You’ve all doubtless heard your fair share of virtuoso guitar solos. Vocals get their time in the spotlight with dependable regularity too. Fans of jazz, rock and funk will doubtless have a favourite drum solo.
But where’s the love for bass guitars?
For most of the time, brilliant bassists, possibly with the exception of reggae and funk, are consigned to a supporting role.
Cliff Burton pulled this track together by stringing several of his bass solos into one piece. The distorted harmonies of the bass ring out on their own for the first two minutes of the track, and the other half sees an accompaniment by Lars Ulrich on the drums.
The end result is fantastic, slowly building to a familiar thrash metal tempo from a more sedate start. A treat for those of us who appreciate a good low end!
You’ll find this one on Metallica’s debut album, Kill Em All (1983). Cliff Burton, tragically, died in bus crash while touring 3 years afterwards.