Goodbye outdoor venue season: Korn closes this year’s show at PNC Music Pavilion

Korn, Breaking Benjamin, Motionless in White, and Silver Snakes – louder than a sonic boom.

It was rumored on this night you could hear the show for MILES beyond the city limits. Korn (Roadrunner Records) is known to bring an explosive show — this one knocked it right out of the park. The performance closed the summer season at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, NC this cool autumn eve. The band was seen lurking around the city at other shows this week and many of our social media was abuzz with about damn near everyone taking selfies with bassist Fieldy backstage. It’s tender to see a band of such caliber still having fun with their crazy fans. Don’t want to call yourself crazy? Please remove the uniform you are wearing, surely slathered in monster energy drink swag, Adidas, or the tempered braids and elaborate “I Love Korn” wife beaters in 60 degree weather. All jokes aside – they came, they saw, they played, they melted faces, we were satisfied.

Social media was ablaze, like the stage, with concert-goers anticipating Korn’s return to Charlotte. This night opening up were LA’s Silver Snakes (Evil Ink Records).

Their sound is indicative of Breaking Benjamin when they broke open ages ago with an undertone of smart song composition and a little more than mediocre lyrics.

Vocalist Alex Estrada channeled Hoobastank’s Doug Robb with a powerful performance. The band’s latest album Saboteur is out now (Itunes).

After Silver Snakes slinked away, the crowd threw on a ton of face paint and chanted to Motionless in White (Roadrunner Records).

Exemplary deep growls and frantic fist pumps mirrored the rows of fans.

The fervent stunners revved the masses, bringing the party to the venue this night. The band is currently recording their long awaited fourth studio album and first full-length Roadrunner debut, slated for 2017.

Their blend of metal, goth, and rock are a breath of fresh air on this tour.

It gives a good segue from one band to the next that are much more toned down. Cannot wait to see these guys again, they are just completely badass live.

Motionless in White finally ended their set and up next brought town favorites

Breaking Benjamin (Hollywood Records). Since their early hits in 2000, they’ve steadily grown their fan base here in the Carolinas.

Most of their shows sell out quickly and they are one of the coveted bands due to how well they treat their media.

Something I honestly give a damn about. Genuine on and off the stage leaves for a proclivity under the lime lights that send that energy to their fans.

Tonight was no different – lead vocalist Benjamin Burnley posed for some shots and tore through a 15 song set that was evenly spaced out over all their albums and EPs and was even longer than the headliners set!

Breaking Benjamin left the stage after closing with their smash hit “The Diary of Jane,” and the stage was lit for Korn. The moment the crowd had been waiting for couldn’t come fast enough, chanting started as fans clamored to move closer to the stage and the roars grew so loud it was deafening. The main act of the night. Bakerfield 5 piece, 4/5th of the original band slathered in black and kilts descended upon the stage. The two finger jammers, screech shrieking rockers, the ones who set the tone for the entire nation in the 90s and broke all expectations with clever PR stunts and amazing visuals when music videos were even worth a damn. Korn were here to fucking slay. When I was coming up in the music business everyone wanted to be these guys.

You couldn’t turn on the radio without them on a channel. You could not turn on any music television without their video playing, you simply could not go anywhere in school without someone in braids or dreads wearing their shirt. They have influenced hundreds of kids to just pick up an instrument and say whatever the hell they want. Like the music or not they are pioneers in the industry still going strong.

Tonight the 12 song set, while on the shorter side, touched upon their full catalogue. A bit heavy on the Issues album, which is great due to the fact that that album just translates live so darn well. The iconic sounds brought out the demons in the crowd and as cohesively as possibly the songs were shouted back to the band leaving the last of the summer fun energy on the concert floor.

Korn are working on their 12th album, The Serenity of Suffering due out October 21st. It will include original guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch he was quoted saying the follow-up to 2013’s The Paradigm Shift will mark a return to the band’s roots. We can’t wait to experience that!

It was a stellar season here at Live Nation’s premiere venue PNC Music Pavilion. It held many sweaty, crying, singing, happy, joyous fans this season. As well as some of the top musical acts of this decade. With packed seats, cold beers, and sun rays for days what more could we have asked for this concert season? Not much, and we look forward to seeing each and every one of you next season!

With Love,

Shutter 16 Magazine

See the full gallery of the night.

Catch this tour!

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12/12/16 MANCHESTER ARENA MANCHESTER UK
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04/03/17 GASOMETER VIENNA AT