Korn is set to hit the road with Evanescence this summer for a 17 date tour that starts on Aug. 16 and ends on Sept. 16. The two bands, both alternative rock titans in their own right, last toured together for the Family Values Tour of 2007. Much time has passed since then, with each of the bands continuing to make music and grow and evolve on their own. Korn has recently released a new album entitled Requiem earlier this year and are embarking on this summer tour in support of the album. Evanescence released their latest album, The Bitter Truth, in March of 2021 and are still working to promote that album.
Both bands had members within their direct band or their touring ensemble test positive for COVID-19 in 2021, which caused each band to postpone their individual tours at their respective times. Evanescence’s winter tour of 2021 suffered cancellations towards the end of December when their touring staff had members test positive for COVID-19, resulting in 5 December dates having to be rescheduled for January of 2022. Korn’s lead singer Jonathan Davis tested positive for COVID-19 in August of 2021, forcing the band to postpone a show until Sept. of that year.
Jonathan Davis and his band Korn got their start in 1993 in California, bringing the now well known genre of “nu-metal” to the forefront of mainstream rock with their breakout hit album Korn that was released in 1994. The album catapulted Korn into rock stardom and set the tone for a new genre of alternative music that hadn’t been defined before. Since then, the band has released 14 studio albums and done well to cement their place in rock music’s innovative niche of alternative metal. Their unique blend of heavy bass centered music with intense rhythmic drums, paired with Davis’ unique, sometimes rapper-esque vocals set Korn apart from the get go.
Evanescence broke onto the music scene in 2003 with their surprise hit of debut album Fallen, which came seemingly out of nowhere, going on to sell 16 million copies worldwide. The dramatic, dark, ethereal, and moving music of Evanescence was fueled off of lead singer Amy Lee’s soaring, operatic vocals that could in an instant turn into a haunting and angelic whisper – as she sang about loss and survival, over the foundations of metal chugging guitar riffs, classical piano, theatrical orchestral arrangements, and choir vocalizations. The band has since released 4 more studio albums and has cemented themselves as well in the landscape of modern rock pioneers.
Korn and Evanescence toured briefly together in 2007 for the Family Values Tour, which is a brainchild of Korn and had many co-headliners. It was a tradition of Korn’s to headline with a handful of other powerful and well known rock acts sharing the bill with them. In 2007, Evanescence, Flyleaf, Hellyeah, Atreyu, Trivium, and Neurosonic completed the bill. Since then, Korn and Evanescence have not shared the stage. However, Davis and Lee are no strangers to each other – in fact, the two collaborated on MTV’s Unplugged, when Korn played an entire set in 2006. It was for the bands hit song Freak On A Leash that Davis called Lee onto the stage in order for the two of them to duet. The live version that aired on Unplugged went on to become a cult classic for Korn and Evanescence fans alike.
Lee also took to covering Korn’s hit song Thoughtless many times throughout Evanescence’s first early worldwide tours in 2003 and 2004. Lee was always a self-professed fan of Korn, saying onstage in their 2004 live DVD Anywhere But Home that Korn was a band “they loved very much”, before she started in on the piano as she began her version of the introduction to Thoughtless. Since then, the two bands have somewhat been related in the sense that it is known by the fan base of either band that one is appreciated by the other. Both Korn and Evanescence fans can appreciate the other band’s music, and the fans know that Davis and Lee respect each other and are friends. So for them to be going on tour together again is a huge deal, for alternative music fans who fall within the Korn/Evanescence niche and presumably for Davis and Lee, and the members of each of their bands, who are all friends and will get to reunite when they hit the road for this sure to satisfy summer tour of 2022.
Korn and Evanescence start their tour Aug. 16 in Denver, Colo., touch down in Mansfield, Mass., on Aug. 26, and wrap it up Sept. 16 in Ridgefield, Wash. Tickets for the Mansfield, Mass., show are still on sale through www.livenation.com or www.ticketmaster.com
