The eight finest drum performances of Download 2015

Download festival 2015 – we came, we saw, we got drenched through with rain. But while braving the downpours we managed to catch some sublime drumming performances. Here's some of our favourites...

We picked out the Clutch groove machine as one to watch in our Download preview, and he delivered in spades. When it comes to making a field full of 50,000 punters feel like a tiny club show, Clutch are the kings as JP powered their hard rockin' set.

An I was there moment, perhaps. 5FDP's Friday early-evening main stage set showed that Jeremy Spencer and belong in the big league. Back in 2013 Avenged Sevenfold played a similarly blinding set, a year later they returned as headliners. The turnaround might not be quite so quick for 5FDP, but here they've put down one hell of a marker.

Slipknot own Donington every time they head out on this hallowed turf, and 2015 was no exception. What was different, however, was that they did so without Joey Jordison. It speaks volumes that the as-yet-unnamed new guy absolutely killed it, slotting in without the merest hint of a crack, proving that Slipknot are very much still the heroes of 21st century Donington.

Saturday afternoon saw two pioneers of rap metal play just across the way from each other. Over on the Encore Stage the Ice-T-led Body Count produced a memorable performance packed full of aggression and brilliantly over-the-top lyrics. And while rap legend T was understandably the focal point of the show, drummer Ill Will showed his skills at the kit, particularly during the blistering solo that punctuated the track with which the band shares its name.

The main stage, meanwhile, was host to Faith No More. It has been six years since the band's triumphant return as headliners at Download 2009, but tonight's show proved that they have become tighter by tenfold since. Plus, Mike Bordin has a smattering of ace new beats to plough through as the band play six tracks from their just-released record Sol Invictus. Once again, it's a Faith No More triumphed at Download.

How do you top that? You call in Muse, of course. The Brit trio are back with new album Drones and here at Download they put in their claim to the biggest rock band in the world tag. Dom Howard is masterful throughout their set, easing through classics and new cuts alike.

It's classic rock Sunday at Donington and you don't get much more classic than Slash. Brent Fitz is the man charged with providing the beats for not just Slash's solo work but also a handful of GN'R cuts. Fitz nails Steven Adler's scattergun Paradise City fills, Matt Sorum's hard and heavy You Could Be Mine toms and Josh Freese's supreme work on Back From Cali. But it says a lot about this band that their own tunes, You're A Lie, Anastasia and more, sound just as incredible as the old favourites.

Speaking of old favourites, tonight Donington bids farewell to Mötley Crüe. Playing there final UK festival show tonight (they're back for a full farewell tour in November), the Crue pull out all of the stops. The hits are there, the dancing girls are present, there's tons of pyro, the only thing that's missing is Tommy Lee's drum roller coaster. Roll on November.