Still, things began to settle in nicely when Asking Alexandria took the main stage next. As the sun began to mercifully set at last, lead singer Danny Worsnop fought through a hangover to lead the British 'bangers into their strange blend of metalcore, thrash and radio-rock, kicking up a decent mosh pit on the hill. As the band's stage props belched smoke, Worsnop showed off a hell of a set of pipes that were tailor-made for giant rock shows like Sunday's.

When the sun goes down at the Pavilion, the concerts there get a hell of a lot better. When nu-metal godfathers Korn arrived onstage, the light show came alive at last, mesmerizing the amphitheater with endless colors. With guitarist Brian "Head" Welch back in the fold, one might have expected Korn to uncork a set heavy on classic material, but while the older essentials were there, they didn't shy away at all from their 21st-century material.

The sick groove in "Did My Time" had the whole place bouncing, and singer Jonathan Davis had the crowd in the palm of his hand during a synthy rendition of "Hater." They threw in a dubstep drop or two, and even a few death-metal growls on "Shoots and Ladders." But my goodness, do folks still go craziest when Davis breaks out those bagpipes.

By the time that headliners Avenged Sevenfold were ready to roll, a lot of the older and more inebriated audience members were beginning to rub their sore backs and necks. The younger fans were still full of life for the undisputed champions of mainstream throwback metal, a weird and popular subgenre all its own. A collective "yesssss" seemed to go up from the crowd as the band's dramatic stage set was revealed, centering on the enthroned remains of a skeletal, long-dead king. But a genuine roar finally broke free when the columns of flame erupted.

Watching Avenged Sevenfold in 2014 is a lot like watching Iron Maiden in 1984: amazing stage set, tight guitar harmonies, and soaring vocals added up to titanic singalongs that got mighty loud even up on the hill. Though the day had been impossibly long and hot -- or perhaps because it had been -- A7X singer M. Shadows still hailed his people in the grass as the show drew to its fiery conclusion.

"Every time we play here, there's some insane motherfuckers pitting up there," he said, pointing towards the hill. "So we're going to play one for you to get crazy to."

As the band broke into "Bat Country," smiling dudes from all over the hill streamed over to the wild pit that Shadows had pointed to, squeezing the last drops of Mayhem out of the weekend. One could hardly help but throw the horns in solidarity. Today, we're all a little burned, a little bruised. But no one can claim we didn't rock, man.

Personal Bias: Nu-metal had its moments, dude.

The Crowd: Shirtless.

Overheard in the Crowd: "I haven't seen this many white people together in, like, 50 years."

Random Notebook Dump: There simply HAS to be a better place to set up these traveling festivals than the Woodlands. That side-stage area never stops sucking.

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