Lest we forget, Limp Bizkit were newcomers to the Reading festival and played well down the bill last year. This year, Fred Durst is vice president of Interscope, Reading would be lucky to have his band anywhere on this bill and his latest signing, Staind, are re-treading their father's footsteps exactly one year behind.
They're the perfect embodiment of metal sounding like Papa Roach meets the Deftones with tunes and audible vocals from the imposing frontman Aaron Lewis. They don't quite have the impact of Limp Bizkit's show-stealing debut last year, but after watching this mid-day show it's easy to see why they've already topped the US charts and this weekend celebrate a UK No.1 album too. The size of the crowd is a dead giveaway and when they all know the words to the acoustic 'Outside' and 'It's Been A While' it's clear that that they'll be back next year, potentially occupying a headlining slot.
In a similar situation, Papa Roach's mates, Alien Ant Farm, peddle feel-good grooves at the party end of the metal spectrum. Minor hit 'Movies' is superb while future smash 'Smooth Criminal' (yes, the Michael Jackson song) prompts one of the best reactions of the weekend.
Papa Roach themselves arrive before a far more partisan crowd than the last time they in this country at Ozzfest. As ever, frontman Coby Dick is a bundle of nervous energy, like a nu-metal Robbie Williams he taps in to his inner torment and urges the crowd to go crazier. But there's something wrong. Then it suddenly becomes apparent - watching the band from a distance is almost like seeing a choreographed show. Synchronised headbanging? Check. Coby doing that dance where he looks like he's attached to a jackhammer? Present and correct.
Their material sounds too flimsy in the open air, with the intricate guitar lines of tracks like 'Broken Home' and 'Never Enough' lost to all but those closest to the action. As the set predictably climaxes with 'Last Resort' Coby tells us they won't be back until next summer. Good, maybe they'll come back with some fresher ideas and not keep peddling the same increasingly stale show.
The sky darkens, as if on command from Marilyn Manson himself. There follows a terrific explosion before the Dark Lord reveals himself; stripped to the waist and clad in stockings and suspenders. The crowd as one stare fascinated as the giant screens rely the pictures of his black and white kohl expression - screaming, taunting, mocking. In contrast to Papa Roach, Manson's show is designed to play before such large crowds, with its pyrotechnics and props.
He does only have two songs - the fast one with the repetitive chorus that sounds like the riffs have been stolen from glam's heyday and the slow one that has lots of eerie keyboard and allows him to prowl the stage, spitting derisively in the direction of the audience.
The show remains the same that has done the rounds of the world's arenas this past year - there's the spider legs, the papal outfit, the 30-foot skirt and the political podium. But there's still a sense of drama, the sense things could get out of control, despite the knowledge that the show is a well-drilled machine. His chilling cover of Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams' still provokes horror and fascination, while 'Love Song's "God, guns, government" chorus takes on an extra edge as the American establishment Manson so mocks closes in on him.
At times it really does sound as if he's screaming out like a man in front of a firing squad. As he slams his mike stand into the stage there's another huge explosion and he's gone, promising to return later with America's other most wanted - Eminem. But he leaves an indelible mark on Reading 2001.
