On August 11, metalheads travel to an event that many consider to be the Mecca of heavy metal: Mayhem Festival. This year the headlining bands included Atreyu, Lamb of God, Rob Zombie, and Korn, all bands that basically peaked in popularity about twelve years ago. To any hardcore fans, the festival is the closest thing that could lead to a head banging induced seizure. On the other hand, for those who are seeking professional interviews with these metal icons, good luck.
You would think that after years of fame, scheduling interviews would come as second nature to the management of bands like Korn. Well, wrong. Simply requesting to ask Korn’s drummer, Ray Luzier, two questions turned into a grueling process involving phone calls with their flippant tour manager who unprofessionally cussed out any journalist trying to do their job. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that someone attempting to get an interview actually replied to the guy with the blunt truth. Hey Mr. Manager with the funny accent, this is for the band’s benefit, not for ours.
After the manager’s excuses came Ray Luzier’s who, just for the record, is Korn’s new drummer (i.e. he showed up just in time to help the band attempt a comeback, which really didn’t work). According to his manager, Luzier’s wife was “on her way” and he was unable to answer some questions, though in the time it took for her to arrive, he could have done so. To put it in simplest terms, they’re basically unprofessional tools. Talk about a buzzkill before watching a band you actually jammed out to a few years back.
All drama and complications aside, anyone who followed rock in the nineties couldn’t help but staying just to hear Falling Away From Me or Freak On a Leash. Right when Jonathan Davis, the band’s lead singer, started the “ boom na da…” (whatever the hell he speaks in tongues) breakdown and Fieldy started his famous bass slapping, the crowd lost it .A classic is a classic, and you have to hand it to Korn for giving a crowd exactly want they wanted to hear.