With my new found enthusiasm for all things heavy, what better way to kick off 2008 than with a kick ass rock gig. Unfortunately the longest queue I’ve ever witnessed outside of the Academy coupled with a late door opening time and some pass issues meant we were only able to catch four songs by the opening act  Deathstars, but what a four songs they were. Mixing equal parts Nine Inch Nails, The Mission and The Sisters Of Mercy with a touch of Marilyn Manson thrown in for good measure, the Swedish quintet have come up with a heavy, goth flavoured groove machine of a sound that will have dance floors full in rock clubs up and down the country. Vocalist Whiplash Bernadotte is a frontman is the truest sense of the word and acts as a stunning focal point for the band, a whirring dervish on stage and the perfect foil for the other guys producing an energetic and exiting show. Of the tracks we caught Synthetic Generation, Blitzkrieg and Cyanide all proved impressive, all the more given that they were largely unfamiliar. Mind you if this reviewer was impressed then it was nothing to the packed Academy  as the crowd was jumping and rocking to say the least and with large number of goths present the band in the audience they went down a storm.

After Deathstars came the female fronted Flyleaf. Given what had gone before and what was to come then they were a little bit of anti climax if truth be told. Vocalist  Lacey Mosley may have a voice that sounds like Bjork, Cyndi Lauper and Dolores O'Riordan from The Cranberries all rolled into one but onstage she appeared in a world of her own rarely looking up from the ground and failing in any respect to interact or communicate with the audience. Any pretence at stage presence and entertainment was left solely to bassist Pat Seals who at least attempted to inject some energy into the proceedings. Musically the band also seemed ill fitted to the bill sitting somewhere between post hardcore and indie and that, added to the almost embarrassing gaps between songs lost, any momentum that they may have been able to build up and left the majority of the crowd non plussed. And so on to Korn.

With a seemingly never ender change over between bands by the time Korn finally hit the stage, intro music blaring, the Academy audience was literally chomping at the bit. However even before the first bit of music had been played frontman Jonathan Davis revealed the first big surprise, and for some shock, of the night. There was to be no appearance form guitarist “Munky”. Due to pressing family matters he had been called home and was on his way back to America. Certainly, for this reviewer at least, the news came as a bit of a blow as have never having seen Korn before one of the attractions of finally getting to see the band in action was to see and hear Munky in full flow. However before anyone could start ruminating on whether Korn could pull off a show without him Davis made it clear that the tour was going ahead, all of the scheduled shows would be played and that for this show, the first on the UK leg of the trek, the band would play “the best fucking gig they possibly could”. There was no doubting his sincerity, and it’s more than likely that the band knew the importance of making an impact again on their first tour of these shores in nigh on six years.

Without further ado it was down to business as the band exploded into action with “Right Now”. The audience simply became one seething mass of bodies as everyone began jumping up and down to the infectious heavy rhythms and it was obvious that this was going to be one very special show.” Starting Over” and “Love Song” were delivered with raw power and when the band started to play ”A.D.I.D.A.S” the crowd literally went nuts. From every direction all that could be heard was the voices of people singing the chorus with demented glee. Of course to go along with the music Korn also brought along a great light show and the clever use of lasers throughout kept things visually interesting for those who may have been struggling with the music - I’m thinking of the number of dads accompanying their kids whose taste in heavier music stops with the likes of Queen or Paul Rogers.

“Hold On” which is to be the next single from Korn's most recent untitled album had real depth and had many people singing their hearts out on the chorus whilst “Falling Away From Me” was just exceptional and before the band had a little bit of fun with “Coming Undone” where they included a short verse and chorus from Queens “We Will Rock You” (which will have raised Korn's street cred’ with all those dads) Shane Gibson was given the spotlight for a short but very shred-tastic guitar solo, and believe me this guy can play big time. ”Here To Stay” was followed by “Faget” which Davis dedicated to all the old school Korn fans in the audience. The roar of approval that greeted that announcement showed that the band had a healthy does of the faithful fans in attendance and the inclusion of ”Trash”, “Helmet In the Bush” and the ultra cool “Freak On A Leash” only served to up the ante even further if that were possible. After the heaviness of” Bottled Up Inside” the band took a detour thanks to the atmospheric “Kiss” giving everyone a breather a breather but also stifling the energy levels that had built up a little.

“Evolution” got things back on track though as Davis sang and screamed his way into oblivion before introducing the final song of the set “Ass Itch”. Things had gotten a bit frantic by this time and a quick glance over at the sound man revealed the levels getting pushed up and up as the band returned for their encore and possibly things had gotten just a little bit too loud as the clarity of the main set to my ear slipped away and, as the band served up “Blind”, some of the backing vocals, and even Davis' own vocals, were being overpowered by the instruments. This effect of this was to diminish the impact  somewhat of the penultimate “Ever Be” and the final song “Got The Life”.

In hindsight, and despite the difficulties Korn obviously faced with the departure of Munky, then Korn can be justly satisfied with their nights work. The Korn die hards got the set list they probably dreamt about and the missing guitarist had no detrimental effect on the bands performance at all with Gibson proving a more than adequate replacement in the lead department. Who knows maybe it made even made the band try that little bit harder to make things work and, if that was the case, they came through with flying colours. Korn proved in Newcastle that undoubtedly they still have plenty left to offer both in 2008 and beyond.

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