Unfortunately, many of the bands didn’t quite live up to the standard laid down by S.S. early in the day. Jagermeister contest winner Hemlock’s set was over before they even went on stage, and Revere, Massachusetts natives The Red Chord proved to be one of the most disappointing of the day. Crowd favorites on the opening stages included Walls of Jericho, whose meager attempts at hard rock were overshadowed by lead singer Candace Kucsulain’s unorthodox stage presence and her constant transition between baby-doll princess and drag queen gothic chick; and 36CrazyFists, who simply didn’t deserve the ovation they received, with their noticeably muffled vocals (not that anyone cared) and clumsy stage antics. Still, these two acts, at least in the minds of their obliterated mind-numbed fans, brought the goods on this day, and both left to erratic cheers.

The side stages were dominated by the performance of Five Finger Death Punch. Rocking through a half hour set that seemed no longer than 5 minutes, the Los Angeles, Californian quintet, featuring former members of U.P.O, Motograter, and W.A.S.P., had the audience chanting their name before they even took the stage. Lead vocalist Ivan Moody is quickly becoming of the most charismatic frontmen in the genre, and he had the Pittsburghers eating out of the palm of his hand. Standout tracks from their set included “Ashes,” “The Bleeding,” and “Never Enough,” each delivered with the energy and passion of a top headlining act.

Equally impressive were the sets of the first two acts on the main stage, Mastodon and Dragonforce. Relying heavily on guitar solos and improvisations, both groups helped rejuvenate a groggy and sun-beaten audience.

As the sun had finally laid to rest and the insanely hostile audience finally arrived at their seats for good, it was time for the headliners to take center stage, literally. As the “Disturbed!” chants began to ring throughout the pavilion, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Chicago quartet could actually “out-rock” some of their stand-out predecessors from earlier in the day. My doubts quickly diminished….

When the lights went out and the deafening screams from the anywhere from teenage girls to middle aged biker men subsided, focus was immediately directed at the right corner of the stage, as lead singer David Drennin was escorted out on a gurney strapped in a strait jacket and covered with a Jason-Voorhees-like mask (For those who don’t know your movies, that’s Friday the 13th Jason). Busting out of the jacket, ripping off the mask, and quickly joined by his band-mates, Drennin reached out to the audience, beckoning them with “Is everybody ready?!”, before slamming into one of the most captivating hard rock performances to hit the area in quite some time.

Equally representing each of their 4 albums, Disturbed utilized their 60 minute set to treat fans to all of their favorites, while also incorporating new material and lesser known tunes. Surprising fans with their performance of “Voices,” a song which has been noticeably absent from their set as of late, the Windy-City foursome rocked as if they hadn’t played since, well, the day before.

Other notable standout tunes included “Inside The Fire” and “Criminal” from the band’s latest album, ‘Indestructible,’ as well as the disc’s title track, all receiving warm (barely) receptions from an audience that clearly wanted to hear their early hits. And that’s exactly how Disturbed won over their audience. Belting out jams “Stupify” and “The Game,” as well as closing the set with “Down With The Sickness,” off their debut album of the same name, they did exactly what a great band should do: They put on a great show, and left the audience begging for more.

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