Cliff 'Em All (1987)

Genre: Musical

Starring: Cliff Burton, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett

Running time: 86 minutes

On September 26, 1986, Metallica’s first bassist, Cliff Burton, died in a tour bus accident while on tour with the band in Europe. He was only 24. Cliff ‘Em All, an adaptation of Metallica’s first album title Kill ‘Em All, is a compilation of video footage that was released the following year as a tribute to the deceased.

On Cliff ‘Em All, we see a lot of bootleg concert footage shot by fans. So, the image quality is not always optimal, but the sound is usually still pretty good. There is also so professionally-shot material, some TV spots and a lot of good music.

In 1986, Metallica was young and filled with raw energy, and that is what we see on screen here. Cliff Burton was a master of the bass guitar and it is great that his brief passage on this earth can be documented in such a way. It was also a nice to touch to see Dave Mustaine perform with Metallica before being ousted. This is well worth a watch.

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