Metallica Salute Cliff Burton With ‘Orion’ While on Tour in Turin
While the city of Castro Valley, Calif. saluted the late Cliff Burton over the weekend, thousands of miles away on the other side of the world the members of Metallica had their own tribute in mind for their late bandmate.
Lars Ulrich posted a snippet of the band performing the instrumental song "Orion" during their Turin, Italy set, stating, "Threw in Orion tonight for Cliff.. the first time in almost a year. A very special moment. Thank you Turin for your generosity and warm vibes." The drummer also posted a classic photo from the Cliff Burton era of Metallica with the caption, "Happy Birthday Cliff! Those were some crazy fuckin days. Miss ya big man!!"
"Orion" has close ties to Burton, who takes songwriting credit for the track along with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. The Master of Puppets instrumental served as a bit of a showcase for Burton's talents, with a bridge and a solo within the track. The song was played during Burton's memorial.
In addition to Ulrich's postings, Metallica also offered a pair of social media tributes. The first features some backstage footage ahead of the Turin performance with a thank you to fans around the world for celebrating Cliff Burton Day. The second was another classic era photo with the message, "Happy birthday, Cliff. We miss you."
Burton was honored in his hometown of Castro Valley, Calif. this past Saturday (Feb. 10), with the first ever Cliff Burton Day in the city. Faith No More's Mike Bordin was on hand, representing the Burton family, and spoke of the late musician who was one of his childhood friends. "He was a great guy. In death sometime people get larger than life, sometimes not rightfully so, it's not that way with Cliff," said Bordin. "He was a great guy. He was a smart guy. He had compassion. And in death, he can still be even more revered than he is now. He's a legend now. Those of us that knew him will never get over it." The celebration came about as a result of a fan campaign surrounding a petition at Change.org. See our photos and recap of the Cliff Burton Day event right here.
Where Does Cliff Burton Rank Among the Top 66 Hard Rock + Metal Bassists of All Time?
That Time Scott Ian Got Arrested With Cliff Burton