^{Cliff Burton}
February 10th, 1962 - September 27, 1986

As any Metallica fan should know, Cliff was more than a bass player, he was the attitude; the power; the relentless-thundering force that helped shape Metallica into the pioneering music icon it is today.  From "Anesthesia" to "Sanitarium" and anything else Cliff plugged into, the presence of this master cannot be ignored.  The tragedy that took him from us happened on September 27th, 1986 when one of the tour busses that carried Metallica through the European leg of their "Master Of Puppets" tour hit a patch of black ice, flipped on its side, and careened into a ditch.  Everyone made it out relatively unharmed except for Cliff, who was somehow fatally crushed beneath the tour bus.  Cliff Burton died at the age of 24, just as stardom touched his life.  It is certainly a loss that can't be compensated for, but it's this loss that gives this man immortality as a "Legend".