Metallica certainly had a tough act to follow in closing out Orion Music + More on Sunday night, June 9, on Belle Isle. Itself.

Heavy metal fans packed Belle Isle as Metallica headlined the Orion Music Festival over the weekend. Thousands turned out for the event.

Brian McCollum, the Free Press' veteran music writer, concludes the Orion + More festival on Belle Isle this weekend ended up firing on all cylinders.

It was 4:45 on Saturday afternoon when everyone’s day at the Orion Music + More Fest basically imploded. No matter where you were, either across the field watching Dropkick Murphys or in a tent waiting for Death Grips, when the opening notes of "Hit the Lights" rang out across Detroit’s Belle Isle, there was scarcely an alternative other than to flock to the Damage Inc. stage, where the mysterious band Dehaan turned out to be Metallica performing their 1983 debut, Kill ‘Em All, front to back. James Hetfield walked out as if to introduce this "band from Baltimore," but his hints on Instagram earlier in the week had tipped off that something special would be happening.

It was the calm before the rock 'n' roll storm. Belle Isle was quiet but bustling today as crews began final preparations for Orion Music + More, the Metallica-led rock festival that will take over a southern stretch of the Detroit park Saturday and Sunday.

Detroit is the place that transformed metal into cars. Now a metal band is transforming a Motor City jewel into an island of music and more.

Could Belle Isle be the permanent home for the Orion Music + More festival?

When Metallica set out to debut their Orion Music + More festival last summer, they know it would bring a different kind of festival vibe to the United States.