Orion (Metallica song)

"Orion" is an instrumental by American thrash metal band Metallica from their third studio album, Master of Puppets, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records.^[2] There the song features as track seven, and is entirely instrumental. "Orion" was written primarily by bassist Cliff Burton. The song was named after the constellation of the same name, Orion, due to its "spacey sounding" bridge.^[3]

"Orion"
Instrumental by Metallica
from the album Master 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	New Electric Way Music for Nations Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Cliff Burton James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Producer(s)	Metallica Flemming Rasmussen

On September 27, 1986, while touring in 1986 to support Master of Puppets, the band's tour bus crashed, killing Burton. "Orion" was played over speakers during his funeral.^[4] After his death, Metallica frontman James Hetfield had the notes from the bridge of the song tattooed on his left arm.^[4][5]

Background and writing

"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 for Master 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]

Live

"Orion" is the least-performed song from the album.^[11] Its first full live performance was during the Escape 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's tour in support of their 11th studio album, 72 Seasons, they opened the show with a performance of "Orion".^[16]

Reception and legacy

"Orion" has been widely praised by fans and critics alike.

The song has been covered by numerous different bands and artists, including Dream Theater^[17] and Mastodon.^[18] The song was featured in the film Metallica: Through the Never^[19] as well as the 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 of Lars 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]

Accolades

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

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[26]

Metallica

• James Hetfield – rhythm guitar, 2nd guitar solo
• Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion
• Cliff Burton – bass
• Kirk Hammett – lead guitar

Production

• Metallica – production
• Flemming Rasmussen – production, engineering
• Andy Wroblewski – assistant engineer
• Michael Wagener – mixing
• Mark Wilzcak – assistant mixing engineer
• George Marino – mastering, remastering on 1995 re-release
• Howie Weinberg – 2017 remastering
• Gentry Studer – 2017 remastering

References

1. Law, Sam (7 May 2021). "The 20 greatest Metallica songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
2. "MASTER OF PUPPETS". metallica.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
3. Sessions, Chris (11 September 2020). "Metallica's "Orion": A Love Letter To An Immaculate Song, And An Ode To An Impossible Album". Your Last Rites. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
4. Sevinc, Bihter (2 January 2022). "The Sad Truth About James Hetfield's Cliff Burton Tattoo". Rock Celebrities. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
5. "TattoosJames Hetfield's 26 Tattoos & Their Meanings". BodyArtGuru. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
6. McIver, Joel (2009). To Live Is to Die: The Life and Death of Metallica's Cliff Burton. Jawbone Press. pp. 159–160, 165, 226. ISBN 978-1-906002-24-4.
7. Wall, Mick (January 2006). "Master Piece". Guitar World: 52–61, 104–110. ISSN 1045-6295.
8. Lee, Cosmo (5 September 2011). "Metallica: The First Four Albums - "Orion"". Invisible Oranges. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
9. "Metallica's 'Orion' played on cellos is face-meltingly awesome". ClassicFM. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
10. "The 50 best Metallica songs of all time". Louder Sound. Metal Hammer. 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
11. "Songs". Metallica.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
12. "SEE METALLICA PLAY "ORION" IN FULL FOR FIRST TIME EVER IN 2006". Revolver. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
13. Rutledge, Daniel (October 15, 2010). "Metallica treat Kiwi fans to 'Orion'". 3 News. Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
14. "ORION". Metallica.com. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
15. Munro, Scott (20 September 2022). "Watch Metallica play Orion in honour of Cliff Burton". Louder Sound. Metal Hammer. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
16. Kennelty, Greg (28 April 2023). "Watch: METALLICA Debuts Two 72 Seasons Songs Live, Opened With "Orion"". Metal Injection. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
17. "Master of Puppets - Live in Barcelona 2002". Dream Theater. 2021-07-23. Archived from the original on 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
18. "Metal Mixtape: Orion". Invisible Oranges. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
19. "Metallica Through the Never". tiff.net. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
20. "Metallica releasing Metallica Through the Never movie soundtrack". HitFix. July 29, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
21. Erel, Eray (23 May 2022). "Metallica's Lars Ulrich Admits 'Orion' Has A Special Place In His Heart Because Of Cliff Burton". Metal Castle. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
22. "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Metallica Songs". Rolling Stone. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
23. Johnson, Howard (19 July 2019). "The 10 Best Metallica Songs Featuring Cliff Burton". Louder Sound. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
24. Reesman, Bryan (17 April 2023). "Essential Metallica: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
25. Loftus, Johnny (9 June 2023). "The 15 best Metallica songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
26. Master of Puppets (CD liner notes). Metallica. Elektra Records. 1986. 9-60439-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)