masterpiece title track, made the album one of the most iconic thrash metal albums ever recorded.
Fuelled by the tragic loss of former bassist Cliff Burton, Metallica channeled their rage into progressive, technical thrash metal. Their song "One", an anti-war ballad known for the battleground sound effects and the iconic four note guitar intro before slowly getting more heavy, before detonating into the legendary machine gun breakdown, drummer Lars Ulrich’s snare hits and Kirk Hammett's chaotic but controlled guitar solo featuring guitar tapping, became the bands first ever music videos, with them getting backlash for “selling out”. Despite this, the video became a hit in MTV and Metallica was nominated for a Grammy when the mainstream was finally recognising hard rock and heavy metal, but by the time the 1989 Grammy Awards rolled around, the winner was Jethro Tull, a progressive rock group with flutes.
The album's cover features the symbol of justice Lady Justice herself, cracking, being held down with ropes and holding a sword and scales to mimic the broken justice system. The album features a dry mix, with drummer Lars Ulrich's drums mixed very loud and clicky and James Hetfield's rhythm guitars multi-tracked rhythm guitars mixed dry and cold. After Burton's death in 1986 via tour bus crash while touring with Metallica in Europe in support for the band's legendary 1986 landmark album "Master Of Puppets", the tour bus crashed, killing Burton. Bassist Jason Newsted was brought in to be the band's new bassist and finish the Damage Inc. tour. In the "…And Justice For All" album mix Jason laid down incredible bass tracks but in the final mix they are almost completely inaudible. Revealed by mixer Steve Thompson, Lars came into the mixing room and said "See the bass guitar?" Steve: Yeah, it’s incredible." Lars: Turn the bass down until you can barely hear it." When Thompson did it Ulrich looked at him and said "now drop it another 5 dB." Steve: I looked at James and was like "is this guy serious?" But James nodded and said "Yeah, do what he says." Steve admitted he wanted to quit on the spot because he knew it was a terrible idea but Lara was too stubborn and wanted to make the drums louder than the Kraktoa eruption of 1883.
The album is extremely complex packed with odd time signatures, changing and stop start riffs and long, intricate structures. While most and casual people know about "One" real fans know about the masterpieces of "Blackened", "Harvester Of Sorrow", the title track, "…And Justice For All", "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity, "To Live Is To Die", which is Cliff burtons tribute and includes an acoustic guitar riff which Burton wrote, "The Shortest Straw" and "Eye Of The Beholder".
The album's tracklist is Blackened …And Justice For All Eye Of The Begolder One The Shortest Straw Harvester Of Sorrow The Frayed Ends Of Sanity To Live Is To Die Dyers Eve
Which is your favourite? Mine is "Harvester Of Sorrow"! Let me know.
#OnThisDay 9/11 also known as the September 11 attacks happened and changed the world 25 years ago. Even though I’m not American, I feel I should still make this post and respect to those fallen. 2'977 people died in the attacks not including the 19 hijackers. When including them it comes to 2'996.
On September 11th, 2001, an American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked and flown into the north tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City at 8:46AM. The second plane United Airlines 175 was hijacked and flown into the south tower of the World Trade Centre at 9:03AM. The third plane American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., at 9:37PM. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksfield, Pennsylvania, at 10:03AM, after passengers bravely fought back against the hijackers preventing it from hitting its intended target in Washington, D.C. 441 first responders also died in the brutal attacks. Truly rest in peace to everyone that lost their life in this tragic accident, sending my condolences to the families of everyone that lost their lives. 🕊️
AfterLife was released #OnThisDay 4 years ago! Originally released on the 19th of August 2022, the album gave us the first Five Finger Death Punch album with guitar virtuoso Andy James on lead guitar after the departure of former lead guitarist Jason Hook who left in 2020. The album is also one of my favourite albums forever.
Songs like "Welcome To The Circus", "AfterLife", "Times Like These", "Roll Dem Bones", "Judgment Day" and "IOU", the album performed well commercially, hitting number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart with the title track and Andy's guitar work. At the time, the lineup was Ivan Moody (Vocals), Zoltan Bathory (Rhythm Guitar), Andy James (Lead Guitar), Charlie Engen (Drums) and Chris Kael (Bass/Backing Vocals) and this lineup still remains today.
The album was produced by Kevin Churko, the bands longtime producer and collaborator, it is the band's 9th and final studio album produced by Churko.
The album's tracklist is: Welcome To The Circus AfterLife Times Like These Roll Dem Bones Pick Up Behind You Judgement Day IOU Thanks For Asking Blood And Tar All I Know Gold Gutter The End
3 days and 41 years ago, @pantera released "I Am The Night"!
Released on August 16th, 1985, this was the band's third studio album when at the time they were a glam metal band (also called hair metal). While not successful (they were only successful in the local Texas hair metal scene and independently), the album is a far cry for what hey would become in the 90s with their legendary groove metal sound. At the time, the bands lineup was Terry Glaze (Vocals, credited as Terrence Lee), "Diamond" Darrell Lance Abbott (better known as Diamond Darrell and eventually Dimebag Darrell, Rhythm/Lead Guitar), Rex Rocker (later known as Rex Brown, Bassist) and Vinnie Paul (Drums).
What is your favourite song if you have one? Let me know in the comments! I still have to listen to it here on YouTube and I’ll edit this post and let you know!
Toby Wait
I know i'm like 2 months late but happy anniversary to @lambofgodofficial's magnum opus "Sacrament"!
Released on August 22nd, 2006, Sacrament became Lamb Of God's absolute undeniable masterpiece and a defining album for the entire NWOAHM (New Wave Of American HeavyMetal) movement tarting in the early 90s and ending in the mid 2000s. The album cover features a stark, minimalist aesthetic continuing the band's dark, thematic imagery. Featuring black background with a distinctive purple coloured pattern and a goblet and coins on the cover artwork. The album cover artwork for Sacrament was designed and directed by longtime collaborator K3n Adams and the album is notable for being the first Lamb Of God album for moving away from the band's iconic “Papyrus" font for the album title on the cover.
With hits like "Redneck", "Walk With Me In Hell" and "Descending" the album became an instant hit and classic debuting at no. 8 on the Billboard 200 charts with 63'000 copies sold in it's first week and peaked at no. 8 on the billboard 200, and also reached number 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart.
The album was produced by Machine, and was notoriously difficult to make due to conflicts between band members, and frontman Randy Blythe's heavy drinking which made him difficult to work with. Sacrament is widely known as Lamb Of God's defining masterpiece alongside the 2004 album "Ashes Of The Wake". The band captured the making of Sacrament in a YouTube video on their official YouTube channel called "Lamb Of God - The Making Of Sacrament", and the name is, literally what the video is about: A 1 hour documentary of the writing, recording and touring process for Sacrament, capturing the band members talking, tracking and writing the album, giving fans a raw peek into the creative process. This album has some of Randy's best vocal moments of his career.
What is your favourite song off Sacrament? Mine is "Blacken The Cursed Sun"! That intro riff is unforgettable. Let me know what your favourite song is. The tracklist is:
Walk With Me In Hell
Again We Rise
Redneck
Pathetic
Foot To The Throat
Descending
Blacken The Cursed Sun (my number one!)
Forgotten (Lost Angels)
Requiem
More Time To Kill
Beating On Death's Door
What is your favourite song?
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Toby Wait
Cliff Burton photo dump! Rest In Power Cliff, you’re with so many other legends like Lemmy and Ozzy now. 🕊️❤️🫶🏻 #cliffburton #tribute
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Toby Wait
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Metallica's former legendary bassist Cliff Burton who died in a tragic bus accident on September 27th, 1986, who died 40 years ago. He was just 24.
Cliff Burton was born in Castro Valley, California, to Raymond "Ray" (1925–2020) and Janette "Jan" Burton (1925–1993). He had two older siblings, Scott (1958–1975) and Connie (1956–2026). Burton's interest in music began when his father introduced him to classical music and he began taking piano lessons. In his teenage years, Burton developed an interest in rock, classical, country, and eventually heavy metal. He began playing the bass at 13, after his brother Scott Burton, died from a brain aneurysm. His parents quoted him as saying, "I'm going to be the best bassist for my brother." He practiced up to six hours per day, even after he joined Metallica. Along with classical and jazz, Burton's other early influences varied from Southern rock and country to the blues.
Burton cited Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Stanley Clarke, Lemmy Kilmister, and Phil Lynott as major influences on his style of bass playing.
He joined Trauma in 1982 and footage shows Burton playing what would become "Anaesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" and "For Whom The Bell Tolls". In 1982, Trauma traveled to Los Angeles to perform at the Whisky a Go Go. Among those in attendance were James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, both members of Metallica, which had formed the previous year. Upon hearing, as Hetfield described it, "this amazing shredding" (parts of which later became "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth"), the two decided to recruit Burton for Metallica. They asked him to replace former bassist Ron McGovney, (who had left prior) and since Burton thought that Trauma was "starting to get a little commercial," he agreed. The idea of moving to Los Angeles did not sit well with Burton, who said he would join only if the band relocated from Los Angeles to his native San Francisco Bay Area. Metallica, eager to have Burton in the band, left to make a home in El Cerrito, a town located across the bay from San Francisco.
Burton's first recording with Metallica was the Megaforce demo. A demo tape the band had made prior to Burton's joining, No Life 'til Leather, managed to come into the hands of Jon Zazula, owner of Megaforce Records. The band relocated to Old Bridge, New Jersey, and quickly secured a recording contract with Zazula's label. Their debut album, Kill 'Em All, features Burton's showcase, "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth", which displayed his use of effect pedals, such as a wah-wah pedal and Electro Harmonix Big Muff, which are not commonly used by bassists.
Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All, was originally intended to have the name of one of their earlier demo releases (predating Burton's participation), which was Metal Up Your Ass, but the record company did not like the title and insisted on changing it. Burton said "We should just kill 'em all, man," which gave the band members an idea for the new title. The album was released on July 25, 1983, through Megaforce Records. The album did not do well commercially but did well in the underground thrash metal scene.
The band's second studio masterpiece of an album, Ride the Lightning, which is my favourite album by the band personally, showcased the band's rapidly evolving musical growth. Burton's songwriting abilities were growing, and he received credit on six of the album's eight songs. Burton's playing style and use of effects is notably showcased on two tracks: the iconic, chromatic intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (often mistaken as a electric guitar intro), and the "lead bass" on "The Call of Ktulu". The band's improving musicianship on Ride the Lightning caught the attention of major record labels. Metallica was signed to Elektra Records, and began working on their third album, Master of Puppets, which is considered by most critics to be a landmark album in heavy metal. Among the tracks featured in the album are the instrumental "Orion" (which features a prominent lead bass section) and the title track, which was Burton's favorite Metallica song. Master of Puppets was the band's commercial breakthrough release, and Burton's final album with Metallica.
Burton's final performance was in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Solnahallen Arena on September 26, 1986, one day before his death. The final song the band performed with Burton was "Fight Fire with Fire", coincidentally my favourite Metallica song of all time.
DEATH 🕊️🤘🏻🎸:
Burton's final performance with Metallica on September 26, 1986 was hosted at Solnahallen in Stockholm, Sweden on the Damage Inc. tour in support of the Master of Puppets album. Their next scheduled show at the Saga Theater in Copenhagen, Denmark had their tour bus driving south overnight along European route E4 (now G 557). Band members complained that the bunks on their tour bus were unsatisfactory and uncomfortable. The story of how Burton won the bunk differs between the two band members, as guitarist Kirk Hammett stated on VH1's Behind the Music, he and Burton drew cards, and Burton picked the ace of spades, thereby getting the first choice of bunk. Burton told Hammett "I want your bunk". Hammett replied "Fine, take my bunk, I'll sleep up front, it's probably better anyway". However, Ulrich's version of the event was that Hammett and Burton drew straws, (some people believe this is somehow related to Metallica's song "The Shortest Straw" however it is not confirmed to be) while Burton drew the long straw, winning the choice of bunk. Cliff was sleeping when, according to the driver, shortly before 7 AM on September 27, the bus skidded off the road 19 kilometres (12 miles) north of Ljungby, Sweden, just north of Dörarp, and flipped onto the grass in Kronoberg County. With no safety restraints on the bunks, Burton was thrown violently through one of the windows of the bus, which fell on top of him right afterwards, killing him instantly, he was 24 years old. The bus driver later claimed that the crash was caused by the bus hitting a patch of black ice on the road, but James later stated that he first believed the bus flipped because the driver was intoxicated. Hetfield also claimed that he walked a lengthy distance along the road unsuccessfully searching for the point in which the bus lost traction from the black ice.
Burton's body was cremated and the ashes were scattered at the Maxwell Ranch. At the ceremony, the song "Orion" (which is widely considered his musical soul captured on tape and Cliff‘s masterpiece) was played. Metallica would go on to hire Jason Newsted from Flotsam and Jetsam to replace Burton on October 28, 1986. Both Ray and Jan Burton appeared at Newsted's second audition, in which Jan Burton embraced him following his hiring, telling Newsted "You are the one, Please be safe". He would remain with the band until his departure on January 17, 2001.
Many metal bassists have expressed admiration, or have cited Burton as an influence to their playing, including Adam Duce, Alex Webster, Chi Cheng, Dick Lövgren, Johnny Christ, Justin Chancellor, Liam Wilson, Mike D'Antonio, Martín Méndez, Paolo Gregoletto, Paul Gray, Paulo Jr., Reginald Arvizu, Tony Campos, and Troy Sanders.
Metallica wrote a tribute to Burton titled "To Live Is to Die" for their 1988 album...And Justice for All. Burton would receive a writing credit for the lyrics in the middle of the song, as well as the bass lines being a medley of unused recordings Burton had performed prior to his death.
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine wrote "In My Darkest Hour" after finding out Cliff died.
In 2006, a memorial stone was unveiled in Sweden near the scene of the fatal crash. The lyrics "...cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home" from "To Live Is to Die" are written on Burton's memorial stone. On April 4, 2009, Burton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Metallica bandmates James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett. Subsequent bassists Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo were inducted as well. During the ceremony, the induction was accepted by his father Ray Burton, who shared the stage with the band and said that Cliff's mother was Metallica's biggest fan.
Fun Fact About Cliff Burton 🎸: Cliff famously hated trends and wore blue bell bottom jeans, denim jacket, a Misfits shirt, a band Cliff loved alongside other bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, he also wore brown trainers, skull rings, had a Misfits tattoo to show his love for the punk band, members of Metallica said he had a large you-know-what and he was described as a warm, down-to-earth and an independent person and he absolutely will be missed. Cliff Burton played on the first three Metallica albums, alongside some demos. He played on the first three Metallica albums "Kill 'Em All" (1983), "Ride The Lightning" (1984) (which is my favourite Metallica album, I know I already said that but I wanted to say it again!), and "Master Of Puppets" (1986) (the band's landmark album and widely considered their masterpiece). His bass playing on masterpieces like "Anaesthesia - (Pulling Teeth)", "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "The Call Of Ktulu", "Orion", and solidified Burton as a legendary bassist in the metal world. Cliff Burton still inspires many young fans to pick up a bass guitar as millions (including me) look up to him as he treated his bass like a lead instrument rather than just keeping the low-end heavy and demanded to be heard.
Out of these three albums, "Kill 'Em All" (1983), "Ride The Lightning" (1984) and "Master Of Puppets" (1986), what is your favourite song since they feature Cliff Burton? Mine is "Fight Fire With Fire"! That riff is so fast and the solo is insane, not to mention the bass line under it keeps it heavy, and I can hear it at times. Rock In Peace Clifford Lee Burton, gone, but never forgotten. "Cannot the king of salvation take me home?" 🕊️🎸🤘🏻⚡️🔔
1 month ago | [YT] | 2
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Toby Wait
I know I’m like a week late but happy 1st birthday to Lorna Shore's album, "I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me"! This album was only released a year ago on the 12th of September 2025 and features amazing symphonic blackened deathcore songs like "Prisons Of Flesh", "Oblivion" and "Glenwood".
The album features multiple hits such as "Oblivion", "Unbreakable", "Glenwood", "Prison Of Flesh" and "In Darkness" and has a few long songs like Oblivion being 8 minutes, Prison Of Flesh" and "Death Can Take Me" being 7 minutes and Forevermore being a 9 minute and 47 second epic. The rest of the songs are either 4, 5, or six minutes. Lorna Shore did an absolutely fantastic job with this album and was easily one of my favourite records of 2025! I didn't enjoy the band's style of music, but now in 2026 I gave it another chance like in early to mid 2026 and I absolutely love it. "War Machine" has become my favourite song on the album, because of its aggressive sound and awesome breakdown, even though basically all of them are aggressive and have breakdowns, "War Machine" stood out to me.
The band recorded the 10-song album at producer Josh Schroeder's studio, Random Awesome Recordings which is located in Midland, Michigan. The breakdowns are brutal, and vocalist Will Ramos solidified his place in the metal world as a force of nature.
What is your favourite song off this album? Mine is "War Machine"! The album's tracklist is:
Prison Of Flesh
Oblivion
In Darkness
Unbreakable
Glenwood
Lionheart
Death Can Take Me
War Machine
A Nameless Hymn
Forevermore
Let me know your favourite song (if you want). Thank you, @LornaShore for this incredible album! (I felt like writing thank you at the end because I’m feeling good rn as in I’m chilling)
1 month ago | [YT] | 0
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Toby Wait
I’m like nearly a month late but happy 25th anniversary of System Of A Down's album "Toxicity". This 2001 masterpiece was released on September 4th, 2001 by System Of A Down (SOAD).
The album features multiple hits that were played on radio such as "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", "Aerials" and "Prison Song". The lineup at the time, were Serj Tankian (Vocals), Darron Malakian (Guitar), Shavo Odadjian (Bass) and John Dolmayan (Drums).
On the 3rd of September 2001, System Of A Down were about to release their landmark album "Toxicity" (released just a day later), they were going to do a free, outdoor promotional concert at a parking lot on Schrader Boulevard, California, to thank local fans, ahead of their second album. The band only expected a few thousand people to show up however that was absolutely not the case as an overwhelming amount of people of 15'000 people showed up. The venue had a legal capacity of about 3'500 to 5'000 people. Between 10'000 and 15'000 eager fans showed up on Labor Day, completely packing the surrounding streets and overwhelming safety limits and the venue could not handle this many people so System Of A Down were forced to cancel the show. At first, System Of A Down initially refused to cancel and offered to tell the fans the show was cancelled, however local authorities and the fire marshal told them they were not allowed to do that as they would be arrested. Local authorities and the fire marshal cancelled the performance before the band could take the stage to prevent a crowd crush. The fans waited over an hour with no clear communication, security crew members started taking down the band's stage banner. The fans were furious about the removal and cancellation, the large crowd rushed the stage, destroyed $30'000 worth of sound and equipment and threw objects at police. The next day on September 4th, 2001, System Of A Down dropped "Toxicity" and it became a massive success.
In 2001, leaked audio of System Of A Down's music leaked online which eventually became known as "Toxicity II". The band was disappointed that fans were hearing low-quality versions of their music, so they went back into the studio and polished the songs and turned it into "Steal This Album!" which released the following year in 2002.
To this day, "Toxicity" is known as one of metal's biggest masterpieces ever released, and pushed System Of A Down into the mainstream. The album's tracklist is:
Prison Song
Needles
Deer Dance
Jet Pilot
X
Chop Suey!
Bounce
Forest
ATWA
Science
Shimmy
Toxicity
Psycho
Aerials
Johnny (a song to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album)
What is your favourite? Mine is "Aerials"!
1 month ago | [YT] | 0
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Toby Wait
I know i'm late but happy birthday to my favourite album of all time and Five Finger Death Punch's most commercially successful and popular album "Got Your Six" which turns 11 this year! 🤘🏻5️⃣🖐🏻☠️👊🏻🤘🏻
Released on September 4th, 2015, Got Your Six became a highly popular metal album in the 2010s, debuting at number 2 on the billboard 200, and becoming what is known to be Five Finger Death Death Punch's highest selling, biggest, best and most popular album in the band's history.
With hits such as "Jekyll And Hyde", "Wash It All Away", "I Apologise", "My Nemesis" and the title track, "Got Your Six", the album became an absolute powerhouse in modern metal. It became extremely successful and the band's biggest album. The album was produced by the band's producer Kevin Churko, who mixed the album incredibly well. Now, in 2026, Got Your Six still continued to be played by metalheads. Love them or hate them, Five Finger Death Punch are a massive force in the modern metal community. Still continuing to sell out stadiums all across the world.
The album's tracklist is:
Got Your Six
Jekyll And Hyde
Wash It All Away
Ain't My Last Dance
My Nemesis
No Sudden Movement
Question Everything
Diggin' My Own Grave
Meet My Maker
Boots And Blood
You're Not My Kind
This Is My War
I Apologise
What Is your favourite song? My favourite song from this incredible album is Got Your Six! It is also my favourite song by the band.
1 month ago | [YT] | 0
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Toby Wait
I know I’m late but happy birthday to the highly technical and progressive thrash metal masterpiece of an album "…And Justice For All" released 38 years ago!
Songs like "One", "Blackened", "Harvester Of Sorrow", "Dyers Eve", "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" and the long, technical masterpiece title track, made the album one of the most iconic thrash metal albums ever recorded.
Fuelled by the tragic loss of former bassist Cliff Burton, Metallica channeled their rage into progressive, technical thrash metal. Their song "One", an anti-war ballad known for the battleground sound effects and the iconic four note guitar intro before slowly getting more heavy, before detonating into the legendary machine gun breakdown, drummer Lars Ulrich’s snare hits and Kirk Hammett's chaotic but controlled guitar solo featuring guitar tapping, became the bands first ever music videos, with them getting backlash for “selling out”. Despite this, the video became a hit in MTV and Metallica was nominated for a Grammy when the mainstream was finally recognising hard rock and heavy metal, but by the time the 1989 Grammy Awards rolled around, the winner was Jethro Tull, a progressive rock group with flutes.
The album's cover features the symbol of justice Lady Justice herself, cracking, being held down with ropes and holding a sword and scales to mimic the broken justice system. The album features a dry mix, with drummer Lars Ulrich's drums mixed very loud and clicky and James Hetfield's rhythm guitars multi-tracked rhythm guitars mixed dry and cold. After Burton's death in 1986 via tour bus crash while touring with Metallica in Europe in support for the band's legendary 1986 landmark album "Master Of Puppets", the tour bus crashed, killing Burton. Bassist Jason Newsted was brought in to be the band's new bassist and finish the Damage Inc. tour. In the "…And Justice For All" album mix Jason laid down incredible bass tracks but in the final mix they are almost completely inaudible. Revealed by mixer Steve Thompson, Lars came into the mixing room and said "See the bass guitar?" Steve: Yeah, it’s incredible." Lars: Turn the bass down until you can barely hear it." When Thompson did it Ulrich looked at him and said "now drop it another 5 dB." Steve: I looked at James and was like "is this guy serious?" But James nodded and said "Yeah, do what he says." Steve admitted he wanted to quit on the spot because he knew it was a terrible idea but Lara was too stubborn and wanted to make the drums louder than the Kraktoa eruption of 1883.
The album is extremely complex packed with odd time signatures, changing and stop start riffs and long, intricate structures. While most and casual people know about "One" real fans know about the masterpieces of "Blackened", "Harvester Of Sorrow", the title track, "…And Justice For All", "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity, "To Live Is To Die", which is Cliff burtons tribute and includes an acoustic guitar riff which Burton wrote, "The Shortest Straw" and "Eye Of The Beholder".
The album's tracklist is
Blackened
…And Justice For All
Eye Of The Begolder
One
The Shortest Straw
Harvester Of Sorrow
The Frayed Ends Of Sanity
To Live Is To Die
Dyers Eve
Which is your favourite? Mine is "Harvester Of Sorrow"! Let me know.
1 month ago | [YT] | 0
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Toby Wait
#OnThisDay 9/11 also known as the September 11 attacks happened and changed the world 25 years ago. Even though I’m not American, I feel I should still make this post and respect to those fallen. 2'977 people died in the attacks not including the 19 hijackers. When including them it comes to 2'996.
On September 11th, 2001, an American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked and flown into the north tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City at 8:46AM. The second plane United Airlines 175 was hijacked and flown into the south tower of the World Trade Centre at 9:03AM. The third plane American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., at 9:37PM. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksfield, Pennsylvania, at 10:03AM, after passengers bravely fought back against the hijackers preventing it from hitting its intended target in Washington, D.C. 441 first responders also died in the brutal attacks. Truly rest in peace to everyone that lost their life in this tragic accident, sending my condolences to the families of everyone that lost their lives. 🕊️
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Toby Wait
AfterLife was released #OnThisDay 4 years ago! Originally released on the 19th of August 2022, the album gave us the first Five Finger Death Punch album with guitar virtuoso Andy James on lead guitar after the departure of former lead guitarist Jason Hook who left in 2020. The album is also one of my favourite albums forever.
Songs like "Welcome To The Circus", "AfterLife", "Times Like These", "Roll Dem Bones", "Judgment Day" and "IOU", the album performed well commercially, hitting number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart with the title track and Andy's guitar work. At the time, the lineup was Ivan Moody (Vocals), Zoltan Bathory (Rhythm Guitar), Andy James (Lead Guitar), Charlie Engen (Drums) and Chris Kael (Bass/Backing Vocals) and this lineup still remains today.
The album was produced by Kevin Churko, the bands longtime producer and collaborator, it is the band's 9th and final studio album produced by Churko.
The album's tracklist is:
Welcome To The Circus
AfterLife
Times Like These
Roll Dem Bones
Pick Up Behind You
Judgement Day
IOU
Thanks For Asking
Blood And Tar
All I Know
Gold Gutter
The End
What’s your favourite song? Mine is "AfterLife"!
2 months ago | [YT] | 0
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Toby Wait
3 days and 41 years ago, @pantera released "I Am The Night"!
Released on August 16th, 1985, this was the band's third studio album when at the time they were a glam metal band (also called hair metal). While not successful (they were only successful in the local Texas hair metal scene and independently), the album is a far cry for what hey would become in the 90s with their legendary groove metal sound. At the time, the bands lineup was Terry Glaze (Vocals, credited as Terrence Lee), "Diamond" Darrell Lance Abbott (better known as Diamond Darrell and eventually Dimebag Darrell, Rhythm/Lead Guitar), Rex Rocker (later known as Rex Brown, Bassist) and Vinnie Paul (Drums).
What is your favourite song if you have one? Let me know in the comments! I still have to listen to it here on YouTube and I’ll edit this post and let you know!
2 months ago | [YT] | 1
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