Day Three Headliner: Rammstein
For many, the third day was all about Rammstein, the German industrialists who are the walking epitome of their genre sweating motor oil, and breathing fire, and making a wonderful racket that even Motorhead would be proud of. But before they took to the stage and closed the festival, there was a broad selection of bands to enjoy, starting with a heavy early day run of Cancer Bats, Five Finger Death Punch and Parkway Drive, who whip up a dozing crowd and inspire some impressive acrobatics in the mosh-pits. When Corey Taylor returns to the stage with so-called side-project Stonesour, he is typically great, but the set suffers a little by comparison to the blazing Slipknot set that preceded it on Friday. It's always better to see Taylor at full-throttle, and the more restrained, grungier edge of Stonesour feels like an appetiser to a main event that already happened. Second stagers Ghost then appear in their priest outfits to do their best to suck any positive feeling out of the crowd, and rather unfortunately set up the wonderful Gaslight Anthem (who follow them over on the main stage) for a fall that their music and their performance just don't deserve. They don't fit with the rest of the billing on the main stage though perhaps the organisers decided 30 Seconds To Mars needed a more poppy predecessor to make their set not stick out like the sore thumb it was. Before Jared Leto took to the main stage, Australian ACDC lovers Airbourne appeared on the Zippo stage to blow off a few cobwebs with their unashamed tribute to the most famous Antipodean rockers the world has ever seen. They're great, and they'll fill a hole when their idols eventually decide to retire, and it's exceptionally hard not to fall in love with their enthusiasm. That's more than can be said of 30 Seconds To Mars, whose set is too quiet by about 200%, and seems to be used as an opportunity for front-man Jared Leto to peacock and show off his undeniable beauty to the collected swooning ladies. You get the feeling they believe their hype a little too much now, with the sheer number of times Leto lets the crowd sing for him, and the pregnant pauses to take in the screams, but their music is unflawed when they actually play it (and when it's actually possible to hear it.) The biggest surprise (for some) came with Limp Bizkit's rousing second stage headline slot, which is packed with oddly begrudging fans, who seem unwilling to admit their love of the much maligned band, right up to the point that they find themselves furiously dancing to Rollin'. It's a great, almost spitefully entertaining set, which is unfortunately over-lapped by Rammstein, but Fred Durst and co can take pleasure in the fact that very few actually left the second stage to catch the start of Rammstein. But as good as Limp Bizkit were, Rammstein ruled the day, announcing themselves with a eye-brow threatening amount of pyrotechnics, and a tub-thumping sound that makes their bold decision to remain entirely in German completely inconsequential. They are bold, bright and bloody loud, and it's almost impossible to tear your eyes away from the set that stands as a perfect crowing set-piece to the entire weekend, especially after a comparatively slow final day. On more than one occasion it seems like they intend to blow up the stage and set everything on fire, but they hold it all together and the crowd is clearly taken in by the spectacle, which is breath-taking at times. A great end. So, just over 350 days until Donington reopens its doors to the world's rock fans for next year, let's hope Andy Copping has big plans already... All images courtesy of Download Festival official website.