KoRn's 30th Anniversary show rocks NJ's Prudential Center

Nu metal legends KoRn played the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 23rd, celebrating thirty years of rocking our worlds. The Bakersfield, CA icons brought along two other soul crushers, Gojira and Spiritbox, for their 2024 North American tour.

Metalcore’s Spiritbox, hailing from Victoria, Canada, kicked off the night, and they were the perfect band to do so. Frontwoman Courtney LaPlante, alongside her husband guitarist Mike Stringer, bassist Josh Gilbert, and drummer Zev Rosenberg, set the tone with their six heavy hitters, starting with three from last year’s EP The Fear of Fear, which landed them a 2024 Best Metal Performance, Grammy nomination for their badass single “Jaded.” Courtney’s ability to go from hauntingly beautiful melodies to straight-up death growls and brutal screams is unmatched.

Spiritbox

Photo Credit: Melinda Oswandel

Metal titans Gojira (founded as Godzilla in 1996) seem to dominate and wreak beautiful havoc wherever they are. In August, they became a household name thanks to performing at the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in their home country of France; they were the first metal band ever to accomplish such a feat. And now they are helping sell out arenas across America while supporting KoRn. This amazing four piece, including brothers Joe (singer and lead guitar) and Mario Duplantier on drums, put on one of the best live shows you could ever witness. Period. The first time I saw them was at a MUCH smaller venue, Terminal 5 in Manhattan, eight years ago… And their incredible performance blew me away. Even more so at the Prudential Center show. The strobes, the perfectly in-sync trippy imagery on the giant screen behind them, and all that glorious pyro, which is always a concert photographer’s dream to capture. Plus they played “Mea Culpa“ which they performed at the Olympics… sans opera singer Marina Viotti, of course.

Gojira

Photo Credit: Melinda Oswandel

And to close out the night we have the headliners, KoRn. These guys first hit the scene back in 1994 when their groundbreaking sound hit the airwaves with their debut single “Blind.“ They have been going strong ever since, with a slew of hits in their thirty-year career span. They are the true nu-metal pioneers and have developed quite a cult following. Their fans were sporting KoRn merch of all types with that iconic logo, as well as Adidas tracksuits, which is what the band has been known for donning since the 90s; they even spotted a purple sequin one in the mix. Gen X, Y, and Z were all in attendance and decked out in their best 90’s alternative fashion. The set list was stacked with a variety of hits from most of their albums, with even some deep cuts from their self-titled debut album. As always, frontman Jonathan Davis had his bagpipes out during the start of one of their most classic songs, “Shoots and Ladders.“ But this time involved mixing in the outro to Metallica’s legendary “One“ into “Twist.“ During “You All Want A Single,“ Jonathan had the crowd put their middle fingers high in the air and say “Fuck That!“ on command. Young fans especially enjoyed being a part of this rebellious fun. KoRn ended the night with their second single off of Follow The Leader, “Freak on a Leash,“ where as soon as Jonathan yelled “Go!”, hundreds of colorful streamers exploded from the ceiling into the pit. One thing is for sure: KoRn still puts on one hell of a fun show for fans of all ages.

KoRn’s 2024 North American Tour ends on October 27th in Saint Paul, Minnesota before heading to Australia. So you still have time to check out this killer lineup and show when it comes to your town. “Are you ready??!“ Yes. Yes, you are. And… “Go!”