Who ever has heard Orphaned Land will know that they have some of the coolest solos ever. Man, first band since Opeth that has REALLY impressed me with solo work.
And hey, Epilogue not a stand-alone track? Do you know how mnay times I have played just that ONE track? Plenty, plenty of times. I love how it fades in and then fades out, there is just something about the overall melody. Brilliant track. Both Epilogue and Orion are HIGHLY emotional, but for different reasons. Epilogue has this breezy tranquility about it - you close your eyes and it takes you away. Orion is HIGH-energy that can bring chills down your spine.
And ORION, btw, is the ONLY Metallica track I REALLY like. Why? Because I absolutely CANNOT stand Hetfield's vocals. What's worse, the vocals COMPLETELY ruin the song (which otherwise would have really good music and all), like, Battery for example. KICK ASS intro, then the vocals and vocal harmony destroy it. "Battery...BA..TE...RY!" Oh man, cheesy.
Best Metallica songs ever?
1. Orion
2. The Call of Ktulu (almost as good as orion)
3. To Live is to Die
I must say though, songs like One, Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters are quite good.
In the end, in this poll, I'd probably pick Orion as well of the two, but, it's not by a landslide.