Watch Metallica play Orion in honour of Cliff Burton

Metallica in 1986
Metallica in 1986 (Image credit: Getty)

Metallica marked what would have been Cliff Burton’s 56th birthday on Saturday by playing classic Master Of Puppets instrumental Orion.

February 10 had been named Cliff Burton Day in the late bassist’s home town of Castro Valley, after a successful Change.org petition by fans – and Metallica decided to play the 1986 track in honour of Burton during their show at Turin’s Pala Alpitour over the weekend.

Drummer Lars Ulrich released a short clip of the performance on Twitter, saying: “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.”

Burton tragically died at the age of 24 when Metallica’s tour bus crashed in Sweden in September, 1986.

Metallica’s European leg of their WorldWired tour in support of 10th studio album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, continues tonight in Bologna.

Find a full list of their remaining dates below.

Metallica 2018 WorldWired tour dates

Feb 12: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy
Feb 14: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy
Feb 16: Mannheim SAP Arena, Germany
Mar 27: Herning Jyske Bank Boxen, Denmark
Mar 29: Hamburg Barclaycard Arena, Germamny
Mar 31: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria
Apr 02: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
Apr 05: Budapest Sports Arena, Hungary
Arp 07: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Arp 09: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Apr 11: Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland
Apr 26: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Apr 28: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland
Apr 30: Leipzig Arena, Germany
May 02: Oslo Telenor Arena, Norway
May 05: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
May 07: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
May 09: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
May 11: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland

The 10 Best Metallica Songs Featuring Cliff Burton

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Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.