Korn
Having experienced a somewhat re-emergence over the past two years, Korn have been proving why they're still a force to be reckoned with, both live and on record. With the release of last year's brilliant 'III: Remember Who You Are' and a show-stealing appearance at Ozzfest, Download was the next step and certainly no exception in quality with the band performing an incredible set that spanned their entire career.
Opening with their undisputed classic track 'Blind' was always going to send the place several shades of crazy and that it did with a constantly swirling sea of people screaming back the words at deafening volume. From here the pace simply did not let up, 'Falling Away From Me' and 'Shoots And Ladders' sounded as vital as they did back when they were released in the '90s, cuts from the most recent album such as 'Pop A Pill' fitted in seamlessly, while new dub-step influenced track 'Get Up' was as huge as it promised to be and confirmed Korn to be a band still very much still pushing forward. An inclusion of rarely played fan-favourite 'Alone I Break' was a masterstroke with its anthemic and melancholic chorus meeting head-on with its slightly symphonic atmosphere perfectly and dazzling the crowd as a result. As an impending storm loomed overhead however was when the best part came, a mind-blowing and unexpected medley that spanned the band's entire career, moving from the likes of 'Clown' to 'Twisted Transistor' in devastating fashion and causing an unforgettable sing-a-long. A bruising ending of 'Y'all Want a Single' ran the point home that Korn have become a very exciting band again and left us waiting with baited breath as to where they're going to go next.
A mesmerising performance from a band pushing through their troubles and proving with a ten-ton hammer that you should still care about them in the year 2011.