Review by Andy Payne for MPM
Situated in West London, Gunnersbury Park is a popular spot for nice summer walks, some games of tennis and in the last couple of years massive nu-metal events.
For the second year running, the 40,000-capacity park plays host to heavy metal royalty. Last year Limp Bizkit played their largest ever UK headline show and now it’s time for their Family Values partners to do the same.
With a fantastic selection of support acts, this promises to be one of the standout shows of the year and a perfect end to the summer festival season.
First on this afternoon are Loathe. As the band walk out to Pavarotti’s Nessum Dorma a mosh pit begins to form before the band has played a single note.
What follows is without a doubt the heaviest show I have seen Loathe play so far as they kick off proceedings with a blistering run of Gored, White Hot and Dance On My Skin. At this stage the Deftones comparisons feel trite, however, it is hard not to draw parallels between vocalist Kadeem France and the aforementioned Chino Moreno; although today’s set is more Adrenaline than Diamond Eyes.
After introducing themselves, the band dial things back a bit for Screaming and Two-Way Mirror, but makes no compromises in the energy that they throw to the baying crowd who reciprocate, waving their
arms and at one point forming a huge wall of death.
This is the largest crowd Loathe have played to in the UK but they are totally at ease. The dual vocal attack of France and Erik Bickerstaffe is a joy to witness whilst the atmospheric synths sit in perfect contrast against the heavier djent riffs.
As they close their set with Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Thoughts, France demands that he wants to see “the heaviest pit that Gunnersbury has ever seen” and the crowd give him exactly what he asks for as the field descends into a cacophony of dust, flying limbs and a surprising amount of shoes are sent flying in the air.
Loathe are a truly unique band that we are very lucky to have and this afternoon is a wonderful celebration of all that they have achieved so far. Now please bring us a new album soon.
As Loathe walk off stage an announcement appears on the screen with the news that Denzel
Curry has had to pull out due to illness.
“You hear that? That’s a mosh call, where’s my fucking pit?” subdued is not a word that can ever
be used to describe Wargasm and a minimum of three pits are formed as the band launch into
Fukstar.
The electronic duo are a perfect palette cleanser for the middle of the afternoon as the sun bears down, Gunnersbury Park is in summer festival mode.
Their modern take on numetalcore may not be the most original, but it is bloody fun. Vocalists Sam Matlock and Milkie Way are a melting pot of energy, bouncing up and down the stage and tossing microphones to each other as they trade vocal lines at breakneck speed.
The two vocalists also take turn turns playing their respective instruments (Mattlock on guitar and Way on bass) and although the guitar riffs do get a bit repetitive as the set continues it is impossible not to get swept up in the nu-metal bounce.
When the band begin to play their latest single 70% Dead, Mattlock demands that as guest vocalist Corey Taylor isn’t here, the crowd need to sing his parts for him which they duly oblige. Behind them, the rest of the band is just as energetic with not one, but two drummers playing for most of the set (one of them alternating between drums and keyboard).
For Bang Ya Head the collection of pits dotted around the front of the stage coalesce into one large circle pit and for the finale of Spit, Mattlock dives into the crowd to join in the madness.
Before playing D.R.I.L.D.O Milkie Way tells the crowd there are only 4 words that they need to know “Drink, Fuck, Fight, Love” a sentiment that sums up the band pretty well.
Since the release of their debut album Eternal Blue in 2021, Spiritbox has made 3 visits to London.
Growing each year exponentially from the 800-capacity O2 Islington to the 1,500- capacity Roundhouse; the Canadian metalcore champions now find themselves playing main support to a sold-out crowd of 40,000 all whilst still only having one full-length album in their discography which raises the serious question of how far can this band go in the coming years? It is a truly remarkable achievement and today’s show is a statement of intent that Spiritbox is here to stay.
Any fears that fans may have had that the band would water down their sound in the aftermath of their recent success were put to bed with last year’s The Fear of Fear EP which the band played almost in its entirety in the first half of their set; opening with lead single Cellar Door straight into Jaded and Angel Eyes.
It is a career-spanning set with the band hand-picking songs from each of their releases including Rule of Nines and the outrageously heavy Blessed Be.
Vocalist Courtney Laplante is every inch a modern superstar in the making. Dressed in a Korn style sparkling tracksuit and sunglasses it is remarkable that someone can manage to look so glamorous whilst sounding so demonic.
Clearly relishing her power over the crowd, she can command a wall of death through the sheer power of mime whilst at other times bumping and grinding across the stage whilst her bandmates play some seriously impressive tech metal instrumentals and making it all look simple.
There are only 3 songs from the album tonight towards the end of the setlist. After a thunderous rendition of Circle With Me, Laplante asks if it is ok if they play a slow song next before psyching out the audience and tearing into Holy Roller.
They close the set with Hysteria and draw out the end with a disgustingly heavy breakdown accompanied by death growls and snarls that make everything that has come before seem tame in comparison.
This year marks 30 years of Korn as a band and tonight is one hell of a birthday party. With the exception of an appearance at Download Festival in 2022, the nu-metal titans haven’t played in the UK since The Serenity of Suffering tour back in 2017.
Tonight’s sold-out show is also the band’s biggest UK show to date and evidence that absence has only made the heart grow fonder.
With an opening run of Rotting In Vain, Here To Stay and A.D.I.D.A.S Gunnersbury Park erupts from front to back in unison. Korn sounds fantastic as Jonathon Davies whips the crowd into a frenzy. Ray Luzier towers high above the rest of the band behind an absolute beast of a drum kit, toying with the crowd whenever the camera turns to him by juggling his drumsticks; later in the show he steamrolls through a monstrous drum solo; a real joy to watch.
Above the band, a huge screen shows weird visuals across the width of the stage and a mesh wall lowers down in front of the band members with projections facing across the front like a giant Faraday cage. I have never seen a light show quite like this.
A personal highlight is when the band launch into Blind and the crowd lose their minds as Gunnersbury Park melts into one giant mosh pit.
Coming Undone is another tour de force and Jonathon Davies squeezes in a short mash-up of Queens We Will Rock You for added measure.
Throughout the show, each member has been having the time of their life and fully embracing the adoring fans and towards the end of the set Davies gives a powerful and heartfelt monologue thanking everyone for their support over the last 30 years after which he asks us all to raise our middle fingers to the sky and then closing the set with Y’all Want A Single; the band are almost drowned out entirely by the thunderous reply of “Fuck That”.
The bagpipes are out for the encore as we jump straight back in for Shoots And Ladders along with another mashup (this time Metallica’s One) and a particularly enjoyable singalong of “London Bridge is falling down” before the band bring the night to an end with Twist, Divine and Freak On A Leash.
It is a perfect end to a phenomenal set and this show will surely go down as an historic event for Korn. Last years Limp Bizkit Gunnersbury success earned them a main support slot at the following Download and we can only hope that Korn can reap the same rewards.
Photography by Shannon Cotton
