Crowd estimates are ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 per day although the official estimates are forth coming for the Orion Music + More festival which offered great music and so much more.

With some 27,000 pointer and pinky fingers pointed toward the summer sky, hard rock stalwarts Metallica unleashed a metal barrage last Saturday and Sunday night that still has ears ringing and heads banging in New Jersey where they headlined both nights of the Orion Music and More Festival in Atlantic City. Any metal head can testify to their place in banging history, but the "and More," aspect proved just how dynamic this band really is.

After 10 hours at Bader Field in Atlantic City on Saturday for the first day of Metallica's inaugural Orion Music + More festival, I headed back for more on Sunday, for a lineup that, for my money, was stronger and more varied, and turned out to be thoroughly satisfying.

Metallica, which co-curated the two-day festival, closed both nights with sets that reaffirmed the band’s power and musicianship, as well as its firm hand with a morbid metaphor. Before snarling from the gigantic Orion main stage, the four band members established their amiability: They were everywhere, posing for pictures, greeting fans and happily introducing performers on the undercard.

The crowds were a little redder and a little more hoarse on Sunday at Orion Fest in Atlantic City, with a fair amount smelling as if they’d spent the night under the boardwalk. What they lacked in hygiene and sunblock, they made up in sheer numbers.

The afternoon sun was beating hot at Bader Field on Saturday when Black Tusk, a sludge-metal trio from Savannah, Ga., played the first ear-assaulting notes of the Metallica-headlined and -curated two-day Orion Music + More festival.

There may have been plenty of bands to see throughout the day, but Metallica was the main draw for the Orion Music + More festival Saturday in Atlantic City. The group took over Bader Field for their inaugural event and did not disappoint, performing the entire 'Ride the Lightning' album to finish out night one.

It's day one of the two day Metallica Orion Music and More festival and crowds poured in Saturday, where officials are expecting more than 30,000 attendees.

This weekend, Metallica bring their first Orion Festival to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The two-day event will feature over twenty bands, a monster car show, a display of horror film memorabilia, comedians, a film festival and more.

Band reveals why they chose Atlantic City for festival and which groups they're excited to see