Personnel: Jonathan Davis (vocals); James "Munky" Shaffer, Wesley Geer (guitar); Zachary Baird (keyboards); Ray Luzier (drums).
Recording information: The Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA (12/06/2011).
Photographer: Kaley Nelson.
Just a year after giving their sound an electronic overhaul on Path of Totality, Korn chronicle the album's supporting tour on Live at the Hollywood Palladium. As with the studio album, the combination of Korn's guttural sound and dubstep's visceral drops works surprisingly well, driving the crowd into a frenzy with every low-end assault the band delivers, and showcasing the songs in a live setting only reinforces that the band's decision to dive headfirst into the electronic realm was a good one. When Jonathan Davis tells the crowd to dance at the beginning of "Chaos Lives in Everything," the crowd's raucous response lets you know that the call to arms has been heard and answered, amplifying the song's energy to new levels. In an effort to further help the vibe of the album come alive in a live setting, Totality producers Skrillex, 12th Planet, and Flinch (among others) drop in to man the controls for the songs' electronic elements, allowing each of them to add their own live flair to the songs. After the dance-heavy opening section of the set, Korn eventually settle in and play some older numbers like "Freak On a Leash," "Shoots and Ladders," and "Blind," as well as an epic 11-minute cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall." What's most striking about Live at the Hollywood Palladium isn't so much having the evolution of Korn's sound laid out in one place, but how the band's earlier work feels almost subdued compared to the fractured, high-octane intensity of the Totality songs, which seem to explode outwards where the older tracks tended to simmer. Whether you're a fan of the band's pioneering nu-metal sound, or the newer, more evolved Korn, Live is an album that brings a little something to the table for everyone. ~ Gregory Heaney