On Sept. 26, 1986, Metallica unknowingly played their final concert with Cliff Burton, which featured a 17-song set with two encores.
Tragically, the 24-year-old bass player died the very next day in a bus accident in Sweden during Metallica’s Damage Inc. tour. The run was in support of Master of Puppets, the thrash pioneer’s third album and first on major label Elektra.
Earlier that year, Metallica had supported Ozzy Osbourne, who had just released The Ultimate Sin, throughout North America. Later that summer, James Hetfield broke his wrist mid-tour, leading to guitar tech Jim Marshall filling in for him until this Sept. 26 gig in Stockholm.
Papa Het’s first show back on guitar since sustaining the injury happened to be Burton’s last, making for a unique footnote in Metallica’s history.
The band opened with “Battery,” an intense kickoff as Metallica positioned themselves for world domination. Their first encore featured four songs and that apparently wasn’t enough for the fans in Stockholm as the thrash icons came back out and played another two songs, ending with “Fight Fire With Fire.”
See the full setlist and listen to audio from the entire show further down the page.
READ MORE: The Last Song Performed by Rockers Who Died Too Soon
Scott Ian Recalls News of Cliff Burton’s Death
Joining Metallica on the European run of the Damage Inc. Tour were Anthrax, who departed the Stockholm show early. The band had elected to get on the road to their next destinations, Lars Ulrich’s hometown of Copenhagen in Denmark, due to icy conditions.
Those same icy conditions are what led to Metallica’s tour bus accident and Burton’s subsequent death.
After the surviving members of Metallica met up with Anthrax when finally reaching Copenhagen, Scott Ian describes the next events in, I’m the Man, his autobiography co-authored with Jon Wiederhorn.
Ian describes Hetfield and Kirk Hammett as being heavily inebriated. Kirk was “stable,” he recalls, adding that Hetfield was given sedatives at the hospital “because he was freaking out.” The frontman, however, continued to drink heavily through the night, grappling with the sudden loss.
“James suddenly started crying and screaming, ‘Cliff!!! Cliff!!’ Then he became destructive,” Ian adds, “He kicked over lamps and threw bottles of booze. Frankie and Charlie looked at each other and without saying a word, mutually decided to get James outside before the hotel had him arrested.”
Ian further details, “I stayed inside with Kirk. We could hear James down the street screaming Cliff’s name over and over. I was completely heartsick.”
Metallica Live in Stockholm, Sweden — Sept. 26, 1986 (audio only)
Metallica Setlist — Sept. 26, 1986 (Last Show With Cliff Burton)
01. “Battery”02. “Master of Puppets”03. “For Whom the Bell Tolls”04. “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”05. “Ride the Lightning”06. “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth” (preceded by The Star-Spangled Banner jam)07. “Whiplash”08. “The Thing That Should Not Be”09. “Fade to Black”10. “Seek & Destroy”11. “Creeping Death”
Encore:12. “The Four Horsemen”13. Guitar Solo14. “Am I Evil?” (Diamond Head cover) (half)15. “Damage, Inc.”
Encore 2:16. “Blitzkrieg” (Blitzkrieg cover)17. “Fight Fire With Fire”
via setlist.fm
Metallica Albums Ranked
See how Metallica’s albums stack up from worst to best.
Gallery Credit: Chad Bowar, Joe DiVita
Favorite Metallica Album of 30 Big Rock + Metal Musicians
Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Corey Taylor and others reveal which Metallica album has made a lasting impact on their careers.
Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll
