 | Written by Amina Abdelwahab KORN w/ Stone Sour, Skillet and Ded @ Budweiser Stage Toronto, ON, Canada July 25, 2017 Presented by Live Nation |
Kicking off the long line-up to an early show was Ded, a new nu metal band from Arizona. In support of their newest album Mis-An-Thrope, they shrouded us in anger and aggression. Songs like, “Remember The Enemy”, “Dead To Me”, “Anti-Everything”, all served as anthems of hate – leaving you void of all the negativity you may have encountered during the day with some hardcore headbanging, cursing, and even moshing. Yes, Ded managed to get the evening’s first moshpit going – at 5:30pm! Their song “FMFY” and their use of glass eyes, got us chanting “Fuck me and Fuck you too” as we zombie-d in the moshpit, filling our guts with beer and joy. The one criticism of Ded’s performance would be the high bass levels – while Kyle Koelsch, their bassist, did steal the stage, he also stole a portion of sound from the band’s overall dynamics.
Next up was Skillet, a Christian-rock band from Tennessee. Being the most aesthetically pleasing band of the night, they brought out their commercially-loaded guns. Using rising platforms, several instruments, role-exchanges, matching costumes, and dry-ice; Skillet did not just play, they performed. Having two women, Korey Cooper and Jen Ledger, fronting the drums, guitar and even vocals, stood the band apart from the rest of the acts. Choosing to play their heavier tracks interlaced with some hits, songs such as “Invincible”, “Monster”, “Hero” and “Comatose” shone through their setlist. Paying tribute to Chester of Linkin Park’s death, lead vocalist, John Cooper, announced that he was “sick of” all his favorite musicians commiting suicide as he strung into the first verse of their song “Sick Of It”. As Yeawolf couldn’t make the show, the solid, emotional, and entertaining performance by Skillet had us on the edge of our seats for Stone Sour.
Being a die-hard Corey Taylor fan, I clung onto my imaginary seat between sets, took my front and centre postion in the pit, and watched as the stage swiftly shifted into a Stone Sour shrine. Eventually, the interlude music quieted, and all Stone Sour members – but Corey – took the stage, swinging into their first song, "Taipei Person / Allah Tea" off their latest album Hydrograd. As Corey took the stage as the vocal section came in, the crowd went wild, spewing lyrics, hair and beer at Corey. Josh Rand on guitar, sported a unique pink-polka dotted Ibanez, and Corey sprayed us with water and confetti – making his fans into popsicles of confetti and hair, chanting “Fuck Nickelback” at the close of their first song. Corey’s reponse was to be respected as he avoided the situation with a simple shrug-off statement and swiftly moved into the rest of their setlist – my personal favorites being “Through Glass”, “Tired”, and “Song #3” which he dedicated to Johny Chow (their bassist)’s wife after he re-proposed to her on stage (hint: she said yes!). The performance closed with more confetti, inflatable tube-men, and a fabulous rendition of “Fabuless”.
As KORN prepared to make their entrance, the Budweiser Stage budded with fans. The pit became a mass of sweat, beer and hair, all anxiously waiting for their favorite band. One particular fan wore a “KORN killed my cancer shirt”, and fellow fans took part in signing it and placing him right infront of the stage. The prop-men placed Jonathan Davis’ notorious microphone (shaped like a woman’s body) on the stage, and the black-cloth curtains fell, and out came the band against the backdrop of a morgue. They kicked into “Rotting in Vain” with Jonathan sporting a kilt – which later fit perfectly with his bagpipe solo. Covering Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, bringing out Corey Taylor for a rendition of “A Different World”, and giving us a four-song encore, KORN truly outdid themselves. Their top-tier sound system had the kick-drum sounding through our hearts, and the mosh-pit at full steam, while simultaneously guiding crowd-surfers to the front of the stage in intervals till the close of the night – a true metal mayhem.
Next up was Skillet, a Christian-rock band from Tennessee. Being the most aesthetically pleasing band of the night, they brought out their commercially-loaded guns. Using rising platforms, several instruments, role-exchanges, matching costumes, and dry-ice; Skillet did not just play, they performed. Having two women, Korey Cooper and Jen Ledger, fronting the drums, guitar and even vocals, stood the band apart from the rest of the acts. Choosing to play their heavier tracks interlaced with some hits, songs such as “Invincible”, “Monster”, “Hero” and “Comatose” shone through their setlist. Paying tribute to Chester of Linkin Park’s death, lead vocalist, John Cooper, announced that he was “sick of” all his favorite musicians commiting suicide as he strung into the first verse of their song “Sick Of It”. As Yeawolf couldn’t make the show, the solid, emotional, and entertaining performance by Skillet had us on the edge of our seats for Stone Sour.
Being a die-hard Corey Taylor fan, I clung onto my imaginary seat between sets, took my front and centre postion in the pit, and watched as the stage swiftly shifted into a Stone Sour shrine. Eventually, the interlude music quieted, and all Stone Sour members – but Corey – took the stage, swinging into their first song, "Taipei Person / Allah Tea" off their latest album Hydrograd. As Corey took the stage as the vocal section came in, the crowd went wild, spewing lyrics, hair and beer at Corey. Josh Rand on guitar, sported a unique pink-polka dotted Ibanez, and Corey sprayed us with water and confetti – making his fans into popsicles of confetti and hair, chanting “Fuck Nickelback” at the close of their first song. Corey’s reponse was to be respected as he avoided the situation with a simple shrug-off statement and swiftly moved into the rest of their setlist – my personal favorites being “Through Glass”, “Tired”, and “Song #3” which he dedicated to Johny Chow (their bassist)’s wife after he re-proposed to her on stage (hint: she said yes!). The performance closed with more confetti, inflatable tube-men, and a fabulous rendition of “Fabuless”.
As KORN prepared to make their entrance, the Budweiser Stage budded with fans. The pit became a mass of sweat, beer and hair, all anxiously waiting for their favorite band. One particular fan wore a “KORN killed my cancer shirt”, and fellow fans took part in signing it and placing him right infront of the stage. The prop-men placed Jonathan Davis’ notorious microphone (shaped like a woman’s body) on the stage, and the black-cloth curtains fell, and out came the band against the backdrop of a morgue. They kicked into “Rotting in Vain” with Jonathan sporting a kilt – which later fit perfectly with his bagpipe solo. Covering Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, bringing out Corey Taylor for a rendition of “A Different World”, and giving us a four-song encore, KORN truly outdid themselves. Their top-tier sound system had the kick-drum sounding through our hearts, and the mosh-pit at full steam, while simultaneously guiding crowd-surfers to the front of the stage in intervals till the close of the night – a true metal mayhem.
| KORN Jonathan Davis - Lead vocals & bagpipes Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu - Bass James "Munky" Shaffer - Rhythm, lead guitar & backing vocals Brian "Head" Welch - Lead guitars & backing vocals Ray Luzier - Drums & percussion Label: Roadrunner Records Website: www.korn.com SKILLET John Cooper - Lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitars & keyboards Korey Cooper - Rhythm guitars, keyboards, vocals & bass Jen Ledger - Drums, percussion, vocals, occasional lead vocals Seth Morrison - Lead guitars Tate Olsen - Cello Label: Atlantic Records Website: www.skillet.com | STONE SOUR Corey Taylor - Lead vocals & rhythm guitars Josh Rand - Rhythm guitars Roy Mayorga - Drums Johny Chow - Bass & backing vocals Christian Martucci - Lead guitars & backing vocals Label: Roadrunner Records Website: www.stonesour.com DED Joe Cotela - Vocals David Ludlow - Guitars Matt Reinhard - Drums Kyle Koelsch - Bass Label: Suretone Records Website: www.facebook.com/dedofficial |
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