Tuesday, August 6, 2024 will go down as a very memorable day in the already rich history of the annual Belgian music festival Lokerse Feesten. I’m sure the average attendee could list a multitude of reasons for why that is, but seeing as I obtained a degree in journalism, it is my duty to provide you with the ones that really capture the essence of the matter. For one, Lokerse Feesten’s ‘metal day’ was labeled as ‘Super Tuesday’ this year. And while no further references to the American election season were made, the festival day was in fact closed by the former President of the United States and his nu metal band. That’s right, for the first time in their thirty-year career, Korn would get to shake up the ‘Grote Kaai’. Which brings me to the second most important reason for why last Tuesday is one for the archives. For just 7 hours, WARGASM, Nova Twins, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and The Dillinger Escape Plan aided Korn in giving the province of East Flanders their first real taste of Family Values.
Woyote
Coincidentally, the Fonnefeesten – the local counterpart of Lokerse Feesten – was also reveling in metal that day. As a result, guitarist Mikey Doling of Snot and Soulfly fame pulled a double shift. While he was scheduled to perform with Channel Zero there, he presented his side project Woyote earlier in the day. It didn’t take long for singer Aaron Nordstrom, dressed entirely in white, to get the early onlookers headbanging. If this band hadn’t been made up of internationally-known and Belgian musicians, however, Woyote’s biggest achievement by now probably would’ve been coming in first or second at the local battle of the bands instead of playing this festival. The riffs were a tad bit too uninspired to really stick to the memory. That being said, Woyote performed tightly together, showing chemistry and no lack of experience.
WARGASM
‘Super Tuesday’ was kicked off by WARGASM, the brainchild of the eccentric London-based nu metal agenda-baiting duo Sam Matlock and Milkie Way. Their eight-song set was filled with energy, as well as attempts to inflict that same energy beyond the twenty five or so people at the very front of the stage. The silently-approaching crowd seemed mostly in search of a drink and some shade. Meanwhile my heart and head were telling me to initiate a pit or two during cybercore bangers like “Pyro Pyro” and “Spit.”, but my social anxiety took the upper hand. Instead I stood there capturing part of the set with my Nintendo 3DS like the dork NMA European Correspondent that I am. Oh, and Way mentioned Fred Durst from the stage! It would’ve been brilliant to see him perform “Bang Ya Head” live alongside WARGASM. I actually did see a girl wearing a red cap and a fake goatee banging her head to this track, after which I thanked the universe for at least partially taking me to the Matthew’s Bridge.
Nova Twins
Amy Love and Georgia South have been one of those fresh breezes in the current hard rock and metal landscape for some time now. Their Lokerse Feesten performance proved to me that they’re deserving of every bit of praise they get. The strength of the Twins lies in their broad definition of ‘loud’ and their clear, hard-hitting message. By their own admission, the duo was a bit nervous about being too soft for this metal day. Nevertheless, Love and South fit right in. South’s ability to manipulate her bass through pedal work is a modern-day evolution from what Tom Morello started doing three decades ago (he’s a fan by the way!). With Korn in mind, it was noticeable where Nova Twins got their inspiration: Korn’s over-the-top interpretation of brostep and metal during The Path of Totality era. Where that album may have been more of a gimmick, Nova Twins distilled a more compact sound that held the audience in its grip for a solid half-hour during songs like “Taxi” and “Choose Your Fighter”. Love in particular, sporting official Korn socks, emerged once again as an inspiring frontwoman, getting fists in the air and sparking small mosh pits. The hip hop inspired sections and occasional use of backing tracks only added to their ability to create a wall of sound that even made some people at the back fall silent.
Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes
After the end of Gallows, Frank Carter needed something with enough appeal to charm his old fanbase and bring in money at the same time. It’s safe to say he succeeded in that with The Rattlesnakes. Even on a day like ‘Super Tuesday’, when he seemed not quite as fresh, he still knew how to entertain his fans. It started off a bit melodramatically, but once the female-only mosh pit formed during "Wild Flowers," the show really gained momentum. Just before that, a fifteen-year-old named Ash received a ‘happy birthday’ where Carter, who spent quite a lot of time in the crowd, managed to maintain his charm as he let the boy sing a few lines very convincingly. Afterwards, classic crowd antics followed, including both your more standard circle pits and a less standard sit-down during "Devil Inside Me". By the end of the set, Carter had the crowd eating out of his hand, while The Rattlesnakes had the time of their lives, daring more and more to steal the show on their own.
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan was undoubtedly the biggest surprise on this festival bill for fans of sophisticated noise. In honor of the 25th anniversary of their debut album Calculating Infinity, the masters of mathcore had announced a comeback, albeit with original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis as frontman and James Love back for a third stint as rhythm guitarist (this to the dismay of former vocalist Greg Puciato, who had been active in the band since 2001 and recently appeared at quite a few festivals with his new band Better Lovers). Calculating Infinity is a lot less accessible than their later records, which you could register from the combo of visible confusion and amazement on the faces of many a concertgoer. However, those who had intentionally come to see the Dillinger Escape Plan (and there were dozens of them), got exactly what they wanted; a ferocious overdose of controlled musical chaos from a band clearly hungry to perform that landmark release live again. It all concluded with guitarist Ben Weinman's signature leap from the side speakers during “43% Burnt”, as if it were 1999 all over again.
Korn
And as it turns out, it was indeed 1999 all over again. Despite their millionaire status, Korn continues to make outsider music, which also explains why they still generate interest among the youth thirty years into their career. Sure, Woodstock-esque scenes where the audience becomes a single waving organism were naturally not to be expected. The time slots, crash-barriers, and security were a little too well-coordinated for that. But when that logo began flickering on the giant LED screen, you could feel the tension spread across the grounds. Opening up with “Rotting In Vain” instead of "Here to Stay" is questionable at first glance, but gosh did it work out well! It’s like getting struck by lightning twice in the most satisfying way. By the time I landed back on my feet, Head and Munky had already started their wailing guitar prelude to “Clown”, serving as some sort of amber alert for what’s to come.
An underrated part of seeing Korn live these days is that you get to witness JD’s outbursts of rage all while wearing those green, flashy Adidas Superstar track pants like he used to. The fact that a goofy goober like him leads one of the top metal bands in the world is one of the reasons for why I usually think the glass is half full. Where drummer Ray Luzier used to draw attention with a colossal drum set, his sense of rhythm is now the driving force of the show. His solo, which created a groovy bridge to "Blind," drove the fans wild. Davis’ signature “Are You Ready?” battle cry made me scared for both my and my 3DS’s wellbeing. It also made a good chunk of the crowd jump, with those at the front bearing the brunt of the assignment. However, the award for the sickest pit went to the breakdown in “Good God”, which deserves an honorable mention. Snippets of “We Will Rock You” and “One” kept the thousands of festival-goers amped up during Korn’s celebration of three decades of nu metal mayhem. The cherry on top of it all was the sea of middle fingers in the air during certified TikTok hit "Y’All Want a Single," which still hasn’t lost any of its brutality.
Korn fully hit their stride during the encore, initiated by Davis pulling out his bagpipes for "Shoots and Ladders". When he followed that classic song by unleashing his scatman Jon attack behind the LED screen during "Twist," the claustrophobic effect of this setup was in full effect. After everyone let loose one last time during "Freak on a Leash," the guys still had fifteen minutes of playtime left. Those minutes were mainly used to bond with the audience, though one more deep cut would’ve been more than welcome. Kudos to these freaks for pushing the festival slightly out of its comfort zone.
On paper, all the acts individually were oddballs, but by putting them together in a limited time span, the similarities and craziness became increasingly apparent. If heavy guitars and electronics can coexist on Belgium’s Super Tuesday, I don’t see how that could go wrong in America.
