LEEDS Festival was 10 years old this year – and organisers, like any 10-year-old, wanted a huge birthday party.

They promised this year was to be bigger and better than anything that had gone before.

The headline bands Metallica, Rage Against The Machine and The Killers were certainly big – but the festival itself seemed relatively unchanged in scale from previous years.

There was still something for almost everyone though, whether you’re into dance, emo, heavy rock or indie. For many, this broad spectrum of music is the major draw.

But grumbles that this ‘please all’ attitude has made the musical choices somewhat safe were heard over the Bank Holiday Weekend at a very muddy Bramham.

Gone are the surprise choices of previous years – such as 50 Cent’s ill-fated appearance in 2004.

However, new and exciting sounds could still be found on the BBC Introducing stage, where unsigned bands had been selected to display their talents.

Stand-out acts included Leeds-based Eureka Machines. Although the band is just a few months’ old, it was clear to see that the members are seasoned musicians.

Huddersfield music fans will recognise frontman Chris Catalyst and bassist Steven Morricone as members of The Scaramanga Six – who also rocked the unsigned stage at Leeds Festival two years ago.

Eureka Machines have stage presence, instrumental talent and inventiveness in abundance.

With catchy, comic songs and an eye-catching performance, they knew how to work a crowd.

Another new group to watch are York indie band the Hungry Ghosts. Having been together 18 months, they were making their first festival appearance.

The foursome showed off a heavily layered guitar sound which drove the songs forward in a fashion reminiscent of The Automatic. Adding to the mix was singer James Browne’s unusual voice – at times high, at others as deep and dark as a Nick Cave ballad.

The only let down for both bands was poor sound quality, an affliction not exclusive to the unsigned stage. Many revellers commented that all the bands seemed ‘turned down’ this year.

Saturday’s headliners Rage Against The Machine may have been victims of this, but many fans also commented that they seemed to have lost the fire in their bellies this year.

Fans were looking for a passionate, vitriolic performance of classics like Bombtrack and Killing In The Name Of. However, Rage seemed more like ‘slightly miffed’.

Still, the quality of their songs and obvious talent could not be denied and they were worth a watch.

Friday’s top act Metallica were a much safer bet in terms of volume. Loud, twiddly metal is what they’ve been doing for over 25 years after all.

Despite their many years in the business, Metallica are still out to please the fans and they managed it – as a fellow festival-goer commented, frontman James Hetfield ‘played the crowd like a fiddle’. If the fiddle was plugged into a huge amp turned up to 11 that is.

By contrast, festival closers The Killers seemed pretty tame, but singer Brandon Flowers managed to work up the cold, weary festival crowd for rousing singalongs to hits like Mr Brightside and Bones that were guaranteed to please.

However, it was not on the main stage where the highlight of my festival took place.

It was in fact in the NME tent on Sunday night, where Manic Street Preachers headlined, showing exactly what has kept them in the music business for more than two decades.

While new material was thin on the ground, the Manics belted out their old hits in a passionate, powerful performance that had the crowd entranced and shouting along.

The band gave their all and frontman James Dean Bradfield was mesmerising to watch, showing off his awesome vocal talents and guitar work.

Anyone who didn’t tear themselves away from The Killers to watch for a few minutes definitely missed out on the best band of the festival.

As the Welsh boys closed a weekend of mad partying, it was time for revellers to trudge back through the Somme-like mud to their tents before heading home tired, dirty and more than a little hungover.

Leeds Festival may not have been bigger and better than ever before, but for them it was a birthday party to remember and they’ll be dying to do it all over again next year.