Korn Gunnersbury Park review: ‘The Grammy-award winning band are just as captivating as ever’
American nu metal band Korn delivered a pulsating performance at Gunnersbury Park as they returned to London for the first time in seven years.
In celebration of their 30th anniversary as a band, the Grammy-award winning four-piece marked the milestone in style as they delivered an energetic, enchanting and intense performance in their biggest UK show to date.
Jonathan Davis in particular was a commanding presence on stage. The 53-year-old remains a relentlessly energetic performer, and his voice remains the finely-tuned instrument that helped transform Korn into a mainstream and trail-blazing heavy metal act.
Following strong opening sets from Loathe, Wargasm and Spiritbox, Korn took to the stage at 8.30pm after Denzel Curry withdrew from his scheduled support slot due to losing his voice, and the Californians kicked things off with a bang.
Donning one of his trademark tracksuits, Davis and co belted out ‘Rotting in Vain’, which brought mosh pits galore before ‘Here to Stay’ brought a singalong of unrivalled joy. The energy never dropped from there as Korn kept the momentum going with a rendition of fan-favourite ‘A.D.I.D.A.S’ before following it up with ‘Clown’ and ‘Start the Healing’
On stage, the band’s approach was simplistic but effective. The band rarely engaged with the crowd in between songs, choosing to allow the music to take centre stage and it was a formula that worked to perfection as Davis and co shone.
The band maintained that relentless energy throughout the evening as Davis belted out ‘Good God’, ‘Blind’ and ‘Got the Life’ before performing an enthralling rendition of ‘Falling Away From Me’ - the song that turned me into a Korn fan over a decade ago.
After treating the audience to a snippet of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ in ‘Coming Undone’ and ‘Somebody Someone’, Davis reminisced about the band’s journey before closing out the first part of the set with a deafening rendition of ‘Yall Want a Single’.
Minutes later, Davis returned to the stage carrying bagpipes and performed a snippet of Metallica’s ‘One’ in ‘Shoots and Ladders’, which was followed by performances of ‘Twist’ and ‘Divine’.
The Californians closed out the night with a compelling performance of their biggest hit ‘Freak on a Leash’ to show that the Grammy-award winning band are just as captivating as ever.