Celebrate the Anniversary of Metallica's First Orion Music + More

On June 23-24, 2012, Metallica celebrated the launch of their first-ever music festival. The inaugural Orion Music + More was held at Bader Field in Atlantic City, N.J., and it was unlike anything the band had ever done before.

With an eclectic and diverse lineup that included acts like Arctic Monkeys, Baroness, Ghost, Suicidal Tendencies, Roky Erickson, Lucero, Eric Church, Sepultura and many, many others, Orion set high expectations for fans.

Donald Kravitz, Getty Images

Those expectations were blown through the roof when heard that Metallica would be headlining both nights of the fest and were going to perform two iconic albums in full: Ride the Lightning on night one and the "Black Album" on night two.

You can stream and download both performances in their entirety at LiveMetallica.com and via nugs.net. But did you know you can also grab their soundcheck on June 22, 2012, for free?

As we celebrate the anniversary of Orion Music + More, dive deep into the festival with Metallica's epic soundcheck. Download it in the Live Metallica Vault here.

LiveMetallica.com, Blackened Recordings

The soundcheck includes a sampling of tracks that Metallica would end up playing on the opening night of Orion: "Creeping Death" and "The Call of Ktulu" from Ride the Lightning and "Hell and Back" from the Beyond Magnetic EP. When Metallica played "Hell and Back" in Atlantic City, that was only the 15th time they ever pulled it out onstage.

As noted on the Live Metallica release page, "Since this was a loose rehearsal, James [Hetfield] did not sing the first verse of "Creeping Death" as he was walking around the catwalk along the Snake Pit surveying the grounds while playing guitar."

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The 2012 edition of Orion Music + More featured the first and only time Metallica have performed Ride the Lightning in its entirety, which means it was also the first and only time they played the infamous "Escape" live.

Orion continued only one more year; the band took the festival to Detroit for the 2013—and final—installment.

Watch Metallica Perform "Creeping Death" at Orion Music + More in 2012

Metallica Fans Share Some of Their Favorite Lyrics

We asked you, the Metallica Family, what your favorite lyrics from the thrash legends are—and you answered. Though we aren't sharing every single response here, we've picked some of our favorites. In the gallery below, you'll see the lyrics, the song name and even the social media handle of each Metallica fan. What's your favorite lyric or line from a 'Tallica tune? Which one did we totally miss? Send us a message in our app and let us know.

Some of Our Favorite Live Photos of James Hetfield

Covering nearly 20 years of performances, the below photos display why James Hetfield is one of the best frontmen in rock and roll.

Each shot shows his raw energy, intensity and overall fun spirit at Metallica's live shows. If a photo is worth a thousand words, we know these shots are worth thousands of Hetfield's growls.

Filed Under: Orion