KoRn – Brixton Academy 2008

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Still one of the “cool” bands with the kids, KoRn continue to comfortably sell out big cities like London on their tours and have had to add a second date in the same venue at the end of the tour to satisfy demand. On top of this KoRn are an original and innovative band who deserve their stature far more than countless others which could be named.

Bringing the equally cool and fast-rising Flyleaf and Deathstars with them (although both are generally liked by different audiences to each other, and both different to KoRn’s) seemed like a shrewd move to ensure a packed house of hoodie-wearing metal kids, and it appeared to have worked a treat. Many fans expressed non-interest in Flyleaf before the shows, and many in Deathstars afterwards, but KoRn had their sell-out, so something had worked, even if it wasn’t the support band selection.

KoRn’s music epitomises, and in many ways pioneered, the quiet-loud-quiet-loud alternative metal sound. Almost all of their songs have eerie clean guitar parts which give way to heavier, angrier parts, and someone who’s a long-time listener of their music, but new to their live show, shouldn’t be completely off-the-mark to expect a performance to mirror these changes of aggression level in the music. Sadly, whether it was just this show or this is normal for the band, there was nothing of the kind tonight.

Each time a song exploded into heavier and more lively territory the band didn’t. They just carried on playing as before. Vocalist Jonathan Davies stomped around a three-foot square area of stage around his microphone stand in his normal way while the rest of the band remained motionless. This could have been down to the absence of founding guitarist Munky who had been forced to leave the tour early due to a personal emergency back home in America. But his replacement Rob Patterson seemed perfectly capable of playing the songs, so there didn’t seem to be much of a deficit in that department.

It has been said that bassist Fieldy has had to concentrate on ushering Patterson, the second substitute guitarist used on the tour up to that point, through some songs where he was clearly nervous, but to these ears he didn’t seem to be having any trouble, so Fieldy’s inanimate performance didn’t appear justified (and having seen several television recordings of the band, this is not normal service).

For a band with such a massive live reputation this show was a major, major disappointment. Perhaps other factors contributed, like the absence of Munky. Or perhaps it was one of those “off nights” we’re always warned bands can have. Either way it was a let down and serious consideration will be untaken before electing to see them again.

“ inanimate ”

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2008, Alternative, Gigs, Rap/Crossover, Korn