Cliff Burton Memorial Stone

In the early morning hours of September 27, 1986, a tour bus carrying members of the band Metallica slid off the road in the small village of Dörarp, Sweden. Band member Cliff Burton, a talented bass guitarist and songwriter, was asleep in one of the bunks when the force of the collision threw him through the window of the bus, which then fell on him. He was just 24 years old. No one else was killed or seriously injured in the crash.

Burton’s tragic death was a shock to fans and fellow musicians around the world. The band had released its third album, Master of Puppets, in March 1986, to tremendous success. His talent remains undisputed to this day, with Rolling Stone magazine readers voting him one of the top 10 bassists of all time in 2011. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, along with other members of Metallica.

Today, many of his fans young and old dream of making the pilgrimage to the memorial stone erected near the site of the crash in 2006 thanks to the efforts of Metallica fans in Sweden. Those who do make the pilgrimage share a drink, leave an offering, or just admire the dedication and talent of a rock legend who died too soon.

On the stone are the words, “Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home,” lyrics from the Metallica song,”To Live Is to Die,” written as a tribute to Burton. In fact, Burton himself helped to compose the song, since the music includes riffs he had written but the band had not previously used, and the title was a phrase he had liked.