Korn - O2 Academy Brixton, London - May 2 2014 (Live Review)
Tuesday, 06 May 2014
Written by Alec Chillingworth
There are bands who, no matter how much they tour or how many times you see them, will never fail to spark interest. Korn are one such band.
Having constantly stuck a middle finger up to convention since their self-titled debut arrived 20 years ago, the so-called godfathers of nu-metal keep ears pricked and narrow-minded critics thoroughly pissed off. A sold out Brixton gig, in support of their latest album, 'The Paradigm Shift', is testament to the fact that people still care about this band. And with good reason.
Openers Hacktivist are a far cry from the style of the headliners, yet their inventive spin on the metal genre goes down a treat. The youthful exuberance of vocalists JHurley and Ben Marvin spreads like an infectious plague through the audience, causing many to involuntarily start dancing really, really badly.
Their blend of down-tuned, progressive-tinged metal coupled with furiously rapped vocals makes for an entertaining half-hour and once they drop their cover of N****s In Paris, there's no point trying to deny their prowess in the live arena. This band is going to be huge.
There's huge, and then there's Korn. This is a band with standards to meet. Not only do they meet them, but they smash them into tiny little bits. I mean, opening your set with Falling Away From Me and following it straight up with Twist and Got The Life? It is just ridiculous.
And it just keeps coming - hit after hit after dirty little hit. New material like Love & Meth stands toe-to-toe with the classic, bass-heavy anthems, including Dead Bodies Everywhere and Clown. Get Up! ends up being a set highlight, rumbling the foundations of the Academy with a low-end dubstep wobble.
Blinking TV screens and jittery lighting creates a perfectly chaotic backdrop, and Jonathan Davis gives the performance of a lifetime. The man's always been a good live singer, but he's just on fire tonight. His delivery of pitch-perfect melodies on Never Never changes it from an average album track to a live anthem, while his screams during set-closer Blind are ferocious.
Having done just about everything a band can do, it might seem like Korn have nothing left to prove. But, over 20 years into their vividly colourful existence, the Bakersfield titans still have the creativity of bands half their age and a live show that somehow keeps getting better.
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