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Metallica - Orion - Guitar Tab

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BPM
Key E minor
Metallica - Orion guitar tab video
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Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) album cover
Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
1986 8:27
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 1986 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Orion

Few instrumental tracks in Thrash Metal ask as much of a guitarist as "Orion" does, and almost none reward patient study the way this one does. The piece moves through several distinct sections, so your first job is simply mapping the architecture before worrying about execution. The main riff sits in E minor in E Standard tuning at a moderate 120 BPM, which is comfortable enough until you hit the tight, palm-muted gallop figures that need to lock precisely with the bass. The atmospheric mid-section is where most players lose focus: clean tones, wide-interval chord voicings, and a slow melodic lead that demands real control of sustain and vibrato rather than speed. Metallica layer two guitar parts through much of the track, so even solo practice reveals a lot of interplay worth understanding. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop any transition slowed down, especially the shifts between the heavy and clean sections where the dynamic change can catch you off guard.

  • The song runs in E Standard tuning in the key of E minor, so no retuning is needed, but the wide dynamic range between heavy and clean sections demands careful volume and tone control.
  • Palm-muted gallop riffs are central to the heavier passages, and keeping them tight and even at 120 BPM is the core picking technique to drill.
  • The slow melodic lead in the mid-section is a great exercise in sustain and vibrato control, as phrasing and note length matter far more than technical speed here.

How to Play Orion

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kirk Hammett's vintage 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul Standard delivers warmer, more dynamic PAF-style tones that contrast his EMG-equipped ESP guitars, adding organic sustain to his lead work. This guitar's traditional construction gives his solos a thicker, less compressed character than his signature models.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not Hammett's primary choice, the Les Paul Custom shares the Les Paul's warm PAF pickup character and thick body resonance, offering heavier players an alternative to Strat-style designs for achieving Metallica's crushing rhythm tones.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

James Hetfield's early Gibson Explorer established his signature angular shape and thick body tone, delivering the aggressive midrange attack essential to Metallica's crushing rhythm style before his ESP signature models became his primary tool.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Kirk Hammett's Dual Rectifier heads provide the high-gain, midrange-forward aggression that lets his solos cut through Hetfield's scooped rhythm tone, creating definition and clarity in Metallica's dense wall of distortion.

EMG 81
Pickup

EMG 81

Hetfield's bridge EMG 81 delivers the hot, compressed output with tight low-end that defines Metallica's palm-muted riffs, the ceramic magnet and active preamp cutting through heavy arrangements with focused, aggressive attack.

EMG 60
Pickup

EMG 60

Both guitarists use the neck EMG 60 for warmer, more articulate rhythm tones and smoother lead voicings, balancing the 81's aggression with clearer note definition across Metallica's dense arrangements.

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