The sacred grounds of Donington Park are opened once more for Download Festival 2010. The sun is shining, the beer is flowing and Nottingham mentalists Lawnmower Deth (5/5) are getting the party started with some comical thrash silliness. A crowd-surfing race to the back of the marquee and back is truly a wonderful sight to behold, as is a conga line instead of a circle pit and a giant rabbit throwing out carrots. Of course, these antics are interspersed with anti-seminal tracks including ‘Watch Out Grandma, Here Comes A Lawnmower’ and ‘Satan’s Trampoline’. This is the sort of thing you want at a festival; a band who are enjoying themselves as much as the punters. Meanwhile, metalcore brutes Killswitch Engage (4/5) tear shit up on the main stage, vocalist Howard Jones sounding as well and as on-form as he did before his recent absence. Their dedication of ‘Holy Diver’ to the late great Ronnie James Dio is one of those classic, spine-tingling Donington moments. Coheed And Cambria’s (3/5) set is less memorable, but Sideshow Bob… erm, Claudio Sanchez guitar-smashing antics make it worth watching alone. Them Crooked Vultures (1/5) prove to be as dull live as they are on record, falling into pretentious jam sessions and lazy songs that don’t live up to their subheadliner position. Perhaps it’s just a case of bad booking, as they were only ever intended to be a side project, but the biggest WOW-factor about them remains that they feature a man who played on ‘Stairway To Heaven’. And even that doesn’t help much. Bullet For My Valentine (2/5) aren’t much better; their crowd is more loyal and appreciative, but these sub-par metal songs aren’t wholly memorable. But do you know what is memorable? AC/DC (5/5) at Donington. The show features the same setlist and spectacle as their last tour, but that one is now seeing these antics – a giant inflatable Rosie, a Rock ‘n’ Roll Train smashing through the stage and the unstoppable Angus Young soloing tirelessly from a raised platform – at the definitive location, at the Mecca of Metal, makes it a breath-taking, truly inspiring performance.

The unlikeable Rolo Tomassi (3/5) are pretty good today. Their strange, unpredictable bursts of mathcore madness leave the first few rows pumping their fists and the many rows behind staring, open-mouthed at the schizophrenic strangeness – perhaps taken aback by the voice coming from petite singer Eva Spence, who zooms from stage left to stage right, flailing her arms like a child on a Haribo overdose. More female fronted metalness is taking place on the main stage in the form of Texas’ Flyleaf (3/5), whose tunes are strong – particularly fan favourite ‘I’m So Sick’ – but lack the same impact. Rock Sugar (5/5), while honestly nothing more than a gimmick, prove to be a very enjoyable one. Their songs consist of nothing more than mash ups of classic rock and pop songs, but in a field of pissed-up rockers, little else is required. The crowd’s response is rapturous, and as the band march off after a beautiful rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – laced with Mötley Crüe’s ‘Kickstart My Heart’ – it’s safe to assume they’ve increased their fanbase.

Glam metal characters Enuff Z’Nuff (4/5) are just great. Life-affirming anthems like ‘Baby Loves You’ let Tory Stoffregen show off his impeccable axe skills, and ‘80s cult anthems like ‘Fly High Michelle’ get the old people going. Speaking of old people, Dave Mustaine’s Megadeth (4/5) are still rocking as hard as ever, thrash anthems like ‘Sweating Bullets’ and ‘Symphony Of Destruction’ still inciting the reactions they always have. Inversely, HIM (1/5) are fucking terrible, largely thanks to frontman Ville Valo. His once-admirable crooning is replaced by horrific caterwauling, his trademark angst-fuelled shrieks falling flat. Even modern day classic ‘Buried Alive By Love’ lacks the shopping centre goth-uniting beauty it once had, its now-hollow refrains emanating from a band who may have had their day. Hanoi Rocks’ frontman Michael Monroe (3/5) is a lot more interesting, the peroxide 47-year-old still doing the splits and climbing the scaffolding as he belts out some Hanoi favourites and new offerings, remaining nothing but charming throughout. Add Wildhearts frontman Ginger to the mix on rhythm guitar, and you’ve got a very exciting gig indeed. However, it’s not as exciting as Simon Cowell-bothering rap-metallers Rage Against The Machine (4/5), whose show has an air of victory about it, Zack de la Rocha singing along to the funkin’ anthems with a loveable smugness about his chops. The pits and bouncing spreads as far as the back, ‘Killing In The Name’ sending the place into a frenzy as the second night of the festival draws to a close.

Thirty years ago, the first rock festival at Donington took place. A band called Saxon (5/5) performed at it… and today, they’re doing it again. Tearing through their entire ‘Wheels Of Steel’ album – which shares its anniversary with the fest – they pour skill, charisma and tenacity into their performance with more energy than some of the young upstarts at Download this weekend could ever hope to attain. And, I hear you ask, do they play ‘And The Bands Played On’, the song that was written about the first Monsters of Rock Festival? Of course they do. And really fucking well. Cinderella’s (5/5) tight, bluesy boogie is perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Facing a comparatively small crowd, their glam anthems surely win over a few sceptics nursing their over-priced Tuborgs on the hill during ‘Gypsy Road’ and ‘Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)’.

A few thousand more people are crammed into the audience for the return of Slash (4/5) who treats the faithful to Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver classics, as well as offerings from his recent unremarkable solo effort which are much more encapsulating live than on record. An appearance from Lemmy adds some more magic to proceedings, but the absence of Scott Weiland for ‘Slither’ raises some eyebrows. Steel Panther (5/5) also raise some eyebrows over at the second stage, their deliciously OTT lampoon on ‘80s hair metal harvesting many a chuckle and many a pair of tits from the rain-soaked viewers. Ridiculous anthems like ‘Community Property’ (‘if you were a hooker you know I’d be happy to pay / if suddenly you were a guy, I’d be suddenly gay’) unite the masses in some carefree, nonsense singalongs and chase away the grey clouds looming over Donington.

Ginger’s (5/5) set achieves a similar goal; originally billed as an acoustic show, he arrives accompanied by eight guitarists, all playing simultaneously, thus retaining the sound of an electric band. Multiply this by the fact he is only performing Wildhearts songs this evening and you have one standout reason why the new Jägermeister acoustic stage is a lovely little addition to an ever-growing festival. Scott Weiland eventually shows up with Stone Temple Pilots (4/5). His between-song banter is slurred and stupid, but he strangely nails every song as though he isn’t on drugs, hitting closer ‘Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart’ note-perfect. The drizzly weather has finally subsided by the time the Bad Boys from Boston Aerosmith (5/5) take to the stage. Recent rumours of Steven Tyler’s departure are blown away by the band’s tightness during abrupt opener ‘Love In An Elevator’ and the groove of ‘Eat The Rich’. When Tyler – wearing a glittering sequinned jacket – stands alone on the walkway in a red spotlight and starts to sing ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’, it’s a truly chilling moment in which girls (and some fellas) cry, and camera flashes and lighters line the beautiful darkness of the audience. ‘Toys In The Attic’ rounds up the weekend, and after the talent on display these past three days, it’s going to be difficult to surpass such a line-up again.

Same time next year everyone?

Those seeking a small break from the main stage action, or who don’t like Arch Enemy, are offered the choice of getting drunk as shit in the campsites or seeing rising symphonic metallers Pythia (4/5) on the Sophie Lancaster Stage. A sound suspiciously reminiscent of Nightwish is vindicated by the fact these guys can play, and that frontwoman Emily Ovenden’s haunting voice and stage presence seamlessly swell to fill this half empty (or maybe half full?) marquee where drunken hairy blokes will later be hollering along to Journey and Kansas in a late-night karaoke before the first night of metal madness comes to an end.

The death ‘n’ roll stylings of Entombed (3/5) kick off the next day’s proceedings in a suitably bowel-bothering fashion, before a rather tinny-sounding Candlemass (2/5) pretend to be Rainbow for a while. Speed metal heroes Kreator (4/5) then kick the action up a notch or ten and really get the heads banging through new (‘Hordes Of Chaos’) and old (‘Pleasure To Kill’) offerings alike.

Blind Guardian (5/5) provide the perfect soundtrack to a setting sun. From the moment opener ‘Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)’ snakes through the P.A., the audience is captured in a world of sonic majesty, technical grandeur, soulful melodies, and hobbits. Vocalist Hansi Kürsch bellows ‘Nightfall’, shrieks ‘Fly’ and leads the fellowship in an extended, a cappella rendition of the inevitable ‘Valhalla’, remaining nothing less than charming all the while; he’s probably the only man who can pour such emotion into a song called ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and not look like a twat. Truly a highlight of the festival.

It’s a shame that one particular festival attendee does not see it appropriate that headliners Cradle Of Filth (4/5) should play for the duration of their stated set time this evening. After a run through of staples, including ‘Dusk And Her Embrace’ and ‘Nymphetamine’, as well as some new abominations and lovely surprises such as ‘Shat Out Of Hell’ and ‘Under Huntress Moon’, ‘missiles’ are thrown at the band, and injury forces them to retreat back into their coffins to slumber until next time. An unfortunate ending to a spectacular evening, all thanks to one selfish fucking arsehole.

Even working on a day of rest, small technical difficulties, an incompetent soundman and a smaller crowd than they deserve doesn’t stop Girlschool (5/5) from rocking out with their metaphorical (let’s hope) cocks out. Classic metal tunes come by the truckload, delivered with a speed and volume that would put the band’s male counterparts – Motörhead – to shame. Kim McAuliffe pours charisma, wit and attitude like Lemmy does Jack Daniel’s on his cereal, and raises laugh after laugh from the crowd – and they’re not pity ones either. ‘C’mon Let’s Go’, ‘Hit And Run’ and ‘Not For Sale’ get some heads nodding along, and by the time ‘Race With The Devil’ and ‘Emergency’ are aired, there’s air-guitaring, headbanging and dancing all over – both on-stage and off-. Doomy rockers Anathema’s (3/5) sleepy drawl couldn’t be better suited to a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking beer in the sunshine, and their appearance makes a welcome change of pace.

Right, that’s enough slow shit for this weekend – bring on Turisas (4/5). It’s the Finns’ last show of a two-and-a-half year tour, but, far be it from them to get it over with quickly, today’s performance is packed with the anthems and stage antics that have catapulted the Viking warriors into the big league since the release of 2007’s ‘The Varangian Way’. Yes, of course there’s a uniting ‘Battle Metal’. Yes, of course there’s a metal cover of Boney M.’s ‘Rasputin’ with each side of the audience trying to out-do each other in call-and-response throughout. Yes, of course they fire confetti everywhere at the end, only for the streamers to stick to the lighting rig and ruin Satyricon’s (5/5) dark, gothic set-up later in the night. It doesn’t matter though, because Satyricon are on fire tonight. Not literally, of course, although the Flames of Hades do burn in frontman Satyr’s eyes as he works the crowd into a moshing frenzy for ‘Fuel For Hatred’ and gets every fist in the air for ‘Now, Diabolical’. As the chilling refrains of ‘Mother North’ screech into the night air, a sense of wonderment – almost trepidation – spreads over the masses. Following all of this ferocity are the band who wrote ‘The Final Countdown’. What will happen when Joey Tempest and his merry men step out in front of this type of crowd?

The answer is: nothing out of the ordinary. Europe (3/5) fare well tonight, delivering a foolproof set of hard rock songs that get most people clapping along upon request. The problem is, however, that the band are so overlooked (especially by this clientele) that it just doesn’t really work. ‘Rock The Night’ and ‘Start From The Dark’ are powerful songs in the right setting, but in a field of pissed-up extreme metal fans who want crushing riffs, beer and laughs, the only track that gets a response is… well, you know which one it is. Leaving the main stage for the final time of the weekend, one wonders if a much more suitable band should have just laid waste to the last night of a great Bloodstock Festival. Either way, where’s the bar…