Korn @ the Hordern Pavilion,Sydney (4/12/10)

Tue 7th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

On a dreary Saturday night witnessing a performance from Korn can best be described as a surreal, nostalgic and bizarre experience. With nu metal largely being written off by most as dead and buried, it was somewhat surprising to see two and a half thousand fans opt to avoid “Axl and Friends” across town in favour of descending upon the Hordern Pavilion in order witness somewhat of a revival of the genre in a blaze of smoke, lights and illicit substances.

Kicking off the night were Melbournian alternative metalheads Sydonia, who seemed to be somewhat of an odd choice as openers for one of the world’s biggest nu metal acts. However in saying that, they certainly had no difficulty in winning over the crowd with a set comprised of soaring vocal lines, thunderous progressive rhythms and screaming guitars, the highlight of which being a great use of an extensive drum kit, with guitarist Sam Haycroft and bassist Adam Murray hammering away on toms and cymbals whilst vocalist Dana Roskvist dominated the stage with an awe inspiring voice.

With the audience now warmed up and with the Hordern beginning to fill up, it was time for Kiwi rockers Shihad to take to the stage with a raucous set of high energy alternative rock to start the mosh pit off for the night. From the outset it was clear that vocalist John Toogood is one well of a front man with his ability to mesmerize and control the crowd. Sure enough the Kiwi rockers had no difficulty in adding fuel to the already burning fire that was the mosh pit and got the crowd fired up in anticipation for what was to come. Though first there was a random appearance from an nearly inaudible auto tuned DJ who looked as if he’d been plucked straight from Zoolander, began to spin records on stage that washed over the crowd in walls of nostalgic sound with a trip down nu metal lane, with System of a down, Slipknot and Rammstein kicking off sing-along’s amongst the crowd.

The sudden exit of this DJ, then paved the way for curtains to be pulled down across the stage, revealing a monstrous drum kit which was quickly manned by drummer Ray Luzier with the rest of the band in tow, with the introductory track 4 U beginning to be blasted through the Hordern’s PA, before quickly moving into the classic track Right Now, with a thousand aging but no less angsty fans jumping up and down in unison, relishing every drop tuned and double kicked second of sonorous projection from the gods of nu metal, whose performance seemed to be one oiled machine. This was a concept demonstrated early on in the set with an incredibly brief and professional switching out of a faulty guitar mid song from guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer.

This professional musicianship was interesting to witness, with a huge progression in terms of both stage and technical performance from the band seventeen years on from their inception. Throughout the night each member had various solo’s, that all demonstrated some serious technical ability from the band, the most impressive of which being a monstrous drum and bass instrumental in which Luzier made use of his extravagant kit to blow away the members of the audience.

However despite this performance, it was obvious that the audience was focused almost solely on vocalist Jonathan Davis, who seemed to be controlling the audience whilst very casually strolling across the stage, leading the audience through a mix of older fan favourites including Did My Time, Freak On A Leash and Blind as well as a range of new material from their latest album including Pop A Pill and Oildale, which were both extremely well received by the audience.

A number of covers that were incorporated into the bands originals also pleased the audience greatly and seemed to inspire great sing-along’s from the audience. This became most apparent with the band re-emerging from darkness after “the end” of their set for an encore, which was introduced with Davis droning a note on his bagpipes, much to the audiences enjoyment, before launching into Snakes and Ladders, with a section of Metallica’s One thrown in.

As Korn wrapped up their set with a rendition of Got The Life, it was clear that any pre conceived notions from the audience that nu metal was dead had been extinguished and had been replaced with admiration for the excellent performance from the aging metalheads.

Surprisingly enough, it seems almost as if nu metal may be making a comeback with the re-emergence of System of a Down, Slipknot, Limp Biskit and Disturbed. At this rate, nu metal may even end up being restored to its former glory that peaked during the late 90s.