KORN / LIMP BIZKIT | LIVE PREVIEW
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Sun 18 Dec
If you were into angst-ridden nu-metal or rap-rock 15 to 20 years ago, you’ll remember not being able to flick through a magazine without seeing column inches being taken up by red cap-wearing Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst and king of the outcasts Jonathan Davis, vocalist for Korn [pictured]. Both are billed as joint headliners for a UK tour which will stop at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Sun 18 Dec, with support from New York hardcore veterans Madball.
Though for many the appeal of the show may be a nostalgia trip, it’s important to realise that while these bands may have soundtracked your formative years, they are still a formidable live force. Sure – Limp Bizkit, despite having released six albums, may forever be remembered as the band who “had that song Rollin’”, but just you remember “that song” not only topped the UK singles chart, but stayed there for two consecutive weeks back in 2001. Yet it was only a year ago that they headlined one of the biggest stages at Reading and Leeds festival. They’ve clearly still got it!
Meanwhile, Korn, whose set will close all shows on the current tour, have put out 12 records over the course of a career that spans more than two decades, the most recent being this autumn’s The Serenity Of Suffering, which Davis describes as “new and fresh”, before continuing, “I’m blown away that after 22 years and 12 records we still can be creative and make really cool-sounding shit.” If that glowing endorsement wasn’t enough then you can raise your eyebrows to their recent Grammy nomination in the Best Metal Performance category for Rotting In Vain, a track from the new record.
So, by all means dig out those baggy jeans and studded collars, but keep your mind and ears open for the new material, which is sure to pack an equally powerful punch.
Tickets: £40.50-£46.50. Info: 029 2022 4488 / www.livenation.co.uk/cardiff
words LAURA ELIZABETH JOHNSON