METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD Talks To Detroit's WRIF 101.1 FM About 'Orion Music + More' Festival

Meltdown of Detroit, Michigan's WRIF 101.1 FM radio station recently conducted an interview with METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

METALLICA has unveiled the lineup for the second annual Orion Music + More festival, which will take place this year at Belle Isle in Detroit on June 8-9. METALLICA will once again headline both days, while the more than 30 other acts appearing on the weekend will include the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, RISE AGAINST, DEFTONES, SILVERSUN PICKUPS, BASSNECTAR, GOGOL BORDELLO, FOALS, TOMAHAWK, THE JOY FORMIDABLE, THE BRONX, DROPKICK MURPHYS and more.

Drummer Lars Ulrich said in a statement, "Last year's Orion Music + More festival was hands down the highlight of the METALLICA calendar. A great time was had by all, especially the band members. The fact that it also resonated with enough of our fans and friends that it warrants another go-around in '13 is beyond exciting. I can think of no better place than the Motor City, with its rich and diverse history of music, for the second ride on our Orion festival train."

METALLICA based last year's first Orion show on the European festivals, which bring a large number of diverse musical acts together. Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio the festivals themselves are now bigger than any individual band. "You know, the interesting thing about these festivals in Europe is they basically, they sell out every year without any of the bands being announced," he said. "People just go 'cause it's like a vibe. So I think if you can get to a point where people know that whatever's gonna happen is gonna be super-cool, and there's gonna be lots of great bands, lots of different bands, lots of cool, fun non-musical things — that's kind of what we're going for."

This year's Orion show will also see the return from last year of James Hetfield's Custom Car & Motorcycle Show, Kirk Hammett's Crypt, Lars Ulrich's Hit the Lights Film Tent and Robert Trujillo's Vans Vert Ramp alongside the Metallica Museum and other attractions.

The inaugural Orion Music + More was held last June in Atlantic City, New Jersey and featured acts like ARCTIC MONKEYS, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, MODEST MOUSE, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM, CAGE THE ELEPHANT and others.

METALLICA headlined both nights, playing 1991's self-titled "black album" in its entirety one night and 1984's "Ride The Lightning" the other.

Interview (audio):