small stage magic helps ignite opening day of Download

Make no mistake. Download 2010 has left this year with some rather large boots to fill. Head liners such as AC/DC (with their own stage even!) and Rage Against The Machine made the fields in front of Castle Donnington the perfect place to be for all lovers of good music. There's no doubt this year's headliners don't quite capture that same level of pedigree. But move further down this year's bill, and you can find all manner of treats. This opening Friday was no different.

First onto the main stage were CKY. Launching straight into 'The Human Drive in Hi-Fi' the guys looked full of life. You have to applaud the simplicity of both their set, and stage set up too. It's a bare bone approach with a few amps on stage, a kit and nothing else to dress it up. Second song 'Rio Bravo' always delivers live. It's disturbingly heavy guitar intro, melded with the roaring vocals of front man Deron Miller sounded truly epic. It's never easy being the first band of the day, yet CKY seemed to embrace the challenge with open arms. "Most people think we're assholes because we're CKY. But it's a pleasure to be here opening for bands such as Thin Lizzy and Def Leppard" proclaimed the fanatically energetic guitarist Chad I Ginsburg.

Chad is always a delight to watch at a show. He's never far away from the microphone to shoot the shit with the audience and just looks like he belongs on stage, Tossing his guitar around in his iconic 'bitch toss' style. CKY continued to play to their strengths. Delivering crowd favourite '96 Quite Bitter Beings' to a delighted and slowly growing audience. They finish the set with the a brilliant rendition of 'Escape From Hell View'. You couldn't have really asked for more from an opening act. A short set with little time to really inspire, CKY did what they could. And did it well.

Next up, Puddle of Mudd failed to make such headway. Emerging on stage whilst Led Zeppelin's 'In The Light' oozed out of the PA system, you could tell Puddle Of Mudd were perhaps putting themselves on a pedestal. Their grungy Nirvana inspired take on music didn’t sound bad by any means, but certainly lacked the spark of their peers. The set felt a little weak too. Littered with both AC/DC and Sabbath Covers instead of actual Puddle Of Mudd songs.

Duff McKagans Loaded returned for another year at Donnington. His no nonsense straight out rock and roll certainly carried some weight. Stand out tracks such as 'Executioner' and 'Cocaine' really helped show how far the G&R bassist has come. "Download is the mother of all festivals, and you guys are the mother of all crowds" beamed Mckagan. "Giving every new band such as us a chance and giving it your all. Thank you." With talent such as this, it truly is our pleasure.

Thin Lizzy helped continue the upward trend, making their Download debut in true veteran’s style. Reshaped and reformed over the years, their now two year's front man Ricky Warrick helped lead an all-star cast through a set of hit after hit. Classic songs such as 'Jailbreak' and 'Don't Believe A Word' had the audience firing all on cylinders. Refreshingly, a crowd of all ages too. It was great to see old and new punters to this act revelling in songs which have defined generations.

The biggest reaction had to come from the iconic 'Whiskey In The Jar' which sent Download into the biggest sing-along of the festival so far. A fantastic performance by a fantastic band, which have overcome so many hurdles throughout their lifespan. It's a delight to have seen them play today.

Over in the Pepsi Max tent Hyro Da Hero was ascending to another level. Words cannot justify how great a performance theirs was. Don't you love it when you wander over to one of the smaller stages and find a real diamond in the rough? Well Hyro Da Hero wears the diamond in his crown. A mixture of rap-rock, which has then been mutated in its own unique way- Hyro was fantastic. Expelling an unquestionably inspiring amount of energy on stage, it was all too easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment.

Hyro shouts and screams lyrics through his microphone like a possessed monster, getting completely enveloped in his music. Wrapping mic chords around his guitarist, and diving into the audience; he is an inspiration to watch and hear. Track 'Beam Me Up Scotty' just sounded epic. Heavy laden guitars, with a thunderously deep bass line just made the music come alive. "I need every middle finger in the air" declared Hyro to an audience now eating out the palm of his hand. "Now look to the person next to you, and shout fuck you!" The crowd obliged and erupted once more into an exasperating mesh of people jumping all around. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of Hyro Da Hero. Hopefully seeing what they can do with more middle fingers on a bigger stage next year.

Times Of Grace then take to the Pepsi Max stage to continue the evening. The latest project of ex Killswitch Engage member Jesse Leach, and current member Adam Dutkiewicz. Their roots firmly within the metal core genre, Times Of Grace are an entertaining albeit a little samey affair. Away from the music however, Dutkiewicz's presence makes for pure comedy. From hiding from the crowd whilst setting up on stage, to declaring mid set how "I woke up this morning with a massive Download boner" - he truly is the one to watch. A chant for lead singer Jesse was soon silenced when Jesse asked for the audience to "chant the band's name rather than mine. Because I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them." It's a refreshingly humble request. Just a shame the music wasn't quite as exciting as the banter on stage.

The crowd swelled massively for tonight's headliner in the tent Danzig. Arriving on stage around 15 minutes late and just as the rain begins to pour outside, the atmosphere in the tent felt a little deflated. As Danzig emerged and launched into opening track 'Wotans Procession' you cannot help but feel a spark is missing from tonight. Ploughing through a set which included tracks such as 'Deth Red Moon' and 'Her Black Wings', it just didn't seem to connect as well as it should have on paper. The highlight of the set became its final song- 'Mother' with the audience in full sing-along mode. It was a fantastic close to a set which perhaps just strayed a little off centre.

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