Korn And Evanescence Brought Their Vivacity And Power To Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Korn and Evanescence launched their current summer tour in Denver and has been a musical juggernaut every stop. The tour has also had a rotation of support acts that could fit any headline slots with POD, Palaye Royale, Jeris Johnson and Dana Denata. Tonight in Camden, NJ, fans would be treated to an amazing lineup with Jeris Johnson and Palaye Royale kicking things off before Evanescence and Korn rock the house.
First up is Jeris Johnson. His unique brand of hop hop infused rock launched hit songs like Crisis!, Damn and celebrate. But if fans would be hearing his music for the first time, there would be a couple that might sound familiar. Jeris Johnson would serve up incredible reimagined versions of 3 Doors Down’s Kryptonite, Papa Roach’s famous Last Resort and for all those metal fans, what could be bigger and badder than Slayer’s Raining Blood. Jeris Johnson made a statement the entire time he was on stage and his stage presence spoke almost as loud as his music.
Setlist:
Crisis!
Damn!
Celebrate
Kryptonite
Going Ghost
27 Club
My Sword
Raining Blood
Burning Rubber
Last Resort
Soon it would be Palaye Royale’s turn to ramp up the crowd. The band would hit the stage and light the fuse with their hard hitting track Nightmare. Their energy and rawness wowed the crowd right out of the gate. They wouldn’t take their foot of the gas as they powered through more raucous tracks like You’ll be Fine and Fucking With My Head. As Drummer Emerson Barrett’s kick drum fires off a familiar beat, Remington Leith leads the crowd with a chant from none other than The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.
While the fans’ excitement still fills the air, Palaye Royale jump right into a war cry of their own with the high octane of Punching Bag. From the second they hit the stage the fans were on their feet or in most cases, leaving their feet as the threw their fists in the air and belting out every word. Their intensity drove the crowd’s elation throughout their set, which was only going to grow as Massacre, the New American Dream began to take shape. The band’s whirlwind time on stage would be capped off with the rock rocking swing of the fan favorite Mr. Doctor Man.
Setlist:
Nightmares
You’ll Be Fine
Fucking With My Head
Seven Nation Army
Get Higher
Punching Bag
Massacre, the New American Dream
Mr. Doctor Man
As the stage starts to sparkle and glow with purple lighting under the sampled sounds of Artifact/The Turn. But soon the unmistakable sounds of Singer Amy Lee echo throughout the pavilion. As the band makes their way to the stage, Drummer Will Hunt kicks off Broken Pieces Shine with a thunderous roll across the toms. The soaring power of Amy’s vocals just catapults every song and brings out all the singer enthusiasts in the crowd. But for all of the highs vocally, we can’t deny the heavy and crushing tones of Guitarists Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn that really set things off.
The perfect blending of uplifting arias and head banging riffs were prevalent in almost every song of the set. Some would just separate themselves from the rest with songs like Take Cover, Going Under or the superb medley of Lose Control/Part of Me/Never Go Back. But as much as the fans loved getting the blood going, I think it was the more intimate moments that won them over.
During Lithium and My Immortal, Amy would take her place behind a gorgeous black piano at center stage and deliver an absolutely moving performance that even persuaded some old school concert goers to pull out their lighters for that added ambiance.
The end of Evanescence’s set wasn’t just filled with emotional ballads. There were still plenty of hard rocking tracks to go around with songs like End of the Dream, Use My Voice and of course, their breakthrough classic Bring Me To Life. The crowd had given so much to the band all night and the band would give them one more reason to cheer, as they dropped Blind Belief on an already thrilled audience. Evanescence broke out a laundry list of amazing music and gave their fans all that they could ask for.
Setlist:
Artifact/The Turn
Broken Pieces Shine
Made of Stone
Take Cover
Going Under
Call Me When You’re Sober
Wasted on You
Lithium
Better Without You
Lose Control/ Part of Me/ Never Go Back
End of the Dream
Imaginary
Use My Voice
Bring Me To Life
My Immortal
Blind Belief
As the crowd starts to become restless, the lights in the venue to black and the large wire framed wall that covers the entire stage starts to illuminate, revealing the massive Korn logo upon the sea of lit cell phone lights. Soon the display transitions to ominous clouds lit up by flashes of lightning, disguising the band’s entrance to the stage. When it looks like the storm is beginning to fade, Korn erupt into their rumbling hit Rotting in Vain off of 2016’s The Serenity of Suffering.
There was chaos throughout the pit as well as most of the building as Korn steam rolled right into their classic A.D.I.D.A.S. But it was clear that the intensity picked up even more as soon the massive display lifted into the air and revealed a completely unobstructed view of the band. It would only add to the intensity when Korn unleashes a trio of crushing hits from their debut record like Ball Tongue, Need To and Divine. It’s really crazy to think that these songs are almost 28 years old and still hit as hard as they do.
Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munkey” Shaffer have written some of the most brutal riffs that have ever hit these ears and not only gave birth to a whole sub genre of music, but continue to be some of the biggest innovators to ever pick up a 7 string guitar. This would also mark the second tour that the band would call on Suicidal Tendancies Bassist Ra Diaz to fill in for founding Bassist Reginal “Fieldy” Arvizu. His energy and thumbing work on the bass makes a more than fitting replacement.
Midway through the set, Drummer Ray Luzier tapped away at one of the most infamous intros ever written and drew an overwhelming roar from the crowd. As the anticipation of the song’s build up is about to boil over, Singer Jonathan Davis lets out “ARE YOU READY!?”. Blind transforms the entire floor as it takes on a life of its own while the rest of the building leaves their feet. The raw power that this song generates is nothing short of amazing and could rival some of the heaviest songs written today.
The tail end of the band’s brutal set would span the latter half of their career and was jammed packed with ragers like Alone I Break, Let the Dark Do The Rest and Y’all Want A Single. But it would be none other than Got the Life that would rock the crowd. Arguably the most successful song Korn has ever written, the energy and nostalgia had the fans singing boisterously every word. Davis had every able body clapping along that created an incredible scene as you looked out over the thousands in attendance.
Following a short break, Jonathan Davis would emerge from the shadows toting his iconic bagpipe which sent the fans into a frenzy. While he walks the stage holding a lone note, he eagerly waves on the fans’ cheers. As the band kicks in the stunning images around the stage trigger the large display to drop once again in front of the band. But when the song wraps, Luzier pulls the trigger on the double bass that would usher in the legendary breakdown of Metallica’s One. All of those once clapping hands now turn to hang bangining lunatics as they salute their metal omage with devil horns and fists in the air.
It’s really hard to follow that up. But Korn would flow right into Davis’s iconic rambles and crushing riffs of Twist. As amazing as this show was, Got the Life would certainly steal the show. Aside from the band performing the fan favorite itself, they would enlist the help of Evanescence singer Amy Lee. Their incredible vocal pairing really lifted the song’s dynamic to somewhere I’ve never seen. And to add to the excitement, confetti bombs detonated across the stage as the band drop into the songs brutal breakdown.
This definitly ranks high in the long list of Korn shows I’ve attended. Between just a killer setlist, the incredible visuals and lighting and of course, the amazing duet with Davis and Lee it genuinely left every fan feeling completely satisfied and still in awe. With only a few dates left on this insane tour, get your tickets now while they’re still available. And don’t forget to pick up or stream Korn’s latest album Requiem.
Setlist:
Rotting in Vain
A.D.I.D.A.S
Here to Stay
Start the Healing
Ball Tongue/ Need To/ Divine
Idiosyncrasy
Porno Creep
Blind
Faling Away From Me
Alone I Break
Got the Life
Let the Dark Do the Rest
Y’all Want a Single
Shoots and Ladders
Twist
Freak on a Leash
