Korn

Korn – Live At Montreux 2004 DVD

by Rikki O.

http://www.korn.com/site.php

http://www.myspace.com/korn

Jonathan Davis – Vocals, Bagpipes
James “Munky” Shaffer – Guitar
Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu – Bass
David Silveria – Drums

Brian “Head” Welch – Guitar

• “Right Now”
• “Break Some Off”
• “Got the Life”
• “Here to Stay”
• “Falling Away From Me”
• “Blind”
• “Shoots and Ladders”
• “One”
• “Freak on a Leash”
• “A.D.I.D.A.S.”
• “Dead Bodies Everywhere”
• “Did My Time”
• “Another Brick in the Wall”
• “Faget”
• “Somebody Someone”
• “Y’All Want a Single”

The Montreux Jazz Festival began in 1967 as a three day jazz event on the shore of Lake Geneva in Switzerland; it featured legends such as Nina Simone, Weather Report, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald and more. Since that historic beginning, the Festival is now held yearly and has expanded into a 2 week event featuring all genres of music and drawing crowds of over 200,000 people. This performance by Korn, on July 5 of 2004, allegedly marked the first major mosh pit ever to form in the festival’s history at the famous Stravinski Auditorium. This DVD also marks something else quite special: it is one of the very last performances by Korn that contained all five original members. Only months after this was filmed, guitarist Brian “Head” Welsh left the band due to religious reasons, and more recently Korn saw the departure of drummer David Silveria on what may or may not be a temporary hiatus.

“Live At Montreux 2004” marks something of a overexposure apex for Korn; happening at a time when the rap/nu-metal hybrid sound had gone from selling multi-platinum records to becoming something laughable (insert Fred Durst joke here) as newer hard rock acts emerged. This performance came right after the release of “Take A Look In The Mirror”, their sixth album which was widely considered one of the weakest in their catalog. While they are obviously promoting the album by playing four tracks from it, they do touch on all their biggest hits (“Did My Time”, “Falling Away From Me”, “Here To Stay”, “Freak On A Leash”) and give fair representation to all six albums during the show. Crowd inspiring covers of Metallica’s “One” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall/Goodbye Cruel World” round out their set.

The DVD may disappoint those looking for typical DVD release extras such as interviews or backstage scenes; “Live” gets right to the point much like if the viewer were attending the concert themselves. The lighting and sound are both to be applauded, as should the camera work which truly captures the show from every possible angle and is incredibly engaging. It seemed to me that the band appeared somewhat sluggish and low energy, though you certainly wouldn’t think so when watching the amazing shots of the crowd going wild. 

I am curious to know why the band waited four years to release this DVD, following right after the release of their second greatest hits album “Playlist: The Very Best of Korn” in April of this year. New material isn’t expected until sometime in 2009; perhaps this is just the thing to tide over the true Korn fans (and they are legion) until then.