Bassist Cliff Burton's pre-Metallica band Trauma has just finished recording a new batch of songs at Prairie Sun recording studios in Cotati, California with Tim Gennert at the controls.

A special event for Burton was held on February 10, on what would have been Cliff's 51st birthday, at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall in San Francisco, California. For the first time in decades, Trauma actually performed never-heard-before songs written by Cliff himself. Also appearing on the bill were Hellfire and Damage Inc.

Video footage of Trauma's concert can be seen below (courtesy of Capital Chaos Tv).

Trauma's music was comparable to that of Iron Maiden and Montrose with faster tempos, which can be heard in the tracks "The Day All Hell Broke Loose" and "Lay Low" from their debut album.

Trauma drummer Kris Gustofson went on to play in numerous other bands, most notably St. Elmo'S Fire.

Trauma guitarist Michael Overton was interviewed for the 2009 book "To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton", written by U.K.-based author Joel McIver and published by Jawbone Press.

Burton, best known as a heavy metal bass player who made use of distortion and special effects, was killed in an accident on September 27, 1986 at the age of 24, four years after joining Metallica. It was Burton's early influence that helped create Metallica's unique musical style for which the band has become famous.