Such is the broad appeal of Download Festival that the bookers can cater to all sorts of tastes without compromising on their central musical message, but there's always something even more appealing about the classic line-up days like this one. It would have been nice for sunshine, but you can't have it all. The day kicked off on the main stage with Pop Evil and the unjustly shoe-horned in 36 Crazyfists - both great but wasted slightly on bleary eyes that were then blasted open by a ferocious set by Cavelera Conspiracy. Those who went in search for something else on the Maverick Stage were treated to a hilarious set by comedy outfit Evil Scarecrow who surprise and delight with a cover of the Thundercats theme tune and their fan favourite Crabulon. Their silliness was in stark contrast to the professional staging of Tremonti on the main stage in front of a crowd beginning to feel the cold in a bad way. The band meanwhile suffered no such problems, defying the acoustic challenge of the wind swooping frustratingly across the arena. Next up, the main stage took a turn towards the deep south with Atlanta natives Blackberry Smoke, who have it in them to be a much bigger thing in 2016. They've supported ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd for a reason, after all and it shows in their brilliantly pitched performance. They were rather unfairly forced to compete with The Darkness, slipped into the Maverick Stage for a "secret" set that felt more like an after-thought, particularly when there were people 15 deep trying to get into the tent that was never in a million years big enough for them. Choosing between the two was unfair to either, but a necessary evil. Billy Idol then roused the main stage crowd with a very similar set to the one he played five years ago - albeit with the addition of surprisingly great new song Kings And Queens Of The Underground - with no compromise in quality or impact. The same goes for Slash and Myles Kennedy, who could probably put on a 10/10 show in their sleep, but still perform with the vim and vigour of a band always eager to please. Why else would Slash play old ghosts like 'Slither', 'Paradise City' and 'Sweet Child O Mine'? He doesn't need to, but the crowd lap it up every time. In Flames threaten to steal the day on the Zippo who get one of the biggest crowd reactions of the weekend, despite the ever decreasing temperature, before attention was again sucked to the main stage and Motley Crue's "final" Download performance ever. Even if they defy their promise not to come back this did feel like a fitting end: embracing the fact that they've never really left 1981, and delighting fans with stripper/backing singer/dancer multi-taskers and a flame-thrower attached to Nikki Sixx's bass, as well as some anthemic musical brilliance. It's all gimmickry, but it doesn't take away from their performance at all, which ends with more farewells than The Lord Of The Rings. Talking of entirely welcome gimmickry, the day and the festival ends with an extended, showy performance by Kiss, starting with 'Detroit Rock City' and never dropping in confidence or energy until the encore hits of Shout It Out Loud, I Was Made for Lovin You and Rock and Roll All Nite. It's one for the hardcore fans and fans of rock and roll in general and even if you don't like music at all, there's enough intrigue in wondering how Gene Simmons continues his tongue antics for so long. The pyros and showmanship are insane, with every song being punctuated by flames and flash-bangs and some wonderful acrobatics by Paul Stanley flying out over the crowd for 'Love Gun'. Yes they believe their own hype, and yes their very carefully engineered, from every single camera angle to every pout and hair flick by Starchild, but when the pay-off is this good, there's nothing to complain about. Stand-Out Moment The Darkness. Why the hell weren't they on the main stage?! Were you at Download 2015? Share your own reviews in the comments section below.
