Download 2015 Review: Slipknot, Muse & Kiss Rock Donington

Day Two Review

More rain, more mud, no less enthusiasm. Par for the course really. For those who braved the early day floods, the reward was the happy-go-lucky covers of The Lounge Kittens on the Zippo Encore, Chunk! No Captain Chunk! on the Maverick Stage and Malefice on the Zippo. Funeral For A Friend opened the main stage without too much fanfare in the mud, with Mallory Knox following up with typically hearty support. The diversity of the early sets was never more perfectly portrayed in Apocalyptica's well-received set and their follow up on the other stage, Hollywood Undead, who are very much in the same "acquired taste" bracket as Modestep. Back on the Zippo, Ace Frehley survived his name being pronounced incorrectly by his own band mate for a rousing set, before a diverse but delightfully heavy trio of Parkway Drive, Rise Against and A Day To Remember whipped the crowd up with glossy swagger.

And then came something entirely different, as the main stage was swathed in white and decorated with bouquets of colourful flowers. A Download stage this is not, but then Faith No More don't really work to anyone else's beat. The self-anointed yoga instructors ("relax!") might as well bite their thumb at the crowd, breezing through a brilliantly eclectic set with their usual charm and Mike Patton's dazzling wit including a grin-inducing rendition of 'Easy.' They're champions of charisma and cheek, including a silly but hilarious snippet of' Oasis' Champagne Supernova' and an oddly pertinent shout-out to "whoever comes next". That title went, of course, to Muse, who some may have thought didn't fit here. Their glorious, bombastic set proved that entirely wrong: Matt Bellamy knew exactly how to work that crowd, channelling his own love of metal into a soaring setlist that showed off his voice (obviously), but also Muse's older, heavier bones (even in the new material). And it's always nice to hear them giving drummer Dominic Howard something to do.

In the end, it was jaw-dropping and a festival stealer, and just a shame that it had to come at the expense of most people seeing Marilyn Manson for a set that was a massive improvement on his last performance at Donington by all accounts. Stand-Out Moment Muse. From start to finish.