December will see the release of Murder In The Front Row: Shots from the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter, a retrospective which includes 400 photos chronicling the rise of San Francisco's thrash scene in the mid '80s. Brutal Existence Radio recently caught up with photographer and co-author of Murder in the Front Row Harald Oimoen, who among other things, shared some memories of late Metallica bassist and friend Cliff Burton. Cliff was like the greatest, most down-to-Earth guy ever. It's interesting to think what Metallica would sound like now, if he was still with the band. He was the most level-headed guy in the band, I think. They used to go to him, he was the tiebreaker when there was a decision to be made. If they were going to do something that was lame or stupid, he would kinda stop them from doing that. Cliff was amazing. He was brutally honest, too, if he didn't like something he let you know about it." You can check out the full interview here.
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Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.

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