10 Surprising Instrumental Tracks You NEED To Hear
2. Orion - Metallica
Throughout Metallica's run, many fans got used to hearing at least one badass instrumental track to jam out to on every record. Out of all Metallica's instrumentals, "Orion" stands as their most ambitious example of wordless scene-building. The song starts with low bass and organ swells before the initial riff strikes.
Then the first solo begins with the Cliff Burton annihilating his bass with machine-gun-like precision. As we work our way through solos from James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett, the track comes to a halt before Burton uses his bass to introduce the next movement.
The song's tone then flips to a much mellower-sounding bridge with harmony guitars. The licks present in this section hint at a more classical inspiration before the energy is brought back up for the tune's final charge.
The ending is a bass showcase for Burton, as he creates a mini-orchestra with his four-string by going through Mozart-like runs and approaching the bass almost as if it were a lead guitar.
This was unfortunately the last hurrah for Burton, as he died in a bus accident while on tour to support the album Master of Puppets.
As such, this song is a testament to what a profound talent Cliff really was.