Which Metallica album was the last to feature Cliff Burton?

Master of Puppets was the last Metallica album to feature bassist Cliff Burton. Released on March 3, 1986, it was the band’s third studio album and Burton’s final completed recording with Metallica.

Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen during late 1985, the album expanded Metallica’s thrash-metal sound with longer compositions, complex arrangements, and prominent bass work. Burton’s influence is especially noticeable in the instrumental “Orion,” which includes a melodic bass section and became one of his signature compositions.

Burton died on September 27, 1986, in a tour-bus accident near Dörarp, Sweden, while Metallica were touring in support of the album. Because he died after the album had been recorded and released, Master of Puppets remains his final official Metallica studio album.

A common mix-up is ...And Justice for All, Metallica’s next studio album, released in 1988. Burton received a posthumous writing credit for “To Live Is to Die,” but he did not perform on that album; Jason Newsted played bass during its recording.