Download 2010 Post Mortem - Saturday 12th June

All the action from the second night of Download 2010

Saturday at Download was a beast. Still buzzing from one of the greatest Donington sets ever in the form of AC/DC’s headline show the night before, the Download crowd assembled in the Arena at 11am, hungry for more.

With the sun beating down on Donington, Las Vegas glam rockers Taking Dawn opened up the action on the Maurice Jones Stage, playing a set with enough melodic hooks and heavy riffs to whip the crowds in to a head-banging frenzy.

Read our full review of Taking Dawn and second band on the Main Stage HELLYEAH here.

Elsewhere, the sounds of bands including Rise To Remain, Godsized, Holy Grail and Cancer Bats could be heard ringing out across the vast Arena.

Cancer Bats sending the crowd wild at Download 2010

Covers-band Rock Sugar had an enormous audience for their set on the Pepsi Max Stage, filling the tent up with their awesome renditions of fan favourites, including a raucous sing-along version of the mighty Don’t Stop Believin’. Everyone squeezed into the tent was loving it.

Backstage, we caught up with the likes of Atreyu, Skin and Michael Monroe, as well as the incredibly cool David Ellefson from Megadeth ahead of the band’s stint on the Maurice Jones Stage.

Meanwhile, Five Finger Death Punch were busy putting on a brutal set, encouraging hundreds of fans to crowd-surf their way to the front of stage to shake frontman Ivan Moody’s hand. It all got a bit out of hand when an unprecedented amount of kids forced their way on to stage, and the band’s set was almost cut short!

Read our full review of 5FDP at Download here.

Just when we thought the action couldn’t get any more intense, Lamb of God stormed the stage and put on an almighty performance. There was rock. There was screaming. There was mosh pits. There was chaos. It was good.

Ville Valo from HIM was on fine form as always

Following a quick chat with us, Ville Valo took his band HIM to the Ronnie James Dio Stage to play yet another Download set – they’ve played here five times in the past! Showing no signs of slowing down, the band pumped out tracks from their new album, a fistful of classics and an awesome cover of Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell. It was intense.

This was followed by a phenomenal headline set from Thirty Seconds To Mars, who must have had 40,000 fans going wild in the palm of their hands. Donning a fiery pink mohawk, Jared and the band spoke to us backstage before their set. Watch the video now.

Whilst all this was going on, Californian mighty metalers Deftones played an unforgettable set on the Maurice Jones Stage.

They performed a back catalogue of songs, as well as new tracks from their latest album Diamond Eyes with the likes of Sextape, Knife Party and CMND/CTR all doing a decent amount of damage. With a lighting rig brighter than the sun behind them, Deftones went on to become one of the highlights of the weekend.

Deftones were one of the highlights of the Download weekend

Read our full review of Deftones live at Download 2010 here.

It had been a manic day, but it wasn’t due to slow down any time soon. By 9pm, dusk was setting in, a gigantic crowd was assembled around the Maurice Jones Stage, and an eponymous black flag with a single red star dominated the stage vista. The scene was set, and we were all waiting for Saturday night headliners Rage Against The Machine to come out and do their thing.

We were not let down. Bursting out to thunderous applause and deafening shrieks, Rage exploded onto the stage. “Good evening, we are Rage Against The Machine and we are from Los Angeles, California,” shouted front man Zach del la Rocha, before the band exploded in to Bombtrack.

It was epic.

Tom Morello - awesome

The set had everything you’d expect from RATM. Drama. Excitement. Fun. Political preaching. But above all, Rage pumped out a catalogue of ferocious tunes, climaxing in an almighty finale of Killing In The Name. Not a single person in the audience didn’t have their hands in the air, and you could hear the mass chorus of 90,000 people screaming “fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” for miles around.

Read out full review of Rage Against The Machine live at Download 2010 here.

And so the night eventually drew to a close. Once again, Saturday at Download had proven itself to be the most intense and brutal day across the weekend. But Sunday was almost here, and was about to get even more exciting…