Korn return to their roots

BEATS:

CALIFORNIAN metal or Texan rock, the choice is yours as two US bands take to the stage.

Metal giants Korn are back to reclaim their position as leaders of the pack and play at the Manchester Apollo on Sunday.

On the same day, Texan rockers The Black Angels are gigging at Manchester’s Ruby Lounge.

Korn — Jonathan Davis, James Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu and Ray Luzier — have returned to their roots with ninth album “Korn III: Remember Who You Are”.

The heavy rockers crashed on to the scene in 1994 with their self-titled debut album.

“Life Is Peachy” followed in 1996 and Korn cemented their place in the burgeoning metal scene. “Follow The Leader” in 1998 and “Issues” the year after reached number one in America.

“Untouchables”, “Take A Look In The Mirror”, “See You On The Other Side” and a greatest hits album didn’t chart as highly but contributed to the band’s 35 million record sales and two Grammy Awards.

Over the years, the band has collaborated with the likes of Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Nas and Ice Cube.

Bassist Fieldy said: “We called this record ‘Korn III: Remember Who You Are’ because it really feels like a return to that attitude we had on the first two records.”

“Phosphene Dream” is the third album by Texas The Black Angels.

It is the band’s first release for revived record label Blue Horizon, the legendary 60s blues label best known for discovering Chickenshack and Fleetwood Mac.

The Black Angels are the first band signed to the label since its revival earlier this year.

While past albums “Passover” and “Directions To See A Ghost” were recorded in the band’s hometown of Austin, the “Phosphene Dream” process pulled the band out of their comfort zone and forced them to look at songwriting and recording in a way they never have before.