KoRn North American 2024 Tour Featuring Gojira and Spiritbox – Mountain View, CA – 10.6.24
KoRn and I have one thing in common: we both turn 30 years old this year. With a careers-worth of accomplishments to brag about (including 15 studio albums, over 40 million albums sold worldwide, a couple of Grammy awards just to name a few), KoRn continues to be one of the biggest names in all of metal today. So, how do you celebrate 30 years of domination? With an extensive North American Tour with Gojira and Spiritbox. On October 6th, KoRn’s 2024 North American Tour arrived at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View for Northern California’s chance to catch the “must-see” tour of the season.
Up first was the rising metal stars Spiritbox. Their 6 song/25 minute set was short, but the band wasted no time at all beginning with one of their heaviest songs “Cellar Door”, the Grammy-nominated “Jaded”, and the fan-favorite “Angel Eyes” from their 2023 EP ‘The Fear Of Fear’. Midway through the set, the band treated fans with a performance of their latest single “Soft Spine” before wrapping up their set with “Circle With Me” and “Holy Roller” from their 2021 record ‘Eternal Blue’. Having been such a massive fan of the band since they exploded onto the scene a few years back, seeing them perform at this high of a level in front of such a massive crowd was a joy to witness. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante continues to prove why she’s one of the best in all of metal. With the band chemistry between her, guitarist Mike Stringer, bassist Josh Gilbert, and drummer Zev Rose, I wouldn’t be surprised to eventually catch a headlining Spiritbox set at this exact same amphitheater in the coming years.
Next up on the bill were the French metal band Gojira. The hype behind this band has been at an all time high since their performance at the Olympic Opening Ceremony and with their first US number 1 single “Mea culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)”. The unusually hot Bay Area night got even hotter the second Gojira’s pyro began. From the band’s musicianship to the visuals, I was blown away by their performance from start to finish. Their set list included performances of “Stranded”, “Flying Whales”, “L’enfant Sauvage”, “Silvera”, set closer “Amazonia”, among others. My first time witnessing the French monsters did not disappoint in the slightest.
Lastly, the main event. Opening up with “Here to Stay” from their fifth studio album ‘Untouchables‘, the nu-metal kings KoRn took the stage. A kabuki drop unleashed the band to the capacity crowd. From my perspective, there was not an empty seat in the entire amphitheater. The band was totally decked out with their Adidas x Korn collaboration. For a band turning 30 years old, you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching their set. Frontman Jonathan Davis sounded better than I’ve ever heard him before. Guitarists Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer were fun to watch with their energetic stage antics complete with their signature dreadlock headbanging.
Though most of their setlist included performances from their last few albums, Jonathan Davis made it a point to say “a lot of you weren’t even born when this album came out” during the intro buildup of “Blind” from their debut self-titled album. It was at that moment when I realized how diverse of a fanbase KoRn has created. Looking around me, I saw people my age, people old enough to be my parents, and kids sitting on their dad’s shoulders wearing their overhead hearing protection. For a band to transcend multiple generations the way KoRn has been able to do, it’s not an easy task.
The rest of the set included performances of “Y’all Want a Single”, “Falling Away From Me”, “Oildale (Leave Me Alone)”, and set closer/their absolute biggest track “Freak On A Leash”. The only disappointment for me personally was not being able to hear “Coming Undone”, but hey, with a discography as legendary as theirs, can you blame them?
Check out the full photo gallery of the performance below. Photos by photographer Alfredo Preciado (Instagram).
Spiritbox
Gojira
KoRn
