Stocks are now running low for the remaining 2010 Sonisphere t-shirts and our exclusive Metallica t-shirt (which will soon be discontinued) so hurry if you still want to snap any of these up.

To receive your discount, just enter the code SNS666 when prompted at checkout. Offer ends Sept 14th, cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Enter the Sonisphere Store here.

With a new Eddie and a healthy dollop of sci-fi and dystopian future in tow the long player has already clocked up a Gold Disc in Sweden and heading to follow suite in the UK, Finland, Australia and Ireland. Even though it’s their 15th studio record, its perhaps their most epic and ambitious, and shows the skills of a band at their very peak, with no sign of going nowhere apart from upwards.

Well done, let the Air Raid Siren ring out across the world, UP THE IRONS!

The storm lasted less than five minutes, but in that time it damaged the second stage beyond repair (it’s currently being held up by a crane), completely broke Mötley Crüe’s kit and soaked absolutely everyone at the festival.

Team Sonisphere were forced to tell Mötley Crüe who were en route to Pori to turn their tour bus around as their gear was simply wrecked. As Bruce Dickinson announced on stage as he gave a rallying call to the crowd and introduced Alice Cooper: “The stage over there is completely fucked. Mötley Crüe’s stuff is fucked and our stuff is fucked, but we don’t care. We’re not going home until you go home.”

Iggy Pop was the first artist to get back up on stage. “We’re a small part of the fucking Stooges,” he said before playing an impromptu four-song acoustic set with his guitarist. For ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ he invited his saxophone player up on stage, holding his mike to the horn for amplification. It was something you are unlikely to ever witness again in front of a festival crowd and it blew people away. Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo was almost speechless afterwards: “That was fucking phenomenal, really, really awesome and when the sax came out, well…”

Both Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden played full sets. While the stage hands plugged in 30 hairdryers and set to work on salvaging the siutation, Alice’s band got busy borrowing functioning (and most importantly dry) gear from Slayer. It could well be the loudest they’ve ever sounded.

Iron Maiden went on two hours later than originally planned, but didn’t stint on their set for a second. The reception was unbelievable and deservedly so. As Bruce said before the set’s finale:

“This is one of the most amazing concerts of my whole life. We were pissed on by the gods and we pissed on the gods right back. For those of you that have rocked we fucking salute you.”

Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood agreed, saying backstage: “This is the most amazing audience I’ve ever seen in Europe for any Iron Maiden gig ever.”

Team Sonisphere is incredibly proud of our fans who stood here and stayed for the whole day. We’re just as proud of the crew who worked so hard to make the show happen and the bands who went out there and played their hearts out.
We feel honoured to work with such a team. We can confirm we’ll be returning. “We’ve already starting planning next year and the show will definitely be coming back to Finland,” said Sonisphere series producer Stuart Galbraith.

So the last Sonisphere of the summer – we’d shred a tear if things weren’t about to get even more impressive next year. Over 700,000 people have enjoyed the Sonisphere experience across 11 countries this year and in just the first two years more than a million festival-goers have attended some of the most historic gigs to have ever happened in Europe.

“It’s been an unbelievable tour and I’m so proud of the way we’ve dealt with any challenges,” said Stuart. “We’ve survived mud baths in Switzerland and Sweden, a sandstorm in Spain and now we’ve survived a tornado here in Finland.”

And so to the next round of Sonispheres. Team Sonisphere have started planning already and we’re very excited about what’s in store. Stay tuned.

Anyone who calls themselves a festival-goer will tell you “it’s not all about the music” at festivals. Like the intangible dark matter that composes 95% of the universe, the real stuff that makes festivals what they are is not listed on any line-up. Here’s a few examples as captured by Sonisphere’s official writers’ team…

“My ‘Random’ moment at Sonipshere 2010 was letting a bunch of people draw on me with permanent marker. I must have been pretty drunk because I woke up the next morning looking like I’d come out of a bad tattoo parlour. Thank god for soap.”  – Lucy Jones

“During Cars On Fire’s set, the world’s greatest toddler decided to let his rock credentials be known. Escaping the clutches of his mother, the adorable young ‘un bounced around with unending enthusiasm and was joined by vocalist Ali Ross for a rock-out to rival even the most brutal Slayer pit.” – Duncan Geddes

“As I was leaving the arena on Sunday, someone ran over to me and told me that they were giving away free ice cream from a nearby Ice Cream Van. I never found out who it was because they ran away into the night, but I can’t fault the gesture!” – Tom Aylott

“Camp Fighting Mongoose’s late night drivels of alcoholic fuelled debauchery and feuding, and the inevitable coming together of Camp Loner, Camp Pirate and Camp Fighting Mongoose… maybe one day we’ll camp together, and we wont have our flag stolen and have to go on a rampage to get it back” – Kial Churcher

“My random moment of the weekend would have to be involving Chrome Hoof’s bizarre, robotic goat mascot coming through the side doors and into the crowd during their set. For a split second I thought War of the Worlds was actually happening but sadly no, reality is still firmly in place.” – Jack Pudwell

“Seeing a crowd of metalheads help someone in a wheelchair to crowdsurf may have had health and safety shaking their heads disapprovingly but needless to say, it brought a smile to everyone else’s faces, especially the lad riding high to Anthrax.” – Janusz Jasinski

“For me, hearing masses of people doing Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions similar to that of the band ‘Austrian Death Machine’ was really inspiring, as we started chanting it first in Blue 3. It just shows you how great festival communities can be and that how one small joke amongst one camp can spread to become a catchphrase for the whole festival site. Sure beats “Buttscratcher!” – Scott McKenna

“Not long after Maiden finished their legendary headline performance on the Apollo stage, a stampede of metalheads was seen rampaging up and down the campsite to battle cries of ‘SLAAAYAAAARGGHH!’ They then proceeded to indulge in a far less metal activity: limbo. With a beer bong, of course.” – Simon Youel

“Watching men in very convincing drag (in preparation for the Bizarre Ball) and other men in red and black war paint standing next to each other for Turisas was one of the funniest things all weekend. Fishnets and furs, blusher and woad – all came together for Battle Metal. Priceless.” – Tom Dare

“So it’s Rammstein, I suppose nobody would find this surprising who has seen the band before, but approximately halfway during their set, I glance over to my right, to find a middle aged male enjoying the show. Completely naked. Perhaps this is just me, but I found it a little weird that nobody seemed to care too much, and everybody was happily just nodding along. It was with a shake of the head and an ironic laugh that I continued such ignorance and enjoyed the stage show of a lifetime.” - Ryan Duggleby

“If there is one thing that never fails to amuse at festivals, it is the diversity of the crowd. As a fairly new festival, Sonisphere seemed to boast even more of a varied crowd than expected. Underlining this was the fact that on Saturday night, I found myself sat with a group of people (of which I only knew one person already), we drank  red wine and discussed sex with power tools. Class and crass, gathered around a hexi stove…only at a festival.” – Claire Nice

“After Iron Maiden had finished, I was walking back to my tent when I saw a large circle of about one hundred people singing and dancing to Monty Python’s ‘Always look on the bright side of life’. You could tell people were so happy and had just had an amazing time.” – Alex Bain

Tell us about your random Sonisphere experiences now on the Sonisphere Facebook page.

“Having gone to many festivals, you don’t often see event staff partying. This wasn’t the case at Sonisphere. When you get to see actual Kilimanjaro staff inciting a circle pit for Skindred, you know you’re at a festival that has passion oozing out of every orifice. [Right: check out Sonisphere promoter Alan crowd-surfing past the camera at 23 seconds! You won't see that at other rock festivals!] Classic.” – Janusz Jasinski

“Seeing Blaas of Glory standing by the toilets playing ‘Love in an elevator’ by Aerosmith to a singing crowd of about 200 people. I had never seen the song performed in such a way and it was really entertaining and interesting to watch.” – Alex Bain

“I was left pleasantly surprised by how blissfully relaxing and smooth the Shisha tent in-between the Jagermeister and Bowtime stages was. How I had not tried Shisha up until this point, I’ll never know. Oh flavoured tobacco, where have you been all my life?” - Jack Pudwell

“At the centre of Fear Factory’s Siamese moshpits of doom were two men who genuinely looked to be in their 60s, fighting it out as if they were 40 years younger. One of these men was then spotted crowd surfing during Sick Of It All’s set, to much admiration.” - Simon Youel

“Sacred Mother Tongue’s bassist Josh jumping from the stage, going out through the crowd, running to the top story of the Jager bar and continuing to play, never missing a beat. Not content with that, he ran back down to the crowd and began playing in the crowd. A brilliant and spontaneous moment.” - Tom Dare

“As Sonisphere 2010 was my first ever festival, I didn’t know what to expect. I made friends beforehand and set off on my jolly to the festival, and what a festival it was. Even though I had my wallet stolen on the Thursday night (later found minus £15) it was one of the best experiences of my life. Met some lovely people and camped with some of the best as well. I will forever be part of Camp Fighting Mongoose now. Sonisphere was an achievement beyond no other, selling out at 55,000 people and creating one hell of a rock and metal line-up. This was one weekend I will never forget.” – Callum Thomson

“I went to Sonisphere expecting people watching non “metal-friendly” bands to be partaking the great British tradition of bottling. I didn’t see any of it all weekend, and even if it was down to the average age being higher compared to other festivals, it was still great to see.” – Tom Aylott

“When I first arrived at Sonipshere festival I never expected to end up in the backstage area helping out with the interview for ‘Me vs Hero’. My job was to hold a microphone, which I’m not sure how well I did because the cameraman said I kept on getting in the shot, whoops!” – Lucy Jones

“Pendulum – a band for whom I have only a passing liking – brought the In Flames vocalist, Anders Friden, to the stage for a head-banging rendition of their new song with In Flames, ‘Self vs. Self’ which prompted the Iron Maiden – hungry crowd to form a massive mosh pit.” – Alex Eperon

“There was no doubt that Skunk Anansie’s appearance on the bill got people talking, let alone that they were placed so high up. For the first few songs of their set, there were several large groups of people that heckled, complained and even booed (booing, seriously?). If there is one thing that Skunk Anansie CAN do though, it is to mix pop/dance and rock to glorious effect. Every single cynic around us had declared their admiration for front woman Skin by the set closer. So the surprise in the end wasn’t their billing, but that we witnessed several metal heads singing along to Weak, and whooping while Skin crowd surfed. Genius.” – Claire Nice

“My Sonisphere surprise was most definitely was Bring Me The Horizon. After seeing the horror that was their last minute set at Reading 2008, I hadn’t set my hopes high. They had since then released “Suicide Season” which I really enjoyed, and the display of energy on show, matched with good vocals and a great crowd meant that I really had a fun time and has made me do a U-turn on how I feel about them. This has re-enforced values I believe in that a band I may not like now could be a band I like 3 years down the line, and that each new record is different from the last.” – Scott McKenna

What was your best Sonisphere surprise? Tell us now on the Sonisphere Facebook page.

Sonisphere Festival series producer Stuart Galbraith said: “Our first thoughts go out to the injured people and we sincerely hope they will have a full recovery ”

The second stage was damaged beyond repair and to guarantee the safety of the audience, artists and crew the authorities closed the stage. The storm damaged Mötley Crües’ equipment behind repair, forcing their show to be unfortunately cancelled. Iggy Pop did play, performing an acoustic four-track set on the main stage, while the Sonisphere crew worked hard behind the scenes to dry everything out and make repairs to damage across the site.

Having borrowed kit from Slayer, Alice Cooper is performing a full set on the main stage and Iron Maiden’s show will also perform a full set, going on stage at approx. 21.50 and playing until approx. 23.50. The police and city authorities have agreed to allow Iron Maiden to finish later than originally planned.

“We’re doing everything we can to ensure that the show can take place. The show will run so long as it can run safely.” said Stuart Galbraith.

All the Finnish bands that played yesterday did their homeland proud. Stam1ina set the tone for the day, opening the festival up with a storming set in the sunshine just after midday. Apocalyptica seemed to whip their hair even faster than usual as they headbanged their way through a ferocious set.

Before them came The Cult or as Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell put it, “one of the greatest rock and roll bands there’s ever been”. Alice in Chains were big fans of Finland.

“This is our first time in Finland for four years. We were just saying backstage we could hang out here for some time,” said frontman William Duvall laughing and pointing to the crowd. “There’s a lot reasons why and some of them are right here.”

As befits a band that were playing their “last show in Europe for a while” AIC really got into it, delivering an epic one and a half hour experience. They primed the crowd nicely for Volbeat. They’re a popular band in Finland and Michael Poulson made a point of thanking the Finnish fans. “We have a gold record in Finland,” he said. “And while that might not mean much to you it means a lot to me.”

Before playing ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’, which has proved a festival favourite on this tour, he declared: “Normally we dedicate this record to Johnny Cash, but today we’re dedicating it to Ronnie James Dio.”

And so to today. Team Sonisphere would think it difficult task to top yesterday’s performances, except we have Anthrax, Slayer, Iggy and the Stooges, the first-time ever Alice Cooper has brought his Theatre of Death to Finland, Mötley Crüe and, of course, Iron Maiden.

IRON MAIDEN – Apollo Stage, Sunday

“If metal ruled the world, “there would be a lot of songs about death, but nobody would actually die”, or so said Bruce Dickinson – and if it were ever to happen, don’t doubt that Iron Maiden would be ruling over the…’Brave New World’. No longer slaves to the power of death, Maiden blasted through recent material with vigour, and classics, some now thirty years old, with life that couldn’t be any fresher. Bring on the next Maiden gig, the next Sonisphere, anything that could give us this kind of rush again.” – Duncan Geddes

“Could there have been a finer end to the weekend than Iron Maiden? Many will say yes – Iron Maiden playing more classics. Ladies and gentlemen you may have a point, I suppose this is a festival, and I suppose they could have catered for non die hard fans, but come on, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘The Wicker Man’ were absolutely outstanding. Even if you didn’t know the songs you couldn’t help but fall weak at the knees for the sheer presence of such musical genius. The legacy of Maiden, old and new was shown here, and nobody could honestly deny it.” – Ryan Duggelby

“To see Maiden, with Bruce jumping around like someone quarter of his age, singing with such a mind blowingly powerful voice was a glorious thing to see.  After this performance, which featured a dedication to Dio, Maiden have secured a place in my heart as the best live metal band around.” – Janusz Jasinski

“The most anticipated band of the weekend, Iron Maiden once again demonstrated why they are the greatest entertainers in the live music universe. The band took everyone watching on a mesmerising journey, through both modern epics, and older classics, with the crowd echoing every word shrieked by frontman Bruce Dickinson.” – Simon Youel

“Iron Maiden used their headline slot as an opportunity to display what still makes them so relevant: their refusal to become a complacent cabaret act combined with an incessant, creative need to keep things fresh and interesting. With all the energy of acts half their age, Maiden pummeled through a set of excellent choice cuts from their last three studio albums proving that they’re just as vital now as they were 30 years ago.” – Jack Pudwell

“Iron Maiden’s futuristic set shows a band constantly looking forward to the future but there is no doubt tonight that the future of the band is looking better than ever. It all becomes worth the wait when Iron Maiden blast onto the stage with more energy than most men half their age. The band mainly play material from the last ten years; and with songs such as ‘The Wicker Man’ and ‘Brave new world’ sounding better than ever, its easy to see why the band opt to play music from that era. A nine foot tall Eddie; the band’s mascot, walks onto stage during ‘Iron Maiden’ and sees the crowd and singer Bruce Dickinson having the time of their life. Iron Maiden lay waste to Knebworth and promise to return, much to the pleasure all present.” – Alex Bain

“Mind-blowing and fantastically otherworldly, Iron Maiden delivered a mostly-new setlist peppered with classics and the appearance of a monstrous, new, guitar-playing Eddie. As always, phenomenal amounts of energy were put into the dynamic show and the space theme truly carried many members of the audience – or at least yours truly – out to the final frontier.” – Alex Eperon

RAMMSTEIN – Apollo Stage, Saturday

“Word on the street was that Rammstein were going to tear Knebworth a new one. That they did, as well as burning everyone alive, rebuilding them, only to tear ‘em up again. Everything you’ve heard about the German industrial metallers was unequivocally displayed on Saturday night. From eyeball frying pyrotechnics set to classics such as Du Hast, to frontman Till Lindeman riding a giant foam spewing dick to porn-anthem Pussy, they held Knebworth in the palm of their hands (or groins) and brought Saturday to a knee trembling close.” – Claire Nice

“German industrial titans Rammstein opened with the epic sight of a giant German flag and the blasting intro of Rammlied. The band had begun a master class in performance and showmanship. ‘Ich Tu Dir Weh’ had singer Till Lindemann raised twenty feet into the air, pouring hot sparks onto keyboardist Flake Lorenz. Later on in the set, Rammstein burned their way into a rousing performance of ‘Pussy’. The sight of Till riding the phallic foam cannon had the whole crowd singing along. Show closer  ‘Ich Will’ saw the whole band head banging their way to the finish; it seems safe to say there was not one person in the whole arena who wasn’t open mouthed and blown away.” – Alex Bain

“They were just the perfect headliner. With huge bombastic anthems like Du Hast and Sonne that everyone knew the words to (even if they didn’t speak German) and more explosions than every Bond film put together, Rammstein perfectly balanced mighty music and awe-inspiring spectacle. Heads were banged. Really bloody hard.” – Tom Dare

“Rammstein burnt everything. They burnt their keyboardist (Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz’), the first few rows of the crowd and even a ‘fan’ who danced onstage. Add to that a stage show with mechanic precision, a crowd-surfing boat and a foam shooter, and you have the perfect live show. What more needs to be said?” – Alex Eperon

Rammstein have spent the last fifteen years acquiring a reputation as a band whose stage show has to be seen to be believed – they did not disappoint.  With monstrous pyrotechnics, elevated stage platforms and a crowd-sailing keyboard player, Rammstein make their first outdoor UK performance a show for which Knebworth will need to wait some time to see its equal. – Andy Duckworth

“Rammstein literally blew all comers aside, ensuring they were the undisputed kings of Knebworth and that any other band using pyrotechnics this weekend would look like losers. The fact that a German band singing exclusively in German had the crowd in the palm of their hands from start to finish speaks volumes. Perfect.” – Chris Cooper

“Rammstein carry a reputation for putting on spectacular shows, and at Sonisphere 2010, they upheld this. Awesome costumes, fireworks and a burning man running around on stage. keyboard legend Flake ended the show by crowd-surfing in a rubber dingy. Now if that’s not rock and roll, then I don’t know what is.”  – Lucy Jones

“After recent events in South Africa, it was strange to witness 55,000 people so happy to see a 40ft German flag on English soil. As expected, Rammstein’s set had all you could want from a festival headliner; a stupendous amount of fireworks, flames, stunts and ruddy good metal anthems.” – Simon Youel

“Rammstein, one of the bands I was most looking forwards to seeing, mainly due to their huge pyrotechnic show, and they didn’t disappoint. The fire was burning for their show at least. Bringing 22 tonnes worth of the stuff in order to try and blow Apollo stage sky high. With a greatest hits set including classics like Benzin, Du Hast and Feuer Frei they owned the stage on the Saturday creating a show that will never be forgotten in Sonisphere history.” – Callum Thomson

“For a show that featured so much pyro, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was all about the visuals. “Ich Will” and “Sonne” would have quickly put you right though. A band that clearly cares about delivering a performance, Rammstein didn’t disappoint. They have surely won a new throng of fans over with this one.” – Janusz Jasinski

What was your verdict on this year’s headliners? Tell us now on the Sonisphere Facebook page.

Iron Maiden
If metal ruled the world, “there would be a lot of songs about death, but nobody would actually die”, or so said Bruce Dickinson – and if it were ever to happen, don’t doubt that Iron Maiden would be ruling over the…’Brave New World’. No longer slaves to the power of death, Maiden blasted through recent material with vigour, and classics, some now thirty years old, with life that couldn’t be any fresher. Bring on the next Maiden gig, the next Sonisphere, anything that could give us this kind of rush again. – Duncan Geddes

Rammstein
They were just the perfect headliner. With huge bombastic anthems like Du Hast and Sonne that everyone knew the words to (even if they didn’t speak German) and more explosions than every Bond film put together, Rammstein perfectly balanced mighty music and awe-inspiring spectacle. Heads were banged. Really bloody hard. – Tom Dare

Skindred
While I was happy that Skindred earned a spot on the Apollo stage this year, I was worried the partition may have not worked in their favour. I am glad to say that my worries were calmed early on as everyone was bouncing, moshing and getting their ragga-metal vocals on. Benji Webbe used the partition to his advantage, playing the left side against the right side in a banterous and energetic mosh battle (The right side being infinitely better of course), whilst giving us some funny anecdotes along the way. Skindred are the quintessential Sonisphere band for me. - Scott McKenna

Slayer
F*****G SLAYER!!! At the risk of sounding sycophantic, Slayer can do no wrong. This was proven by a no nonsense metal show. You know they’ll start with “South of Heaven” and you know when “Raining Blood” will start but that didn’t stop everyone moshing the hell out of the Knebworth grounds. Highlight of the set – “Angel of Death”. – Janusz Jasinski

Alice In Chains
Riding the wave of success from their hugely successful new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, Alice In Chains bring a touch of 90s grunge to an eager audience. Them Bones and Rooster show just how amazing they were at their earlier zenith, circa Dirt, whilst newer songs like Check My Brain and Your Decision justify their new-found acclaim.  – Andy Duckworth

Karnivool
Aussies Karnivool kicked off the proceedings on Sunday with the statement “We are your breakfast” before launching into a set which reminded fans why they are developing such a reputation as the new princes of prog-rock. New single All I Know sets the pace before Themata brings their show to a crashing close. – Andy Duckworth

Good Charlotte
The last time I saw Good Charlotte perform was when I was a teenager, so watching them belt out songs such as ‘My bloody Valentine’ and ‘Lifestyles of the rich and the famous’ was a pleasant walk down memory lane. They also went on to play a surprisingly good cover of Blink 182’s ‘Dammit’. – Lucy Jones

Pendulum
Pendulum were expected to deliver during their set and they went above and beyond any expectations, a band that gets better and better everytime you see them live, the whole crowd dancing away from start to finish. Everyone around looked to be having the time of their lives. Pendulum’s MC, Ben Mount helped to hype everyone up even more with his crowd interaction, and a surprise cameo from InFlames’ front man to perform ” self vs self” was the icing on the drum & bass cake, incredible performance and a highlight of the festival for many. – Kay Shanowski

Anthrax

With a set consisting of favourites from the band’s classic thrash era, Joey Belladonna proved once and for all that he is the ultimate Anthrax frontman. Seasoned metalheads were almost brought to tears with the beautiful medley of Indians with Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell, in loving tribute to Dio. – Simon Youel

They may be ferociously fast and mightily aggressive, but they can still get a field full of people to sing in unison. We all got Caught In A Mosh and felt thoroughly Antisocial as Joey Belladonna held us in the palm of his hand. Charlie Benante’s thunderous drumming reminded you how heavy Anthrax are. – Tom Dare

Papa Roach
Nu metal heroes Papa Roach exploded onto the stage with an extraordinary roar from the crowd. Mixing up old and new material; it was clear the band knew how to work the field. ‘I almost told you that I loved you’ had the whole audience jumping high and low, and by the time the final notes of ‘Last Resort’ rang out, singer Jacoby Shaddix had the crowd in the palm of his hand. – Alex Bain

Placebo
I had waited for so long to see Placebo live and it was worth the wait; Brian Moloko did not disappoint and opening with “Nancy Boy” made the anticipation so much greater for the rest of the show. A truly amazing and memorable performance from Placebo. A set that could only have been improved by adding more time. – Kay Shanowski

Family Force 5
Family Force 5 kicked off the Apollo stage on Saturday with their upbeat blend of electro-rock and pop/metal influences. There was even some Michael Jackson riffage. It’s hard to place them genre-wise, but lead vocalist Soul Glow Activatur (yes, really) has no doubt in his mind that FF5 belong on that stage, and his enthusiasm wasn’t half infectious. – Claire Nice

Who was YOUR favourite act on APOLLO? Tell us now on the Sonisphere Facebook page.

Alice Cooper
Twisted, sickening and thoroughly entertaining, Alice Cooper’s songs brought a story to the stage; a story littered with death, torture and even necrophilia. The original shock rocker died four times, persuaded the crowd to chant ‘I love the dead’, decapitated a baby and killed multiple stage assistants, including his daughter. Shocking, yet equally fantastic and brilliant. – Alex Eperon

Dir en Grey
Dir en Grey stunned, surprised and bewildered in equal measure, tearing their way through a set that showcased their uniquely bizarre take on progressive metal. The group’s combination of precise, machine-gunning rhythms, cleverly textured guitar work and hellishly possessed vocals from singer Kyo resulted in one of the most fascinating live spectacles of Sonisphere 2010. – Jack Pudwell

Gary Numan
Gary Numan may not be a typically “rock friendly” booking in the eyes of some, but his Saturn stage set on Friday evening certainly hushed even the most elitist of rock and metal fans. Playing a selection of darker cuts from his most recent albums along with fantastically heavy and stirring renditions of classics like ‘Cars’ and ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’, the electro legend’s set proved one of the highlights of the weekend. – Jack Pudwell

Iggy & The Stooges
Iggy & The Stooges can always be relied upon to bring the Fun House to wherever they play and their performance at Sonisphere was no exception. As flamboyant and energetic as ever, Iggy Pop incited a stage invasion, humped the monitors and whirled around the stage like the youthful hurricane he has always been. “We will have a real cool time” – Never a truer word spoken, Iggy. – Jack Pudwell

The Cult
They may have grown older and put on a few pounds since they first began, but The Cult still know how to put on a good show. They had the crowd singing along to all the favourites including, ‘Sweet soul sister’, ‘Rain’ and ‘She sell’s sanctuary’ making this one of the feel-good highlights of the festival. – Lucy Jones

Turisas
Complete with an accordion solo and confusing yet entertaining interludes from lead vocalist Warlord Nygard, Turisas filled the arena with warlike folk metal songs mostly aptly described in the band’s own terms – battle metal. Not surprisingly, the audience loved it, and joined in, chanting along with songs such as ‘One More’ with suitably warlike gusto. – Alex Eperon

CKY
Belting out alternative metal hits such as ’96 Quite Bitter Beings’, CKY’s Deron Miller rocked the early morning Sunday crowd into open-eyed wonder at the dexterity of their musical revelation. Chad I Ginsburg’s customary inspiring stage presence even got the crowd moving and chanting ‘CKY’, despite many of them still nursing hangovers from the day before. – Alex Eperon

The Fab Beatles
Seeing and hearing a group of punks and metalheads singing along jubilantly to She Loves You and Hey Jude had to be one of the festival moments of the summer. The Fab Beatles are a great tribute band and they proved a surprisingly pleasing addition to Sonisphere. Their closing cover of Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills was the icing on the cake. – Kay Shanowski

Fear Factory
After the crushing news that Fear Factory had to pull out of Sonisphere ‘09, it was with a great sense of relief that the powerhouse duo of Burton C Bell and Dino Cazerez took to the Saturn stage on Saturday. Binary metal anthems such as Replica and Demanufacture lent weight to newer, but no less aggressive numbers, such as Powershifter and Mechanize. The boys are back and they’re still brutal. – Andy Duckworth

Soulfly
Max Cavalera has been creating bone-crushing thrash metal for decades now and Soulfly’s set showcased this brilliantly. Sepultura favourites like Chaos AD and Roots counterpointed their own  anthems such as Back To The Primitive and Prophecy whilst songs from Soulfly’s new album, Omen, show how the band are in no way content to mellow in line with their advancing years.  – Andy Duckworth

Bring Me the Horizon
Enough of all the haters, Bring Me the Horizon are a force to be reckoned with. Olly Sykes has so much energy on stage it is unreal, and from the first song, Diamond’s Aren’t Forever, you could feel the electricity from the crowd and the band themselves. They were obviously just thrilled to be there, with some scaffolding acrobatics from guitarist Jona Weinhofen, reminiscent of an Airborne stunt the previous year. There were some condiments thrown at them, but they took this in good spirits and for this I applaud them. As I do Olly’s Dad for emerging on stage to help sing Football Seasons Over! – Callum Thomson

Skunk Anansie – Claire Nice
Cynical metalheads snarled as Skunk Anansie took the stage on Saturday evening. But by their second tune (the incredibly electrifying Charlie Big Potato) it was apparent that Skin and her boys were out to make to a point. Rarely does a front woman show blinding charisma and yet maintains her superb voice. New material and old ties together a set that I just wish had been longer.

Sabaton
Brilliantly camp and wearing matching camo trousers, Sabaton kick-started my Saturday. There’s nothing like a bit of war-obsessed sing-a-long Swedish power metal in the sun, and joining in for Primo Victoria and Coat Of Arms (and all the other songs) was an absolute joy. The band looked to be having a blast too. - Tom Dare

Europe - Tom Dare
Obviously The Final Countdown was going to be brilliant, but I don’t think anyone was expecting them to have so many huge feel-good tunes. Joey Tempest was the perfect frontman, with all the swagger, self-confidence and stage moves to keep your attention even if you didn’t know all the numbers.

Who was YOUR favourite act on SATURN? Tell us now on the Sonisphere Facebook page.