Tone:

Vintage Remake Big Muff

Vintage 1977 Morley Power Wah
cs-3 Boss Compressor
Orion , the classic Metallica track that features bassist Cliff Burton in a lead ro
le, was an obvious choice for this month s transcription. To this day
nearly thirt
y years after it was recorded it s a track that is studied and dissected by metalloving bass players all over the world. The recent release of the isolated bass
part from this and other Metallica songs has given us all the chance to hear Cli
ff Burton s original parts without the distractions of the other instruments, and
in many cases this has proved to be a revelation: what were previously thought t
o be synth parts or guitar solos in fact turned out to be Cliff, using effects a
nd guitar-like techniques such as upper-register soloing and tapping to take the
bass player s role to new heights.
Orion
ffected
he bar
need to

opens with a series of sustained bass chords from Cliff. These are heavily e
with distortion, and each needs to be allowed to ring fully throughout t
try to avoid large gaps as you switch between the chords
the transitions
be fluid.

At letter A Cliff begins playing a simple eighth note groove based on octaves an
d chord tones. This four bar line is played three times, then begins to develop,
with extra sixteenth notes added to the rhythm. This section leads into letter
B, a distorted lead bass section in which Cliff plays an upper register line tha
t sets up the heavy riff that arrives at letter C. Be careful with both of these
riffs, as the staccato phrases at the end of every second bar combined with Lar
s misleading drum pattern
tend to make things confusing here.
At letter D a similar bass line is played over the same chord changes as the A s
ection. Cliff slides from a D into an E before dropping to the low E-string
you ll
hear on the recording that Cliff allows the octave E to ring into the low E, an
d you should do the same as this thickens up the sound considerably.
After coming to a false ending, the song switches to a completely different styl
e and feel at letter F. The key changes to F# minor and the time signature becom
es a slow 6/8. Cliff s bass line is the feature of this section, and is a simple a
rpeggiated line that is heavy on chord tones. The line remains the same for seve
ral minutes, although Cliff periodically adds upper register fills in the second
bar of the sequence throughout. The line develops into a more melodic arpeggiobased part at letter G. An understanding of the chords and the notes they contai
n will be beneficial when studying this part Cliff brought experience with music
theory to Metallica, and this is evident in his writing here.
At letter I Cliff plays a distorted lead bass solo in the upper register of the
bass. Note that there are two bass parts here
the bottom stave contains the solo
, the top stave contains some added harmony parts that were overdubbed afterward
s. Again, an understanding of music theory and harmony will be helpful to you un
derstanding the harmony parts that Cliff played here. The solo itself is fast, a
nd complex in places, but by listening closely to the audio and following the re
commended TAB positions you should find that the majority of it falls naturally
under the fingers.
As the solo ends, the song resumes the original 4/4 time signature and tempo. Le
tter J reintroduces the eighth note line that was used at letter E, and letter K
repeats the heavy riff from letter C. This riff is repeated as the track fades
out.