| "Orion" | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental byMetallica | |
| from the albumMaster of Puppets | |
| Released | March 3, 1986 (1986-03-03) |
| Recorded | September – December 1985 |
| Studio | Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen |
| Genre | Progressive metal[1] |
| Length | 8:27 |
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
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"Orion" is aninstrumental song by Americanthrash metal bandMetallica from their third studio album,Master of Puppets, released on March 3, 1986, byElektra Records.[2] There, the song features as track seven. "Orion" was written primarily by bassistCliff Burton. The song was named after the constellation of the same name,Orion, due to its "spacey sounding"bridge.[3]
On September 27, 1986, whiletouring in 1986 to supportMaster of Puppets, the band's tour bus crashed, killing Burton. "Orion" was played over speakers during his funeral.[4] After his death, Metallica frontmanJames Hetfield had the notes from the bridge of the song tattooed on his left arm.[4][5]
"Orion" is a multipart instrumental highlighting Burton's bass playing. A majority of the song was written by Burton, including the guitar solos.[4] It opens with a fade-in bass section, heavily processed to resemble an orchestra. It continues with mid-tempo riffing, followed by a bass riff at half-tempo. The tempo accelerates during the latter part, and ends with music fading out.[6] Burton arranged each part of the middle section, which features a moody bass line and multipart guitar harmonies.[7] "Orion" contains two solos from Burton,[8] one from Hetfield, and three from the group's lead guitarist,Kirk Hammett.[9] Burton had originally intended to play all the solos on bass, but reluctantly gave up some to the band's two guitarists.
While demoing songs forMaster of Puppets, "Orion" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" had been one song, titled "Only Thing"; between the demo sessions and the album recording sessions, the two songs were split apart.[10] However, this meant that the song had not been fully written before the band arrived to the studio in Copenhagen.[7]
"Orion" is the least-performed song from the album.[11] Its first full live performance was during theEscape from the Studio '06 tour, when the band performed the album in its entirety, honoring the 20th anniversary of its release.[12][13] The song had previously only been played as a part of medleys, jams, or in an abridged form.[12][14] On February 10, 2018, what would have been Cliff's 56th birthday, the group played the song.Lars Ulrich called the performance “a very special moment.”[15] On the first date of the band'stour in support of their 11th studio album,72 Seasons, they opened the show with a performance of "Orion".[16]
"Orion" has been widely praised by fans and critics alike.
The song has been covered by numerous different bands and artists, includingDream Theater[17] andMastodon.[18] The song was featured in the filmMetallica: Through the Never[19] as well asthe film's soundtrack.[20] Unlike the other songs from the project, "Orion" wasn't recorded live, instead recorded at a soundcheck prior to the show where the other tracks were recorded.
After the death of Cliff Burton, the song became one ofLars Ulrich's favourite Metallica songs. "Obviously, the emotional component of 'Orion' with the Cliff element... and that whole middle piece obviously is… it's beautiful and so unique, unlike anything that obviously we had ever done before or pretty much done ever since".[21]
| Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Rolling Stone | United States | Readers’ Poll: The 10 Best Metallica Songs[22] | 4 |
| 2019 | Metal Hammer | United States | The 50 best Metallica songs of all time[10] | 6 |
| 2019 | Louder Sound | United States | The 10 Best Metallica Songs Featuring Cliff Burton[23] | 2 |
| 2021 | Kerrang | United Kingdom | The 20 greatest Metallica songs – ranked[1] | 13 |
| 2023 | The A.V. Club | United States | Essential Metallica: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked[24] | 3 |
| 2023 | Entertainment Weekly | United States | The 15 best Metallica songs[25] | unranked |
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[26]
Metallica
Production
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