Old friends and bandmates of Cliff Burton have looked back at the late Metallica bassist’s prodigious talent in conversation with Metal Hammer.
Talking exclusively in our latest issue, Mike Overton – the guitarist in Burton’s first professional band, Trauma – remembers the Castro Valley, California native as his “stage buddy”. However, he reveals that Burton’s chops caused some friction between them in the early days, given the bassist had studied classical music and music theory at Chabot College.
“We actually battled a little bit in the beginning because he was playing way too much stuff, and I was just confused,” he laughs. “Cliff was all over the place, but it fit. I really had to learn a little bit in those few months we were playing and practising.”
He also looks back on the time Trauma, who featured future Faith No More member Jim Martin, entered a local battle of the bands and baffled the judges.
“The looks on the judges’ faces when they came out playing were just, like, shock and awe,” Overton explains with a laugh. “Most of us were going, ‘Man, that stuff sounds great. It’s so progressive and out of the box.’ But the judges were looking for the next Journey.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Brian Slagel – the founder of Metal Blade Records, who released Metallica’s first song Hit The Lights in 1982 – recalls watching Burton play with Trauma at a Los Angeles concert.
“Within 30 seconds I realised that the band was OK but this bass player they had was just incredible,” he says. “You know, he was Cliff Burton. He was in the denim with the big, wavy hair and the bass and going crazy onstage. I spent the whole show staring at him pretty much.”
Burton’s virtuoso style and stage presence led to Metallica poaching him from Trauma barely a year after he joined the fledgling band. Despite losing such a gifted player, Overton says he wasn’t upset over Burton jumping ship.
“The other guys in Trauma were getting more into the lighter stuff, so I wasn’t upset,” he says. “In fact, the first show Metallica did with Cliff, he put me on the guest list, and I’m sitting there going, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I was blown away with the raw power. I missed my stage buddy but I think it’s clear he made the right decision.”
After joining Metallica and getting the rising thrashers to relocate from L.A. to San Francisco for a more fertile alternative music scene, Burton played on three of their albums: Kill ’Em All (1983), Ride The Lightning (1984) and Master Of Puppets (1986). His classically trained talents came across through the bass solos on such tracks as Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) and For Whom The Bell Tolls, as well as the neoclassical songwriting on Puppets’ title track.
Burton died on September 27, 1986, after Metallica’s tour bus crashed and flipped onto its side on tour in Sweden. He was 24. A memorial still exists near the crash site outside the town of Ljungby and is regularly visited by fans. The band paid tribute on 1988 album …And Justice For All, including a line on the song To Live Is To Die which Burton had adapted from a Paul Gerhardt poem.
Metallica hired Jason Newsted in November 1986 and continued to tour and record, affirming themselves as the biggest band in heavy metal with 1991’s Diamond-selling Metallica. Newsted departed in 2001 and was replaced by current bassist Robert Trujillo. The band are currently hosting a residency at Las Vegas’ multimedia venue The Sphere and will take the stage again tonight (October 22).
Raed Hammer’s full celebration of Burton’s life and legacy in the new issue. As well as his early years, we explore his time in Metallica and the impact he made on future generations of musicians. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.
This track bursts forth with an infectious energy that propels listeners into a wild state. Right from the opening notes, it embodies a relentless rhythm reminiscent of the punk era. The raw energy draws from the iconic sounds of bands like the Sex Pistols, with a nod to the Clash and even the Ramones.
The track serves as an introduction to a brand of punk rock that takes the listener back to a vivid time in 1976. In that year, youth was alive with passion, and society was ripe for change. The atmosphere was charged with a spirit of rebellion, which this single captures beautifully. The sheer force of the music echoes that youthful exuberance, resonating with anyone who remembers the urgency of those days or who yearns for a world alive with possibility.
The lyrics demonstrate a clever blend of nostalgia and intensity. They evoke memories of youthful recklessness while simultaneously filling listeners with an invigorating sense of empowerment. Each line resonates as if it is a direct reflection of the feelings from that era, making it a heartfelt homage to a significant time in music history. Even though some elements of artificial intelligence may have been employed in crafting this single, it still manages to maintain a natural and intense sound.
Seventy Six – Sound and Atmosphere
One standout aspect of this track is its ability to balance nostalgia with energy. It transports listeners to a time where life surged with enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. The music compels you to move, making it impossible to remain still. It captures the essence of being young, wild, and fierce without losing the authenticity that punk music is known for.
Cobalt Razor’s “Seventy Six” digs deep into the cultural significance of the punk movement. The echoes of past anthems manifest in a powerful resurgence of sound that feels alive and current. The intent behind the lyrics shines through, making the song relatable to audiences of all ages.
Seventy Six – Performance and Production
The instrumentation is sharp and aggressive, with quick transitions that keep the listener on the edge. It’s not merely about the nostalgia; it’s about harnessing that raw power to create something electrifying and inviting.
Listeners who venture into this single will find themselves uplifted, energized, and, perhaps most importantly, reminded of the vitality of youth. The track sparks memories while simultaneously igniting the desire for more. It encourages listeners to get lost in the music and let go of all inhibitions.
This song is not just about the past but also about the potential for the present and future. It is a rallying cry for anyone who desires to embrace freedom and vibrancy in their lives.
Imbued with electricity, this single resonates powerfully, transcending time and space. It stands tall amongst its punk predecessors while making its mark in the present era. Cobalt Razor has delivered a strong message with their engaging energy.
(written by Islander) Today we gladly reunite with the music of the Polish “Subcarpathian Black Metal” band Kalt Vindur. We’ve been writing about and recommending their music since discovering their second album …And Nothing Is Endless in 2020. They followed that with a quartet of singles in 2023 and then their third album Magna Mater […]
Pulled Apart By Horses have announced the details of their new album, set to be released on their own label Damage Limited Records.
The record will be titled ‘Dopamine Hits’ and will be unleashed on February 12.
The artwork is ace and looks like this:
And the tracklisting like this:
1. Great White Lies 2. Get It Together 3. Dr. Ego 4. Beta-Male 5. Weirdo / Little Fish 6. Streamlined & Moisturised 7. Ride Or Die 8. Main Character 9. Pass No Judgment 10. Stress Manifest 11. Testify. Obsolete 12. Kreep It Real
You can also hear opening track ‘Great White Lies’ right now, a groove-riddled, gritty and grinding piece of psychedelic noise.
Vocalist Tom Hudson had this to say about it:
“This track came as a bit of a ‘lightbulb moment’ for us early on in the writing stages and ended up being a blueprint sonically, opening up the creative floodgates for the rest of the album. Initially, it was just a loop of the bassline & drums which we then jammed over with abrasive, push-and-pull fuzzed up guitar lines.”
Metal Breakdown Daily is one page, every weekday: the episode on the player below and the three stories in print, so you can listen, read, or both. Today it leads with Sharon Osbourne on Ozzy’s doctors: before Back To The Beginning, they told the family the show “would kill him,” Ozzy answered “I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way,” and Sharon never told Black Sabbath or her own children how sick he was.
Then Godsmack, where Sully Erna has confirmed new music in 2027 three years after calling Lighting Up The Sky the band’s last album, with a Dream Theater drummer now in the lineup. And Obituary, who are bringing Xecutioner’s Return and Darkest Day back into print, remastered, with a tribute to the two late bandmates who played on them.
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Scott Penfold opens today’s Metal Breakdown Daily with Sharon Osbourne’s account of the decision she made alone, then Sully Erna’s “I owe another record” and the Obituary reissues, and takes a side on whether Sharon was right not to tell Sabbath. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and stream the show now.
Sharon Osbourne: Doctors Said Back To The Beginning Would Kill Ozzy
Sharon Osbourne told Rolling Stone that Ozzy’s doctors in England advised against the July 5, 2025 Villa Park farewell show, saying “it would kill him,” and that Ozzy overruled them: “I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way. This is what I want.”
“They advised us not to do the show,” Sharon said. “They said it would kill him.” Ozzy’s response: “It’s not an option. It’s what I want.” Sharon: “It was his wishes and we went through with it.” He sang at Villa Park from his throne on July 5, closing with the songs that defined his solo career, and died on July 22, seventeen days later.
At a London screening of the concert film on October 20, in a Q&A with Phil Alexander, she went further. “The guys didn’t know how sick Ozzy was,” she said of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. “I mean, even my kids. We never told my kids. So nobody knew how sick he was.” Ozzy, she said, went into the show “just praying that his lungs would work and that he could sing.”
What followed, by her account, was the happiest he’d been in years. “He was so happy. Until the day he passed, he was still on that high. It was just joyous for us to see him that way, because we hadn’t seen him that way in years.” Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning opens in theaters worldwide on October 28. Whether Sharon was right to carry that alone is The Take.
Godsmack Are Making Another Record After All
Sully Erna confirmed on The Mistress Carrie Podcast that new Godsmack music “is gonna happen at some point next year,” reversing his 2023 statement that Lighting Up The Sky would be the band’s final album, and explained it bluntly: “I’m under contract, and I owe another record anyways.”
The 2023 message, Erna now says, was misread. “I think there was a misunderstanding from the beginning.” What he meant was that it was “probably the last time you’re ever gonna hear anything new from the original lineup,” and that lineup no longer exists. Drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola retired from touring at the end of 2024. Sam Koltun took the guitar chair.
Wade Murff played a dozen-plus shows on drums from Welcome To Rockville in May to Houston on May 30, then left abruptly; Mike Mangini, thirteen years in Dream Theater, made his debut on June 12 in Riverside, Missouri. “We needed him,” Erna said, “because it’s so hard to replace someone like Shannon.” Robbie Merrill remains on bass.
Beyond the contract, Erna is curious. “I wanna do a record with these guys, ’cause I’m curious to see where it goes.” He also acknowledged the risk in his own words: change the dynamics in a band and “the whole sound can change drastically.” No title, format, label detail or date beyond 2027 was given.
“I owe a record” is the least romantic reason any band has offered for making one, and the most honest thing Godsmack have said in a while. The variable worth watching is Mangini: a Dream Theater drummer on a Godsmack record either changes nothing, because Erna writes everything, or changes a great deal, because for the first time he has a player who might push back on an arrangement.
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Obituary Reissue Xecutioner’s Return And Darkest Day
Obituary’s Xecutioner’s Return (2007) and Darkest Day (2009) are being reissued, newly remastered, through Relapse Records on LP, double LP, CD, cassette and digital; the digital versions are out now and physical editions arrive in December.
Both albums were originally released on Candlelight and have been out of print for years. Darkest Day adds two bonus tracks from the Left To Die EP: the 2008 re-recording of “Slowly We Rot” and a cover of Celtic Frost’s “Dethroned Emperor.” These are the records from the lineup with Frank Watkins on bass and Ralph Santolla on lead guitar, and the band’s statement is as much about them as the music. Obituary say they’re “super excited” to have the albums available again, single out Santolla’s solos from his time in the band, and close with a tribute to “both our brothers.” Watkins died in October 2015; Santolla in June 2018.
It caps a strange, good year for one of the founding bands of Florida death metal: a New York show with Acid Bath and Thou, their own summer headline run, and in September a last-minute slot replacing a dropped act on the Turnstile tour, which put a band formed in 1984 in front of the biggest hardcore audience in America. John Tardy is 58 and sounds exactly as he did on Slowly We Rot. If you know Obituary only from the first three albums, Xecutioner’s Return is the one to buy: the best record of their second act, and Santolla is the reason. Pre-orders are at relapse.com.
The Take: Sharon Osbourne Was Right Not To Tell Them
A dying man chose how to spend the end, and the person who loved him longest made sure nobody could take the choice away. That is not a cover-up; it’s the hardest kind of love there is.
“If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way.” That sentence is not a decision anyone else gets a vote on. Not the doctors, not the band, not the children, not the audience. Ozzy Osbourne spent most of his adult life being managed, medicated, scheduled and protected, a great deal of it by Sharon. Back To The Beginning was the one decision that was entirely his, and she let him have it.
The counter-argument is serious and it’s the band. Iommi, Butler and Ward stood on a stage for a show that could have killed their friend in front of forty-odd thousand people, and they didn’t know. They can argue they had a right to; so can the kids. Had Ozzy died at Villa Park, Sharon would have been the one who knew, and this week’s coverage would read very differently.
But consider what telling them would have done. Tony Iommi learns the show might kill Ozzy and either plays anyway, carrying that, or refuses and takes from Ozzy the thing he asked for.
Sharon didn’t keep the secret to protect herself. She kept it so the people Ozzy loved could stand beside him without it in their heads, and so that if it went wrong, only she would have to live with having known. She says he was happy until the day he died. That’s the outcome. The rest is what it cost her. The unreleased songs Andrew Watt says they made together suggest Ozzy was still planning, right up to the end, which is its own answer to the question of whether he wanted to be protected from it.
TL;DR
Sharon Osbourne says Ozzy’s doctors warned that Back To The Beginning “would kill him”; Ozzy insisted (“I know I’m dying… I want to go this way”), and Sharon told neither Black Sabbath nor her children how sick he was. Ozzy died seventeen days after the show. The film opens worldwide October 28.
Sully Erna confirmed new Godsmack music in 2027, reversing his 2023 “last album” statement: “I’m under contract, and I owe another record anyways.” The lineup is now Erna, Robbie Merrill, Sam Koltun and former Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini.
Obituary’s Xecutioner’s Return (2007) and Darkest Day (2009) are reissued, remastered, via Relapse: digital now, physical in December, with two Left To Die bonus tracks on Darkest Day and a tribute to the late Frank Watkins and Ralph Santolla.
The Take: Sharon was right. The choice was Ozzy’s, and keeping it from the band spared them a burden rather than hiding one from them.
FAQ
Did doctors warn Ozzy Osbourne not to play Back To The Beginning?
Yes, according to Sharon Osbourne. She told Rolling Stone that Ozzy’s doctors in England “advised us not to do the show” and “said it would kill him.” Ozzy refused to cancel, telling her “I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way.” He performed at Villa Park on July 5, 2025 and died on July 22.
Did Black Sabbath know how sick Ozzy was at Back To The Beginning?
No, per Sharon Osbourne. Speaking at a London screening of the concert film on October 20, 2026, she said “the guys didn’t know how sick Ozzy was,” referring to Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, and added that she and Ozzy had not told their own children either: “nobody knew how sick he was.”
When is the Back To The Beginning movie out?
Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning, the concert film of the July 5, 2025 farewell show at Villa Park in Birmingham, opens in theaters worldwide on October 28, 2026. The show raised an estimated six to seven million pounds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorns Children’s Hospice and Cure Parkinson’s.
Is Godsmack making a new album?
Yes. Sully Erna said on The Mistress Carrie Podcast that new Godsmack music “is gonna happen at some point next year,” meaning 2027, adding “I’m under contract, and I owe another record anyways.” He said his 2023 description of Lighting Up The Sky as the last album meant the last from the original lineup; drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola retired from touring in late 2024. No title, format or release date has been announced.
When are the Obituary reissues out?
The remastered editions of Xecutioner’s Return (2007) and Darkest Day (2009) are available digitally now through Relapse Records, with LP, double LP, CD and cassette editions due in December 2026. Darkest Day includes two bonus tracks from the Left To Die EP: the 2008 version of “Slowly We Rot” and a cover of Celtic Frost’s “Dethroned Emperor.” Pre-orders are at relapse.com.
Metal Breakdown Daily is Loaded Radio’s weekday hard rock and metal news show: three stories, one opinion, a new episode every weekday on the free Loaded Radio app for Apple iOS and Google Play. Follow Loaded Radio for the full stories behind every episode.
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