Kirk Hammet Reveals Cliff Burton Used To Freak Out About Geddy Lee

You can always count Metallica as one of the biggest fans to prog-rock heroes, Rush. The band often cited the Canadian trio as their inspiration to songs “Orion” and “Master of Puppets.” Kirk Hammet revealed in a recent interview that the late Cliff Burton, Metallica’s bassist, deeply admired Rush’s, Geddy Lee.

The clip below shows Hammet answering questions for Metallica’s 40th-anniversary celebration last January at the San Francisco Elk Lodge. When the band came to Toronto to play a show during their Ride the Lightning Tour, everyone was shocked to find out that Geddy Lee was in the audience. Burton, in particular, just “freaked out.”

“He started pacing, he started smoking pot, and he was, like, ‘Oh my God! Geddy! Geddy Lee!’ He could not settle down; he was so nervous and just happy at the same time that Geddy Lee was there. And then [another occasion] Ross tells him that Geezer Butler [of Black Sabbath] is out there one night. Same thing — he starts pacing around, super nervous, grab[s] a beer.”

This is not the first time that Lee and Metallica crossed paths. It was said (and confirmed by Lee) that Geddy Lee nearly became the producer for Metallica’s seminal album Master of Puppets (1986). Unfortunately, it just never came together.

You can watch the video here.