Joel McIver - 'To Live Is To Die: The Life & Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton'

One of the great unanswerable questions in metal is what direction Metallica’s sound and career would have taken if bassist Cliff Burton hadn’t been tragically killed in a bus accident in 1986. They’ve gone on to be the most successful heavy metal band in history, and one of the most popular artists in any genre, but their first three albums with Burton are still considered their best.

Joel McIver, who wrote the Metallica biography Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica a few years ago, has written a bio focusing on Cliff Burton. To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica’s Cliff Burton shines the spotlight on his too brief life and musical career.

There wasn’t a huge amount of source material from Burton, since Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield did most of Metallica’s press. Burton did some interviews, but only a fraction of what Ulrich and Hetfield did. McIver also utilizes interviews with Burton’s bandmates, friends and associates to portray the man and the musician.

There are a couple of major takeaways from To Live Is To Die. One is Burton’s musical virtuosity. He did things on bass that were revolutionary in metal, and influenced countless musicians that followed. He also helped shape Metallica’s songwriting to make it more sophisticated, an impact that continues to this day. The book delves into some of the technical aspects of music and playing bass, but McIver makes it understandable for the average music fan.

The other big takeaway from the book is how good of a guy Burton was. Dying young tends to romanticize and exaggerate certain traits, but even in interviews from when he was still alive, his character and even keel were evident. He seemed to be one that kept a good perspective even as Metallica were becoming extremely popular. Of course the band’s biggest success was yet to come, but no one saw Burton becoming a spoiled rock star.

McIver himself didn’t interview Burton’s dad for the book, but he was able to use interviews of both parents (his mom passed away in 2003) done by a friend of Burton’s not long after his death. Among those interviewed was Corinne Lynn, Burton’s girlfriend at the time of his death and several friends from Burton’s formative years. Kirk Hammett was also interviewed specifically for To Live Is To Die, and he wrote the forward to the book. McIver used his previous interviews with other band members as source material.

To Live Is To Die is a book Metallica fans will definitely want to read. It provides some real insight into the life of Cliff Burton, and the effect of his death on those he left behind.

(published June 2009 by Jawbone Press)