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After shows from Limp Bizkit and Coal Chamber at the Jupiler stage of 013 it's up to the pioneers of the Nu-Metal genre. Korn is celebrating it's twenty year anniversary with the Head reunion tour. Guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch is back with his buddies to bring the fans a show full of hits from the past two decades.
Before Head is joining with the old bandmates, he opens the evening with his new band Love & Death. The sound is really familiar to Korn. Welch, with his enormous set of dreadlocks, takes care of the singing duties, but remains a guitar player so after a while he picks up his six string. With only one album on the market, they've put a cover on their setlist. It's Devo's Whip It, which sounds nothing like the original. Not a bad thing, but it isn't something special either. The crowd loves it anyway though. Like I said Love & Death sound a lot like the headliner of the evening, which pleases the fans. Guitar player JR Bareis, only 18 years old, does have his own style and knows how to get some nice tunes out of his guitar. The bassist has weird tape around his face, like he's from a mental institution. He sure acts that way, delivering his share of fine basslines. With striking singles Meltdown and Chemicals played, some nice circlepits are created and people prepare themselves for things to come.
Everybody is excited, but Korn is not the only superband of the evening. Hellyeah from Dallas, Texas consists of some well known musicians. Singer and guitarist are from Mudvayne while the man behind the imposing looking drum kit is Vinnie Paul who earned his stripes with Pantera. Hellyeah released their third album Band of Brothers in 2012, they are still promoting it which explains the main part of the set coming from this record. Main attraction of the band, besides Vinnie, is singer Chad Gray who walks around with his swag, jumps around and uses screams and clean vocals. His hair-do looks awkward but stylish. He keeps on asking for attention, but makes it up with an energetic performance, as does the rest of the band. The Cowboys from Hell, no Pantera pun intended, deliver a nice bag of songs with enough guitar solo's and pounding drums to keep things moving. Finishing it all of with three songs from their debut. ''Are you ready for Korn?!'', Gray asks with his Southern dialect. ''Hellyeah!''
Twenty years of Korn, how great is it that the band decides to start with their very first single Blind. The intro is off course legendary. Drummer Ray Luzier, who joined the band in 2009, starts of, followed by guitars and bass until singer Jonathan Davis kicks in. The three dreadlocked bro's on guitar are reunited and look ready to give something special to the fans. Bassist Fieldy with funny clowns make-up and his typical neon colored strings seems to act as a connection between the two guitarists Munky and Head who operate on each side of the stage. Munky enjoys him self a lot, seeking contact with the crowd. It's only Head who looks a bit bothered. Perhaps it's the big successes Korn still has after so many years. His new band did well but must accept they are in the shadows of his former 'employer'. Luckily it doesn't effect the rest of the show, something which isn't easy to accomplish. Korn plays one hit after another. Lots of classics are played: Falling Away From Me, Twist, Here to Stay and Shoots and Ladders with the bagpipe intro to name a few. The bagpipe thingy looks nothing more then a gimmick these days but it still works.
Jonathan Davis with his famous Giger designed microphone stand still growls and moans like in the old days but between songs he needs some oxygen and Monster energy. Sometimes it slows down the pace of the show but that doesn't bother the audience. The whole room is shifting, singing and sweating. Men, including the guy who operates the lights, have taken their shirts of and go completely berserk. There is also time to dance with the newer songs consisting of dubstep rhythms created by Skrillex. Unnecessary if you ask me, the man behind his drum 'machine' plays with a lot of skills and brings the songs even more to life. Let him deliver the beats. Korn doesn't need all those modern techniques, and it's not that they have to stick to that which they are good at and only play old songs. They have rediscovered themselves over the years. Good examples tonight are Coming Undone followed by Did My Time, and the inspiring cover of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. Which is way better then the mix of covers Limp Bizkit have to offer.
Korn ends the night with two of their biggest classics. Coming from the Follow the Leader album, Got the Life and Freak on a Leash were the singles that have really helped them gain mainstream succes. Now looking back, with Head returning to the band and an incredible drummer who takes things to the next level, Korn look alive more then ever. Already working on a new album, where they step away from the dance influences and retunr to make old school (nu-) metal.
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