Cliff Burton's shredding fingerstyle bass solo (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth, from Metallica's 1983 debut album, Kill 'Em All, stamped his identity firmly on the emerging thrash metal movement. Heavy metal bass was not known for being particularly inventive before he came to prominence, but right from the off, Burton was unstoppable.
He recorded parts that metal bassists still learn today as a part of their basic training. Anesthesia, with its famous classical motifs derived from J.S. Bach and a hugely overdriven tone, was just the first of these.
