Ash Cloud Grounds METALLICA Tour But Show Goes On

April 21, 2010

Liudas Dapkus of ABC News reports that METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told reporters in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the band was giving its second concert Wednesday, that METALLICA traveled 28 hours to get from Oslo to the Latvian capital of Riga — a trip that normally takes just over two hours by plane.

"I just could not relax, thinking, 'Wow, those buses have changed a lot since we traveled.' They are so much more comfortable. You see, we did not use this means of transportation for more than two decades since the tragedy," Hammett told reporters.

In September 1986, during a European tour, bassist Cliff Burton was killed when the band's bus skidded out of control and flipped several times near Dorarp, Sweden.

"When we boarded the bus again this week and had to travel overnight, I realized that those bad memories are still here. I still haven't overcome the fear of buses. But the show must go on," Hammett said.

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