Hanging out with two gorgeous ladies before Thursday's Boardie BBQ

Up and about earlier than the previous morning, I paid a wonderful visit to the Luxury Loos hair straightening facilities for a very un-festivalish grooming session, before heading for the second day of music.

Managing to catch 15 minutes of The Blackout playing an acoustic set at the Jagermeister truck, and despite the band's admission that it was out of their comfort zone, their songs translated well to the stripped-down session. This was cut short by a wander to the Main Stage, where Atreyu were playing early due to a switchover with Flyleaf, who were running late. When performing at the festival a few years ago, the vocal performance was poor, with drummer and clean vocalist Brandon Saller often out of tune. This year however, he showed his talent as a musician by keeping both the vocals and drumming perfectly tight. Combined with frontman Alex Varkatzas providing the more agressive, screaming vocals, the band gave a solid and exciting performance.

Comparisons of Flyleaf singer Lacey Mosley are often made to Evanescence's Amy Lee, however Flyleaf blew Evanescence's shaky 2007 performance out of the water today. Mosley could well be one of the best female vocalists in rock, with not only a pitch-perfect voice with incredible range, but also the ability to emit agressive, angsty growls and screams. The rest of the band were energetic and engaging, with one guitarist climbing onto a speaker stack and diving off, all while keeping musically tight with the rest of the band.

Sticking at the main stage, Five Finger Death Punch brought the aggressive metal sound they are known for, with an attitude to match. A band that split the crowd, there were both cheers and boos when their set was cut short due to Ivan Moody inciting crowd mayhem during Dying Breed. Perhaps in a fashion that could be considered arrogant, the band wore their own t-shirts, but arrogance aside, the band's fans seemed satisfied despite the shortened set.

After casually taking in Lamb of God (not a massive fan, but clearly popular with the Download fans), avoiding Megadeth and taking some boys shopping (yep, I didn't even buy anything!), The Blackout gave their fourth performance in just two years. The sextet had a special addition, Kids In Glass Houses drummer Philip Jenkins, and a charming 'Fuck The Blackout' banner which summed up their faux-egotistical yet self deprecating manner perfectly. Singalongs were inevitable and rousing, particularly to the beyond infectiously catchy This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things. The band also gave an instrumental tribute to headliners AC/DC and Rage Against The Machine, as they had done in 2009 with the year's big bands.

Deftones on the main stage were a big draw for the crowd, with their trademark etheral vocal style teamed with heavy riffs and musical backing translating perfectly to the festival setting. Their set proved an excellent opportunity to sit and relax while taking in their unique, melodically intricate songs.

Headlining the Ronnie James Dio Stage were US rock outfit 30 Seconds To Mars, fronted by actor Jared Leto, who sported an outrageous pink mohawk. Theatricality definitely proved a part of their act, with constant guitar swapping and the inability to stand still from Mr. Leto himself. During a few songs, he left it to the crowd to sing along with the choruses of well-known hits such as Attack, perhaps leading to questions on whether he could remember the lyrics he had written himself...luckily, the fans seemed to know what they were doing! As well as filming for their new video, and a Happy Birthday singalong to a friend, the band were joined by a special guest for breakthrough hit The Kill, Deftones' Chino Moreno, whose vocal complimented the chorus perfectly. For the finale, Leto invited fans to 'come on stage' (yes, I laughed. Quite a lot) and sing along to perfect summer anthem Kings and Queens - and plenty took him up on this offer, making the performance one to remember for plenty of them - and a stunning ending to a stellar day of music.

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