Metal fans are the nicest fans in the world. With a dedicated fan base that loses their shit when someone on stage even utters the name Eddie Trunk, it was almost as if the crowd at the inaugural Orion Music + More Festival were looking forward to an East coast metal festival to blow Mayhem and Warped out of the water. Different generations of fans littered the audience, from the parents who brought their kids to the show to the teens who made a quick stop at Hot Topic to pick up their first Metallica shirt before the festival.
“I think you’re the only band wearing all white,” I said to Titus Andronicus drummer, Eric Harm. He looked over at his bandmates, “Oh shit, we are. Oh well!” Orion might have been the only festival with a de facto dress code that wasn’t hipster chic, and strived to soak up as much heat as possible. But, this was just one thing that made this festival feel like an escape from the ones we have already. With a lineup that you can’t find anywhere else, and an audience that might not be seen at your Bonnaroos or Coachellas, Orion effectively opened the door for future festivals of different ilk.
It was immaculately organized, with stages only minutes apart from each other and yet little to no sound bleed. The sight lines were great, and the bathroom lines were short. Outside of music, there were exhibits like Kirk’s Crypt, with a collection of people in complete zombie garb and props from famous horror movies, while James Hetfield brought in muscle cars and vintage bikes to bolster the aesthetic of the festival. Perhaps Atlantic City doesn’t have the prettiest, or any, skyline but it did provide for breezy weather and nice late-night options for attendees.
Some people exhibited a mentality of “If it ain’t metal, it ain’t good,” scorning fans at the festival for anything other than Metallica. Thankfully, most people were the metal fans that I know well, picking up someone when they fall in the pit and asking if they’re okay. They were the kind of audience open to new musical opportunities, visibly becoming fans of the acts in front of them. At Orion, you could walk from a mosh pit to Best Coast, or from a female vocalist with a growl to, well, Best Coast. Over the weekend, I lost my voice trying to speak or sing over more decibels than I’ve ever been exposed to and capped off each night with a Metallica performance. While some may have been off gambling in Atlantic City, Orion was the only sure bet in town.
-Michael Zonenashvili Staff Writer
Saturday, June 23rd
Baroness About as metal as: A hot charcoal BBQ grilling up some T-bones.
Did you know that the guys in Baroness are foodies? Seriously, they love to cook. They also know how to start a festival. The Savannah, GA collective opened Orion on the main stage, with Lars Ulrich introducing them, and played tracks off their forthcoming album, Yellow and Green, including “Take My Bones Away”, “March To The Sea”, and many others from their catalog. While most would simply peg Baroness as another “sludge metal” act, their set mirrored the diversity of the festival, dabbling in rock, a little country, and even some indie. Unfortunately, since they opened the festival, the crowd was quite thin at one in the afternoon, but that also gave everyone present a great unobstructed view. -Sami Jarroush
The Sword About as metal as: Day drinking — a lot.
Twin-guitar harmonies into sludgy down-tuned chords opened the gates for The Sword. From there, the Austin stoner-rockers would repeat the formula over various pitched overtones that always floated atop abyssal chugging — yet, it worked out well for them. The heavy quartet owned the daytime slot, powering through tracks like “Freya”, “Maiden, Mother, Crone”, and even some new stuff that sounded more spacey than their previous work. There was even a guy doing pushups in the brutal heat throughout their set. That’s metal. -Michael Zonenashvili
Fucked Up About as metal as: Getting a concussion and jumping right back in the mosh pit.
“We’re so happy to be here, thank you so much, we didn’t think anyone would show up,” beamed Fucked Up frontman Damien Abraham. Within ten seconds of “Queen of Hearts”, he was in the sparse crowd, shirt off, sweating up a storm. Nothing new for Fucked Up, right? However, they hooked everyone in a heartbeat. Abraham came into a sea of Fucked Up super fans in the front, but then pulled his mic chord and just wandered out into the empty parts of the audience, and as expected, the crowd followed. It was almost like a small hardcore-punk parade. Everyone in the audience got a chance to sing at least one line of a song, hug or high-five a sweaty Abraham, or politely throw their friend into their first mosh-pit. All the while, the other members of Fucked Up laid down tight renditions of all the tunes. -Michael Zonenashvili
The Gaslight Anthem About as metal as: A classic car with a brand new engine.
New Jersey’s own The Gaslight Anthem performed on the main stage to a huge crowd that knew many of Gaslight’s songs by heart. This wasn’t a crowd that was curious to check out new music; it was one that knew what frontman Brian Fallon was talking about when he praised the now shut down bar, The Court Tavern, in New Brunswick, NJ. From their big new single, “45”, to tracks going back to The ’59 Sound, their blend of Springsteen meets punk was big enough to capture your attention on a festival level without any real fanfare. An honest-to-goodness rock band that knows how to write great songs without any type of gimmick? It’s a good thing Jersey can claim this band because it’s getting tiring to always hear that the Garden State is known for cover bands and pop-punk. -Sami Jarroush
Cage the Elephant About as metal as: An M-80.
On the previous night, Cage The Elephant played a show at the House of Blues with The Gaslight Anthem. There was yelling, sporadic movements, standing on top of fans, and sing-alongs. That was just the warm-up, though. When Matt Shultz & Co. played in the hot Saturday sun, you couldn’t tell they had played less than 24 hours prior. The energy exploded as Shultz flung his body into the crowd and surfed everywhere as he continued to sing. Favorites like “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”, “In One Ear”, and “Shake Me Down” received the biggest responses. In just one hour, Cage conjured up a real rock ‘n’ roll spirit to a festival whose bands prided themselves on mostly growling and shredding. Pretty great. -Sami Jarroush
Modest Mouse About as metal as: Painted nails and purple shorts
Isaac Brock is an intimidating character. Even with his teal-painted nails and purple hot shorts, he managed to incite fear into the curious Black Dahlia Murder fans nearby — though, maybe it was all his thrashing and snarling. Or, perhaps it was his inaudible stage banter; at one point, I think he muttered a thank you to the audience, or Metallica, or who knows. Regardless, if there was anything to fear, it was Brock’s careless approach to his material. Granted, Modest Mouse fans shouldn’t attend a show expecting to hear the “hits”, and if they’re played, Brock hardly ever exhibits any enthusiasm, and yet that’s the same thing that happened at Orion, where could-be highlights like “Float On” fell flat and “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (the only Moon and Antarctica treat of the night) fell on the lazy side. Quite a shame, too, because the band sounded amped and Brock’s voice was on-target. But hey, there’s nothing more metal than an “I don’t give a fuck attitude.” Right? -Michael Zonenashvili
Arctic Monkeys About as metal as: Leather jackets in the summer.
Arctic Monkeys performed to what might’ve been their smallest crowd in six years on Saturday night. Despite an endorsement from Lars Ulrich (or was it his son’s?), the Monkeys couldn’t rope in much of an audience. This didn’t stop them from knocking out an incredible set. They were loud, they were fast, and they exhibited a newfound edgy confidence. Opening with “Brianstorm”, the UK outfit brandished their own heavy rock, complete with ping-pong guitars (“View From The Afternoon”) and gritty riffs (“Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”). Although disregarded by 90% of the Orion audience, the 10% that sacrificed that good spot for Metallica were treated to a well crafted hour of Arctic Monkeys for the last show of their tour. -Michael Zonenashvili
Metallica About as metal as: Metallica.
Metallica’s highly-anticipated performance on Saturday night was all about the thrash, the lightning-fast riffs, and wah-pedal solos delivered with precision. Decades aside, this band still looks young, and they act it. Frontman James Hetfield sport a leather vest (wearing nothing under), Kirk Hammett still has plenty of hair to bang around, Rob Trujillo still looks like he’s in his twenties, and Lars, well, he’s not completely bald yet. Opening with a knockout trio of “Hit The Lights”, “Master of Puppets”, and “The Four Horsemen”, the Bay Area legends embraced their back catalogue even prior to launching into the much hyped Ride the Lightning set.
As expected, everyone was on their game, and the sound from the Orion stage was perfect to match. The production was as intricate and up to Metallica’s standards as could be, and the audience experience could not have been better. The band ran to different points of the stage, onto catwalks, and had their faces plastered on a giant screen so no one was robbed of seeing what they were hearing — then, all of a sudden, the lights went out.
A short intro video to Ride The Lightning hit the screen, moments before the riff to “The Call of Ktulu” chimed in. It seemed a little weird until we realized they were running through the front-heavy album backwards. From the live premiere of “Escape” to the live-staple “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, Metallica almost made it seem like Saturday was the night not to miss. ”Fight Fire With Fire” gave the thrash, while “Fade to Black” provided the singalong. And, really, what self-respecting fan of Metallica doesn’t want to repeatedly chant “DIE!” during “Creeping Death”?
For those that couldn’t make it to the second night, they even offered a few cuts off their self-titled effort, aka The Black Album, which they would perform in full on Sunday. Solid cuts of ”Enter Sandman”, “Battery”, “One”, and the expected closer “Seek & Destroy” rolled on by post-Lightning, but there was just too much electricity left over from the rare set. Lesson learned: Metallica brings the heavy, baby. -Michael Zonenashvili
Sunday, June 24th
A Place to Bury Strangers About as metal as: Mercury being poured into your ear.
Loudloudloudloudloud. That’s usually the description anyone gives A Place to Bury Strangers. But when you can clearly hear their set from the other side of the festival grounds, what’s a better adjective to use? A small but amped crowd arrived to check out the NYC DIY band perform songs off their latest album, Worship, and to get an opportunity to test their ear drums against the band’s sonic onslaught of sound without the use of ear plugs. Some didn’t make it as a few walked away massaging their ear canals mouthing, “Wow!”. Everyone else that remained learned that you don’t need to be metal to be heavy. -Sami Jarroush
The Black Angels About as metal as: A sitar run through a distortion pedal
The Black Angels played to an audience that more closely resembled a corporate event than an actual music festival. But, the 50 people there damn well better have been impressed. The Black Angels are not a metal band by definition, but their psyche rock draws parallels to world influenced metal and drone. With riffs that could be out of The Sword’s catalogue combined with phaser pedals, sitars, and a mix of rasp and warbled vocals, this Austin export fit into the weekend’s overall aesthetic. -Michael Zonenashvili
Gary Clark, Jr. About as metal as: A cool blue Zippo lighter.
When Metallica curated this festival, they made sure to incorporate acts that they wanted to champion. Guitarist Kirk Hammett introduced Gary Clark, Jr. as one of his favorite guitarists before Clark, Jr. and his band took the stage. It was a nice break, getting to move away from all the hard rock and metal that surrounded everyone, and just watch a master guitarist work his craft with his blues-rock sound. There was no moshing during this set, but plenty danced (even the big, beer-swillin’, ‘Tallica shirt wearin’ bro-dawgs). It was a bit annoying that during his set, motorcycles directly opposite of the stage were being fired up to the delights of gear-heads. But there was no denying that tracks like “Bright Lights” could even get the hardest metal fan to take a seat in the grass and just chill for a bit. -Sami Jarroush
Best Coast About as metal as: Sunday brunch.
Poor Best Coast. Being put on the main stage might have been more of a punishment than a privilege to the band. It was probably too loud for Bethany Cosentino to hear the nearby Metallica fans, but she got the message: They didn’t belong. While Best Coast’s summertime fun would be had at any other festival, where there was a perfect breeze and seagulls flying around, the restless Orion audience had little interest in her set. However, it’s not her fault, and if Metallica actually chose her to be part of their festival, that should make up for the harsh audience. -Michael Zonenashvili
Volbeat About as metal as: A steel guitar string.
Do you like metal? Do you like Johnny Cash? Would you like your metal mixed with Johnny Cash? Would you like that combo to be from Denmark? You’ve found Volbeat. Frontman Michael Poulson brings a rockabilly swagger to the stage complete with an over gelled pompadour and tattoos of his idols Cash and Elvis Presley on his arms. At Orion, the band ripped through songs off of their latest album, Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood, and a Johnny Cash-inspired track called “Sad Man’s Tongue” from their 2007 album, Rock The Rebel/Metal The Devil. The crowd started by clapping along to an acoustic country-rock twang before splitting into several mosh pits as the song morphed into a metal-blues tribute to the Man in Black. The band was introduced by James Hetfield as Metallica had toured with Volbeat before and, besides Avenged Sevenfold and Arctic Monkeys, this was the most packed the Fuel stage had been all weekend. -Sami Jarroush
Eric Church About as metal as: Going to church.
Metallica’s Hetfield introduced Eric Church as a representation of Orion’s diversity, bringing in the country in a sea of metal. However, bringing in the country to Orion might not have been the best idea. While earlier in the day, Ghost dressed in papal robes and wore corpse paint, Church spouted out choice lines like “I don’t believe in peace in the middle east” or “I believe Jesus is coming back.” And, these opinions are totally fine, but in the context of Orion, I couldn’t help but laugh and walk away. -Michael Zonenashvili
Titus Andronicus About as metal as: Permanently losing your voice, forever.
At first, I wished more than 30 people showed up for Titus Andronicus’ return to New Jersey. But, halfway through their first song, it was apparent that quality was much better than quantity. The small crowd reacted to new songs they didn’t know with the same enthusiasm they showed when screaming the lyrics to “Titus Andronicus (The Song)”. Perhaps their version of moshing was more like hopping around like cooked popcorn, but within the hour, Patrick Stickles and his rag-tag crew turned the audience and Titus itself into a small family. People hugged each other and sang loudly as dust kicked up from the ground, and it was clear some new fans were made as well. The new songs from their third LP sounded a little more raw than 2010′s The Monitor. There was less keyboards and a little more harmony amidst the guitars and even vocally between Stickles and drummer Eric Harm. Perhaps we won’t be getting a concept album with a 15-minute epic, but we will get songs like “My Eating Disorder”, which cross the ten minute mark, thanks to Stickles’ shouts of “SPIT IT OUT!” — and that’s pretty awesome. -Michael Zonenashvili
Metallica About as metal as: Dude, it’s fucking Metallica!
Similar to the previous night, Metallica performed its self-titled classic in reverse order, starting with “The Struggle Within”, which made sense considering that no one wants to hear “Enter Sandman” that early in the set. It’s the big closer, complete with fireworks, sweaty applause, and throat-strained screams. So, the album’s closer kicked off what would be the first and only performance of Metallica in North America this year.
Naturally, the biggest rises from the crowd came during the album’s singles like “Sad But True” and “The Unforgiven”. However, to be able to listen to the album from beginning to end (or end to beginning in this case), stirred up nostalgic feelings. This is the album that made Metallica the massive band they are today. If you didn’t know anything about them prior to its release, this was your introduction. Though Nirvana’s Nevermind came out the same year and would change the landscape of rock,Metallica was the hammer that cemented its place as the dominant genre of the ’90s. To see the band actually play the album live was special, rare, and wouldn’t be forgotten.
But what Metallica proved on Sunday night is that they’re still one of the biggest bands on the planet. Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo don’t sound like a band regurgitating hits. They keep things fresh and perform with the intensity and excitement that you’d see in a young act, fresh out of the garage — one of their hand-picked acts, so to speak.
Now, it would have been simple enough for Metallica to create a festival, pick the bands, help curate exhibits and then just sit back and watch the ticket sales roll in. But they’re not festival curators; they’re musicians. They’re four guys who love to make loud music and have happened to play pretty much every music fest in existence. So it was great to see that they took their experience and applied it to what they think their fans would have wanted: a diverse line up and a glimpse into their personal lives, all within a stone’s throw (okay, not really) of East coast’s sin city. I’m guessing a lot of people in Atlantic City put their money on Black numerous times that weekend. -Sami Jarroush
Rock It Out! at Orion Music + More
Now that you’re all read up, allow our host Sami Jarroush (of Rock It Out! Blog) to take you on the scene at Atlantic City, NJ, where he speaks to both artists and fans to figure out what Orion Music was really all about.
