SACRAMENTO — Aftershock Festival returned to Discovery Park with an eclectic lineup of acts spanning rock and roll from heavy metal to punk, classic rock and more. Also returning was the Sacramento early fall heat, on which just about every act commented.

Attendees eased in to the four-day festival by finding shade, throwing down blankets and moshing not quite as hard. Opening day, which lost a bit of it’s luster with Pantera dropping out, still offered Avenged Sevenfold, Incubus, always reliable grunge legends Stone Temple Pilots and classic rockers The Cult. Still, enthusiasm ruled the day for the tens of thousands that filled the festival grounds.

Avenged Sevenfold

Hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold returned to the Aftershock headlining slot for the first time since 2016. The band is in the midst of a comeback following a multiyear break. The time away paid dividends as the band took the stage with an explosive set and maybe as tight a sound as it has ever played with. Touring in support of controversial new album, Life Is But A Dream…, which has divided fans, the band rolled out a set that mixed old and new songs.

“What are those chants? Is this AEW or WWE or something?” vocalist M. Shadows said, laughing, as the massive gathering chanted “A-7-X” early on in the 12-song set.

Sitting in a wheelchair with a ski mask on, Shadows sang stoically on fiery opener “Game Over” while the rest of the band played on alongside. From there, another new song, “Mattel,” kept the energy up. Avenged Sevenfold’s sound has changed through the years, from thrash to hard rock and now to the stylistic cocktail of its current sound. Fans pumped their fists for staples “Afterlife” and “Hail to the King.” Avenged Sevenfold then threw in another new track in “We Love You.”

“You ready to dance?” Shadows asked as the industrial stomp of the track kicked in.

“We Love You” was significant on the album because it marked Shadows’ scream; something he’d avoided for a string of albums.

“It looks like no one has gotten hurt out there, so we’ve got time to mix in a couple extra songs we don’t normally play during these festival sets,” Shadows said as the band moved into the prog-heavy “The Stage.”

Soon after there was an unwanted visitor onstage: a cockroach that got Shadows’ attention.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a Papa Roach joke in there somewhere,” he announced, referencing the hometown band that played Aftershock a year earlier.

Ballad “So Far Away” offered a particularly poignant moment, honoring not just the band’s late drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan but those in the crowd that have experienced loss. Fans held lighters and cell phones upward during the bridge, lighting up the field.

One of the band’s not-so-secret weapons is guitarist is Brian “Synyster Gates” Haner, who delivered virtuosic fretwork on brooding new track “Nobody.” One of the band’s hallmarks is the dual guitar attack between Gates and Zachary “Zacky Vengeance” Baker, but Gates’ work on the six-string was truly impressive. Add to it drummer Brooks Wackerman and Johnny “Christ” Seward, and the band delivered quite the assault.

Avenged Sevenfold closed with a barrage of hits like “Nightmare,” “Bat Country” and “Unholy Confessions.”

“All right, you really have to go home after this song,” Shadows said before closing out the night with the murder anthem “A Little Piece of Heaven.”

Incubus

Incubus took the stage as Thursday’s penultimate act but offered up a headliner-worthy performance. Vocalist Brandon Boyd remains a captivating figure and a welcoming presence as a frontman. Opening with the energetic “Magic Medicine,” “Privilege” and “Anna Molly,” the band played a combination of hits, album tracks and even a few choice covers along the way.

Guitarist Mike Einziger and drummer Jose Pasillas cemented the band’s sound with expert guitar playing and a tight rhythm section. Incubus expertly shifted gears between urgent alt-rock and laidback melodic tracks over its hourlong set. Of course, the crowd played a role as well, singing along on standbys like “Pardon Me” and “Dig.”

The covers were a fun curveball. The Incubus take on the Beatles’ “Come Together” infused their own style into the classic song while keeping the original’s personality. Their rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” was also memorable, through it stayed closer to the original arrangement. As you might expect, the set crescendoed with the final song, the mellow and melodic “Drive.” It received the loudest singalong of the night.

AFI

Northern California punk rock favorites AFI had one of the most anticipated sets of the day. The punk rockers entered the stage to a massive roar and delivered some of their most memorable songs.

“I remember watching ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ for the first time, I remember my first pair of Vans,” vocalist Davey Havok said of his time living in Sacramento and discovering punk rock. “I’m speaking in the first-person because it was my own experience; the rest of the band had their own.”

Opening with the rousing “Girl’s Not Grey,” the band played more than a dozen songs. Donning a vest reading “Death of the Party,” Havok was his usual self, aesthetically blending punk rock with glam. Highlights included “The Days of the Phoenix,” an ode to playing Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater.

AFI included some newer material from its latest album, Bodies, including “Begging for Trouble” and “Escape from Los Angeles.” The band closed with one of its biggest songs, upbeat rocker “Miss Murder.”

The Cult

Fronted by Ian Astbury, U.K. rockers The Cult played an energetic and tight set in their return to the Bay Area. Astbury’s vocals were solid. Between the songs, he would chat with the crowd in seemingly non-sequitur passages referencing pop culture and psychedelia. It was unusual, but oddly endearing, even if it didn’t necessarily make sense at times.

Astbury declared his love for “Harry Potter,” DMT and the return of the renaissance, once going along and asking the audience to which of the Houses they belonged. Other times, Astbury would grab a tambourine and lose himself in a song, providing an accompaniment as the band churned through it.

Opening with “Rise,” The Cult followed with “Sun King” and “King Contrary Man.” Most of the tracks came from 1987’s Electric and 1985’s Love.

A number of other acts throughout the day shouted out The Cult as an inspiration, and the appreciation was given back to the band by the crowd.  Continuing with “The Phoenix,” the band closed out its 50-minute set with “She Sells Sanctuary” and “Love Removal Machine.”

Stone Temple Pilots

Grunge rock stalwarts Stone Temple Pilots stepped in when reunited metalheads Pantera dropped out at the last minute. The band made a rare return visit after playing the festival last year, but delivered a solid and reliable greatest hits performance. Frontman Jeff Gutt just keeps improving and getting more comfortable in his role as the heir apparent to Scott Weiland. Wearing a sharp red shirt, Gutt made reference to the sweltering weather.

“They’re just about to do the ice drop,” he joked. “It’ll hurt a little but it’ll feel good.”

All the hits were represented were represented, from “Wicked Garden” and “Plush” to “Interstate Love Song” and “Big Empty.”

The musicianship and the reliability are what make STP what they are. Brothers Dean and Robert De Leo brothers would mix in improvised jazz-like passages between songs, showing the musical connection they’ve built up over the years of touring. Gutt jumped into the crowd at one point, ending up on the barrier to get up close and personal with the fans. The band concluded with “Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart” and “Sex Type Thing.”

Don Broco

Don Broco, one of Europe’s biggest modern rock bands, provided a high-energy set early in the day. With long curly hair and reflective glasses that made him look like Kenny Powers from “East Bound and Down,” frontman Rob Damiani had his own vibe.

“We’re going to do a wall of death right now; have you heard of that?” Damiani asked midway through the performance, splitting the crowd in half and sending the moshpit lovers into a a frenzy as the music kicked back in.

Opening with “Gumshield” and “Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan,” the band’s material was evenly split between 2018’s Technology and 2021’s Amazing Things. The pit stayed active, especially with the band’s luck of the draw on set time (playing before it got way too hot). Don Broco closed with a rousing singalong of the hook “Yipee-Yi-Yo-Ki-Yay” on “Bruce Willis,” “Everybody” and “T-Shirt Song.”

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.