"Orion" | |
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Instrumental by Metallica | |
from the album Master of Puppets | |
Released | March 3, 1986 |
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 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]
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]
"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 hadn't been fully written before the band arrived to the studio in Copenhagen. [7] While working on finishing the track, the band made the decision to keep it as an instrumental. [11]
"Orion" is the least-performed song from the album. [12] 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. [13] [14] The song had previously only been played as a part of medleys, jams, or in an abridged form. [13] [15] 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.” [16] 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". [17]
"Orion" has been widely praised by fans and critics alike.
The song has been covered by numerous different bands and artists, including Dream Theater [18] and Mastodon. [19] The song was featured in the film Metallica: Through the Never [20] as well as the film's soundtrack. [21] 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". [22]
Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Rolling Stone | United States | Readers’ Poll: The 10 Best Metallica Songs [23] | 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 [24] | 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 [25] | 3 |
2023 | Entertainment Weekly | United States | The 15 best Metallica songs [26] | unranked |
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [27]
Metallica
Production
Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it is the band's final album to feature bassist Cliff Burton. While touring in support of Master of Puppets, he died on September 27, 1986 after the band's tour bus was involved in an accident in Dörarp, Sweden.
Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 25, 1988, by Elektra Records. It was Metallica's first full length studio (LP) album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, following the death of their previous bassist Cliff Burton in 1986. Burton received posthumous co-writing credit on "To Live Is to Die" as Newsted followed bass lines Burton had recorded prior to his death.
Clifford Lee Burton was an American musician who served as the bassist for the heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence.
Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. Zazula convinced the band to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.
The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited is the first extended play by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 21, 1987, by Elektra Records. It consists of covers of late-'70s and early-'80s new wave of British heavy metal bands and punk rock music rehearsed in Lars Ulrich's soundproofed garage and then recorded in Los Angeles over the course of six days. It is the group's first release following the death of bassist Cliff Burton and the first to feature his successor, Jason Newsted.
Jason Curtis Newsted is an American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam for the first five years of his career before joining Metallica in October 1986 to succeed Cliff Burton, who died the month prior. Newsted performed on the albums ...And Justice for All (1988), Metallica (1991), Load (1996), and Reload (1997). He left the group in January 2001.
James Alan Hetfield is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos both live and in studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released 11 studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays, and 24 singles. Hetfield is often regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal rhythm guitar players of all time.
Ronald J. McGovney is an American semi-retired musician, best known as the original bass guitarist in the thrash metal band Metallica from October 1981 to December 1982.
Cliff 'Em All is a compilation of video footage, and the first video album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 17, 1987, as a tribute to Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident on September 27, 1986, at the age of 24, near Ljungby, Sweden, during the European leg of their Master of Puppets world tour. Its title is derived from Metallica's debut album, Kill 'Em All. The home video also features a performance with former guitarist Dave Mustaine on March 19, 1983, shortly before his ousting from the band.
"Whiplash" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their debut album, Kill 'Em All, and the band's debut single overall, released on August 8, 1983. The song has been covered a number of times, most notably by Motörhead, whose version won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
"Master of Puppets" is a thrash metal song by American metal band Metallica, released on July 2, 1986 as the sole single from the album of the same name. It was also issued as a promotional single in the US by Elektra Records.
"Some Kind of Monster" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their studio album St. Anger. The song was released as a single on July 13, 2004. "Some Kind of Monster" was Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2005 but lost to Velvet Revolver for the song "Slither".
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I think the genesis of 'Orion' was Cliff Burton's kind of middle bass part thing with the harmonies and those melodies. And we felt that probably should be an instrumental piece. And there was, I think, that main riff that's at the front half of the song. And somehow we married those together and whatever…
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