By Ashley Zlatopolsky
Running for only its second year in a row, Metallica’s Orion Music and More is still relatively new - but the legendary rockers may have already found a permanent home for the festival - Detroit.
Held on Detroit’s Belle Isle, the two-day event consisted of five stages, extreme sports, car exhibits, a museum containing Metallica memorabilia (including Cliff Burton’s last bass played before his death in 1986) and more. In fact, Orion went beyond the typical festival - it was more like a giant fair spanning across an entire island closed off strictly for the event, or as Metallica lead singer James Hetfield affectionately described, a “giant backyard barbeque” and “giant family reunion”.
Saturday’s music kicked off at 2 p.m., as Detroit’s very own Battlecross opened up the Frantic stage, drawing a crowd of both hometown fans and those from out of town. Earlier in the day were also Foals, Dead Sara, Dropkick Murphys and Borgore.
Yet the real show stealer of the afternoon was a band billed under the name “Dehaan”, a group no one knew much about (Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich described the act as “a new buzz from Baltimore”). Orion’s Instagram page shed clues on the unknown artists, as some fans knew the big secret in advance and waited at the barricade early. Introduced by the late Cliff Burton’s elderly father (who then sat side stage to watch the show), “Dehaan” took the spotlight… and turned out to be none other than Metallica themselves.
Greeted with a thunderous roar from the rapidly building crowd, the band launched into a [somewhat] secret and surprise set of 1983’s debut album Kill ‘Em All from front to back, as fans continued to rush towards the Vans Damage stage. Professional skateboarders including Steve Caballero rode the half-pipe directly to the left of the stage while the group continued to shred.
Metallica may have stolen their own show Saturday, but there’s no denying that Rise Against, Infectious Grooves, Bassnectar and others played fantastic sets following the day’s big surprise. Closing out the evening were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing a mix of both classic and newer material. The two-hour set opened with “Monarchy of Roses” and ended with “Give It Away”, seemingly starting with the band’s latest album and moving backwards in time towards the earlier albums (with the exception of two tracks near the middle and a reading of the poem “The Tyger” by bassist Flea).
Fans arrived early for day two. Sunday’s bill included All Shall Perish, The Dirtbombs, Japandroids and the Dillinger Escape Plan, who were easily the highlight of the afternoon. With a broken hand, lead guitarist Ben Weinman provided backup vocals while sitting onstage and contently reading an issue of Revolver Magazine, as lead singer Greg Puciato climbed up the side of the stage to serenade fans while hanging from the railing. Later on the bill were the Deftones, Detroit funk-metal band Death and Gogol Bordello. Destroid closed out the Sanitarium stage, wowing and shocking the crowd in robot-like outfits.
However, the real act fans had been waiting for was Metallica, despite Saturday’s unannounced set. Festivalgoers packed the main Budweiser Orion stage across the island, patiently standing around despite the intense air of excitement as the band kicked off their set 20 minutes late with “Blackened”. Metallica brought out some serious production guns, with a two-level stage setup and blinding laser lights that pierced through the sky. As they tore through a set list that covered every aspect of the group’s career, Metallica took a moment to honor Burton with an extravagant pyro and fireworks show before immediately diving into “One”. The fireworks returned during “Enter Sandman”, as Metallica continued to play for an extra half hour (giving a nod to Detroit’s own Bob Seger with their cover of “Turn the Page”), regardless of the scheduled 10 p.m. closure.
Finally finishing with “Seek and Destroy”, Ulrich addressed the cheering crowd with a topic that had been on everyone’s minds:
“I think Detroit should be our permanent home!”
Bassist Robert Trujillo also shouted, “We’ll be back!”
Hetfield then asked the audience, “You think we should come back next year?” which was greeted with a deafening roaring yes.
“As long as you promise you’ll be back, too - and bring some friends,” he responded. It seems assuring enough that Detroit’s Belle Isle will be the future location of Orion Music and More, a festival that has the potential to be revolutionary both economically and musically for the city.
Concert Reviews | Musician Interviews | Local Directories