For bass players in the heavy metal genre, covering Metallica‘s instrumental solo “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” is often seen as the ultimate test of skill. However, for former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, his recent recording of the track was less about technical showmanship and more about paying respects to a fallen peer.
Ellefson contributed the track to the newly released compilation No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All. Speaking to “The Pipeman” about the project, Ellefson explained that he approached the recording as a comprehensive salute to the late Cliff Burton, rather than a note-for-note recreation of a single song.
Ellefson noted that every legendary bassist has a sonic fingerprint—a specific riff that defines their career.
“There’s some other riffs of Cliff that I think are very definitive,” Ellefson said in the interview (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “For me, of course it’s ‘Peace Sells‘. That’s my riff — that’s my star that was blessed upon me. [Black Sabbath‘s] Geezer [Butler] got ‘N.I.B.‘, a bunch of stuff. [Iron Maiden‘s] Steve Harris has got ‘Wrathchild‘ [off] Killers. So we all kind of have our identified signature riffs.”
While “(Anesthesia)” is the obvious choice for a solo spotlight, Ellefson argued that Burton‘s musical identity is perhaps even stronger on later tracks.
“I thought about Cliff‘s signature riffs… look, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls‘, that’s his ‘Peace Sells‘. When you hear ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls‘, that’s really his riff. The other one that I really like is ‘Orion‘. I love that.”
The connection between the two musicians dates back to the mid-1980s. Ellefson recalled a specific encounter in 1986 when he and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine were being courted by record executive Michael Alago. The pair went to see Metallica perform while they were supporting Ozzy Osbourne on the Master of Puppets tour.
“I got to chat with Cliff a little bit about some of his composing on Master Of Puppets,” Ellefson shared. “And then, of course, sadly it wasn’t but a few weeks or a couple of months later he was was gone. Cliff and I never sat down with basses in hand and sort of broed down or anything like that, but just chatting as fellow musicians…”
That brief personal history informed the emotional weight of Ellefson‘s new cover. He wanted the performance to encompass the breadth of Burton‘s influence.
“That’s why I said in the little video that I shot when I did the playthrough, I said, ‘This is my homage to Cliff.’ So, to me, I kind of tried to make it even a little bigger than just ‘(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth‘. I tried to make it really more of a salute to him as an artist, and tried to include a bunch of his music inside of that performance.”
The tribute album, No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All, is available now on vinyl, CD, and digital formats. The compilation features a diverse lineup of artists reimagining the thrash classic track by track.
No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All tracklist:
- “Hit The Lights” – Tailgunner
- “The Four Horsemen” – The Almighty
- “Motorbreath” – Soen
- “Jump In The Fire” – Tygers Of Pan Tang
- “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” – David Ellefson
- “Whiplash” – Motörhead
- “Phantom Lord” – Saxon
- “No Remorse” – Diamond Head
- “Seek & Destroy” – Testament
- “Metal Militia” – Raven
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