Looking at tonight’s line up, you could be forgiven for thinking we’ve been transported back to the late 90s. Korn and Limp Bizkit were pioneers of the Nu Metal scene. both enjoying success on a global scale. Whilst Limp Bizkit haven’t released any material for a few years, tonights headliners, Korn, have had a pretty big 2016. ‘The Serenity of Suffering’ has seen a return to their heavier sound, something which has pleased a lot of their fan base and critics alike.
Getting things ‘Rollin’ of these two heavyweights is Limp Bizkit. Dressed entirely in white suit and face paint, Wes Borland opens with the riff for ‘Hot Dog’, with Fred Durst entering the fray, proclaiming, “Oh shit, we’re in London.” It’s an explosive opening which is followed up immediately with ‘Rollin’. As Durst utters that famous line “Alright partners you know what time it is,” the crowd erupts again, singing at the top of their lungs.
Borland’s guitar playing is second to none, and he takes a moment to drop in a few Metallica riffs before launching into ‘My Generation’. There’s been barely any time for the crowd to breathe between the ferocious opening, but luckily Durst loves a bit of karaoke and takes a minute to have a little dance on stage as the DJ spins Lil Jon’s, ‘Turn Down for What’. The middle of the set struggles somewhat to keep up with the fast paced set at the start, but still includes an intense performance of ‘Eat You Alive’
After the band launch into their version of George Michael’s ‘Faith’, the venue is then put on alert as sirens ring throughout and Borland gets the whole place jumping with ‘Break Stuff’. They close the set with ‘Take a look around’, which featured in a Mission Impossible movie. It’s a strange choice to end on Limp Bizkit have given their faithful everything they could ask for tonight.
The crowd get a solid break as they stage is reset in preparation for Korn to bring the house down and they certainly do not disappoint. Behind that curtain the band take the stage and begin to play the intro to ‘Right Now’, building anticipation. The song kicks in as the curtain drops to the ground and chaos ensues. Jonathan Davis then explains “We’ve got some new shit out which we’re very proud of,” and they treat us to newer track, ‘Rotting in Vain’.
Up next there’s a partial cover of Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ and Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’, which gets everyone singing along and dancing. ‘Coming Undone’ is made all the more impressive by the stage set up, which sees a bank of lights across the stage and drummer Ray Luzier sat atop them. It also seems that Korn are big Metallica fans as they cover ‘One’ at the end of ‘Shoots and Ladders’. The highlight of a very impressive set comes in the shape of ‘Blind’, from the bands 1994 debut. It’s a stirring performance which brings back memories of watching bands like this on MTV when they actually played music videos.
The guys leave us with ‘Good God’, but return for a powerful encore that concludes with ‘Freak on a Leash’, another track which seems to be timeless. There’s many people out there who would argue that genres like nu metal aren’t relevant anymore, but try telling that to these bands. They may have been making music for well over two decades but still perform with an energy most bands out there today could learn a lesson or two from. Take note, newcomers, these guys won’t be going away any time soon, and on performances like this that can only be a good thing.
CHRIS LEE