Still Children of the Korn

Article by Marianne Heath • Photos by Kimberly Annette

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LOS ANGELES, October 10, 2013—When Korn took the stage at the Wiltern in LA Thursday night, it didn’t feel like fans showed up to reminisce about a band that had hit their highest commercial success ten+ years ago. It felt as if the audience were anticipating a new, exciting movement in music about to happen. It’s been 20 years since Korn, the Bakersfield-based nu metal group formed, but the band has still managed to stay fresh and relevant while on tour promoting their newly released album, The Paradigm Shift.

Korn teased their admirers prior to coming onstage. A beacon of lights shone for minutes on a huge, but simple, black and white “Korn” backdrop. Beneath the scenery, darkly lit fans posing as prisoners stood deathly still, confined in jail cells. Their knuckles were clenched as they held tightly to the bars.

RayLuzier_H5A9331 Adding to the sinister feel of the set, drummer Ray Luzier had Terminator-like metal stands surrounding his massive kit. Lead singer Jonathan Davis’ signature microphone stand of a sterling, naked cyborg-woman was center stage.

Ominous samples filled the air before the band took the stage and busted out with “Blind.” The opening lyric: “Are you ready?” coincided with the lights blasting up, and the crowd going nuts.

Korn kept their energy up and leapt about enthusiastically throughout the entire show. It’s hard to process how much guitarists Brian “Head” Welch, James “Munky” Shaffer and Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu (bass) can jump around like they do and capably play their instruments. They were joined onstage by Davis’ young son, who went apeshit during the first few songs and toward the end of the show, simultaneously headbanging and spazzing out while holding the freakish mic stand.

Korn played a good mix of songs from most of their albums. In addition to “Blind” (off their 1995 self-titled debut album), they also performed “Shoots and Ladders,” during which Davis played an intro on bagpipes and settled into some of the band’s key signatures—disturbing, childlike vocals meshed with catchy, dark rhythms. When Davis sang the children’s rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie,” it played with a chilling, Halloween-appropriate effect.

brian_fieldy_H5A9499 They also performed the obscure “Twist” (off of 1996’s Life Is Peachy), during which Davis seemed to have created his own nonsensical primal language set to crazy rhythms and beats.

From the 1999 album Issues, they played one of their biggest mainstream hits, “Falling Away from Me,” about a despondent teen with no control over his situation. He is abused, probably by a trusted parental-type, reflected by the lyrics “beating me down into the ground.”

From their Untouchables album (2002), “Here to Stay” was a highlight of the concert (for which Korn also won their first Grammy for Best Metal Performance). Staying with their perpetual theme, the song is about the innocent being corrupted.

jonathan_davis_H5A9838 Korn’s enduring success with fans and critics is no accident. They have remained creative throughout the years in their song structure, but their basic sound, lyrics and psychological themes have stayed constant. Their main dramatic motif centers upon adolescent abuse and alienation. They write about young people who have waded through a sea of shit, still hopeful to see some light at the end of the promised American-dream tunnel. Their youth are resilient, with strong will and determination, they can reach for the Promised Land as Korn’s strong crescendos inspire, but never promise the ultimate outcome.

Not as obvious, Korn also connects with adults who have suffered hard knocks in their younger years. Unresolved issues can beat one down day by day. This is something most people can relate to, and one of the many reasons why Korn has cultivated such a diehard fan base.

From their 2011 album, The Path of Totality, Korn performed “Narcissistic Cannibal,” a more industrial-sounding, yet accessible, song with intense keys and scratches by Zac Baird on keyboards. On “Get Up!” (the first of three encore songs), the house stayed packed as Davis chanted, “Times are looking grim these days… Shut the fuck up, and get up!”

Davis’ distinctive voice, often low, sometimes mockingly childlike, can shift into a deep, guttural tone. In his uncommon, rhythmical raps, he often sounds like he’s speaking in tongues, perhaps as if a horrible experience pushed him into utterly bizarre, crazy behavior. Yet, it still seems as if he’s desperately trying to somehow make sense of it all.

Korn introduced three new songs from The Paradigm Shift, their eleventh studio album. On “Love & Meth,” they stuck to their sunken bass sound, sinister notes and depressed, but otherworldly, voices with a big chorus. On “Prey for Me,” they employed classic-sounding Korn—hard-hitting guitar riffs and catchy melodies, set against morose lyrics. “Passion sometimes is a fucked-up thing for me…. Wish I could say everything is alright.”

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“Never Never” was a mellower version for Korn (if I dare use the word ‘mellow’ when I’m describing Korn). “I’m never gonna love again, never gonna have to try and pretend.” They utilized a more synth sound in the music, with an ethereal feel in the background vocals.

Towards the end of the show, they covered a Korn-twisted rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” which evoked an inspiring call-and-response from the audience.

During the encore, they played songs from 1998’s Follow the Leader. Beginning with “Got the Life,” the mood was upbeat, danceable and the fans rocked out.

At this point in the show, I wanted a different perspective, so I ventured up to the mezzanine level and looked out into the crowd. There was a sea of avid fans, all on their feet throwing the heavy metal sign to a still-packed house. I noticed folks in “Old School Korn Fan” T-shirts streaming about the venue. The crowd was mostly in their 30s, but all ages turned out. I saw some parents with little kids looking super excited, dressed in Korn regalia. I even noticed a 60+ guy with a combover moving in unison to the music as best he could. Hell yeah! You go mister!!

“Freak on a Leash,” one of Korn’s biggest hits, was the closer. The song has hauntingly innocent, simple single notes in the intro. It then exploded, and became powerful and triumphant, as if coming from the depths of despair, but determined to believe in some kind of positive future. This song encompasses the band so well because it showcases how much they understand youth, and the youthful in spirit.

The notes started out dark, but pristine, with the lyrics “Every time I start to believe…” The heavy chorus comes crashing in with “You’ll never see me fall from grace!” Then Korn employs surprising breaks combined with a feeling of hopefulness. Terrible, but beautifully tortured, souls. Today Korn continues to keep the faith for many tortured souls.

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Opening for Korn were two great bands acting as foreplay for the masters.

brian_H5A9066 First up was Korn’s founding guitarist Brian “Head” Welch’s four-piece band Love and Death. In this lineup, he performs exclusively as lead singer. Welch initially left Korn in 2005 after becoming a Christian and wanting to pave a different path in life and in his musical ventures. He has since rejoined Korn as a lead guitarist, but is also nurturing his new project.

Love and Death utilizes a very inspired, Korn-like sound. Welch’s bandmates encouraged him to stick to his roots. They only played about 25 minutes, but proved to be deeply impactful. They performed “Meltdown,” “My Disaster,” and an unexpected, but great, cover of DEVO’s “Whip It.”

Welch rocked his long brown dreads and encouraged a mosh pit yelling, “We are not One Direction!” His charisma and friendly banter with the crowd juxtaposed with his deep metal voice were entertaining and hilarious. Bassist Michael Valentine wore a black leather head mask and all-black garb, while moving enthusiastically over the stage. Drummer Dan Johnson hand punched his snare drum at one point with his fist to great effect. Both drummer and bassist held up a terrific, solid rhythm section throughout their set.

JR Bareis rocked out as the singular guitar player for the band, created a huge, Korn-influenced sound and simultaneously brought a great stage presence.

Love and Death had nine songs on their debut album, but scrapped them because they didn’t like the style. Welch wanted to deviate from Korn’s sound, but his bandmates encouraged him to go back to his distinctive style. After all, he was a founding member of this seminal band, and they encouraged him not to shy away from that fact.

Love and Death are active members in the Whosoevers Outreach. They are Christian followers, but distinctively not a Christian rock band. Deeply committed to community and involved in helping out troubled teens, they are true rock-and-roll warriors.

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Metalcore band Asking Alexandria, who hail from York in England, took the stage between bands with great energy. Personally not knowing any of their songs, they certainly held the audience’s interest and withstood strong, spirited riffs. This five-piece band had a heavy alt-rock sound with some slow synth breaks throughout their set. Singer Danny Worsnop has the look of a 70s-era rockstar, but emits a punk/metal, growling vocal sound. Bassist Sam Bettley looks like a very young Nikki Sixx, not so surprising considering the band listed Motley Crüe as one of their influences. Ben Bruce, on lead guitar, founded the band after living for a time in Dubai. Other members include Cameron Liddell on rhythm guitar and James Cassells on drums. The band has three albums. From Death to Destiny is the most recent.

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