The Jagermeister Tour 2010 stage shroud dropped to the floor, the bold letters K.O.R.N penetrated the darkness and the music played above the hysteria of Korn Kampers lining up to mosh while the seconds ticked until Korn appeared on stage after a long hiatus off the road. The anticipation built up as wave after wave of roars and metal hand signs pierced the stale Roseland air over a background introduction of "4 U." Out from the shadows came Ray Luzier, Korn's latest member, who took seat behind a barricade of drum heads and cymbals. He greeted the fanatical crowd with a baneful snarl behind his twirling drum stick. Fieldy (Reginald Arvizu) lurked out from behind the amp stacks, and Munky (James Shaffer) materialized from the dusky nebulous off stage. The sullen blue lights dimly highlighted the band as a despondent macabre message to hold on tight because we are in for one very bumpy ride.
The thunder off the kicker drums hammered the floor and the rampant guitar riffs pulverized the unbridling Korn Kampers. I was caught between the on-stage canons driving deep base rhythms and hallow drums hits on one side, and the action ready tanks behind the metal bars on the other. What came next was the break in the Roseland Levee. The apocalyptic revelation surrounding Jonathan Davis sent chills down my spine. Lit up in navy blue undertones, with a minor red glimmer from his famous biomechanical mic-stand, a necromantic beauty from the brain of H.R. Gieger. The Kampers, ready to unleash pure hell bent fury, raised the level of distortion I can't recall experiencing. My heart was racing as I stared up at Jonathan, just inches from my camera lens, all the while knowing that here was a lead singer who has achieved more greatness then any other band currently on tour in this music genre and that he was about to set off an eruption with one question. Are YOU READY?
The restless bodies convulsed to the delirium of the all-embrassing acceptance by the audience. The light show was minor, but the wall of sound was anything but mundane. Korn brought fourth an wall of sound that blasted holes in my ear drums. The play list was hit song after hit song including "Freak On A Leash." "Ya'll Wanna Single," "Here To Stay," "Dead Bodies Everywhere," "Blind," and even the more recent bonus track cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall." The air of excitement on Korn's verbal assault permeated the night stirred by the madness and lunacy of Davis vivid thoughts, whose lyrical expressions inhibits and feeds off his soul's dynamic obstructions eclipsed by the landscape that he subsumes in his being. His on-stage exhibition is nothing less then remarkable. It's not so much the rawness of his voice or the massive thrash of his kinetic head bangs as it is his delivery. Korn is still the cathartic metal band whose birth in 1992 still continues to grow and continues to evolve to into an even deeper provocative band that emerged post-grunge era.
Jagermeister has successfully created another tour that has surpassed it's pervious shows. The marketing and connection through music continues to impress me with each line up they compile annually. This year's high energy was no different for me and even though the number of bands signed to the tour may have been scaled down slightly the choice picks of this year's band selection was not sacrificed. Korn was the cherry pit on top of this congealing sundae of lost misfits. It's a show that will surpass current music tours this past year to true music fans. With eight shows left you have little time to experience this tidal wave of sound, and what will 2011 bring to the Jagermeister line up? The answer is beyond, but I doubt the line-up will disappoint any concert goer. It's inconceivable but it is possible that next year's tour will over shadow the current line-up. How about making the 2011 tour like a lethal cocktail. One part Rammstein, one part Marilyn Manson, and one part Rob Zombie, all shaken and poured together into an ageless shot glass for the Jagermeister fans to drink up? I think that would be one shot easy to swallow and impossible to digest. Just keep an Advil near by because you are going to need it in a good way.
