COMING out of retirement seems to be the in thing in the rock world.

The Download Festival was awash with bands not seen since the Monsters of Rock folded in the mid 90s.

Acts from the 70s and 80s including Whitesnake, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, M|tley Cre, Journey and Thunder all performed to crowds in the blazing sunshine of Donington.

But this year also saw bands who only recently dropped off the radar returning - including 90s rap/rock pioneers Faith No More, nu metal kings Limp Bizkit complete with original guitarist Wes Borland, Papa Roach, Sevendust, Static-X, Buckcherry and Staind.

Headlining the first day FNM frontman Mike Patton reminded us why he spawned a generation of copycat artists, with his dynamic vocal skills and blistering performances of FNM faves including Epic and The Real Thing.

And the now compulsory rock infused cover of a current pop song saw Patton inject a large portion of his personality into Lady GaGa's Poker Face..

All in all a terrific reminder of how good we had it in the 90s.

Some might say dragging all these veterans back, shows music is in a sorry state.

But what the festival organisers have realised is that the current metal scene is influenced by all things 80s.

Trivium, Black Tide, Bullet For My Valentine and Dragonforce all give a big nod towards their forefathers.

And it's not just metallers getting all nostalgic - Sunday was the day of retro rockers, with Steel Panther bringing leopard skin lycra, bandanas, mad hair and virtuoso guitar solos back to the mainstream.

Seeing them must have been a nostalgia trip for Whitesnake.

Their spandex-wearing days may be over, but 57-year-old frontman David Coverdale belted out hits including In The Still Of The Night, Is This Love and Here I Go Again with the energy of a 25-year-old. Maybe it's all that yoga he does..

Old timers ZZ Top also rocked the crowd proving they've lost none of their 'cool' and yes, they still have the longest and the best beards.

Quite possibly the happiest man at Download was Arnel Pineda, who in 2007 was spotted by 70s American rockers Journey singing covers of their tracks on YouTube - now he's the band's frontman.

More veterans came in the form of festival closers Def Leppard.

Some questioned whether the Sheffield band were big enough to headline but they worked the crowd with favourites Pour Some Sugar On Me, Rocket, Hysteria and 'lighters out' ballad, When Love And Hate Collide, before singer Joe Elliott asked the crowd 'Do you wanna get rocked?' Dance fans were catered for by the Prodigy and an impressive main stage set by drum 'n' bass act Pendulum.

Korn and Slipknot put on typically ferocious performances and there was room for newcomers too, with impressive debuts from American metallers Five Finger Death Punch, British electro-rockers Turbowolf and major surprise of the weekend, hard rockers Shinedown.

It seems this year Download finally mastered the art of offering something for everyone.

BEST BAND: Faith No More - a long-awaited performance of sheer quality and versatility.

WORST BAND: Marilyn Manson - disappointing lack of energy.

SURPRISE HIT: Shinedown - will have won a legion of new fans..