Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at the Hollywood Palladium Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at the Hollywood Palladium Blu-ray Movie Review

Eighteen years after their first studio album, Korn sound a lot edgier but also a lot less power hardcore/nu metal. The band’s latest album, The Path of Totality, shows an evolution in style that reminds a lot about the one Brazilian rockers Sepultura conveyed with their 1996 album Roots. There is an obvious move towards electronica, and in particular dubstep, with a type of rhythm/bass foundation that appears to have been inspired by the classic Ministry. The result is quite interesting, something of a power hybrid between Nine Inch Nails, Prodigy, and Die Krupps.

Shout Factory’s Blu-ray release features a show which Korn staged at the Hollywood Palladium on December 6, 2011 to promote The Path of Totality album. The band performs a total of sixteen songs, amongst them old hits as well as current favorites such as Get Up!, Chaos Lives in Everything and the big radio darling Narcissistic Cannibal. Also part of the program are two great covers, Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall and a short version of Metallica’s One.

A little over an hour long, the show delivers pretty much everything a Korn fan would expect from it – great energy and solid sound. The band is clearly determined to impress but it does not go overboard with the enthusiasm. Assisted by several DJs, including Skrillex, Flinch, Datsik, 12th Planet, Downlink, and Kill The Noise, Korn simply rock hard with a style.

The Path of Totality material sounds great live. There is an excellent chemistry between the band and the DJs and the sound is appropriately intense. In fact, with this type of sound the band could easily rock the crowds at the traditional big summer rock festivals in Holland, Germany and England. There is an impressive avalanche of stage lighting.

Any disappointments? Aside from what seems to be a new trend where more and more people go to rock concerts and spend their time playing with their cameras or phones instead of enjoying the show, not really. Korn: Live at The Hollywood Palladium is a solid show delivered by a band unafraid to experiment but still respectful of its past.

Korn are: Jonathan Davis (Lead Vocals), James 'Munky' Shaffer (Guitars), Fieldy Arvizu (Bass), Ray Luzier (Drums), Zachary Baird (Keyboards), and Wesley Geer (Guitar).

The Narcissistic Cannibal

Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at the Hollywood Palladium Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i "live" transfer, Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at The Hollywood Palladium arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

The presentation is solid. The heavy lights and the large screen behind the band are at times somewhat overwhelming, but detail and depth are excellent throughout the entire show. The cameras constantly switch and provide multiple looks at the stage and the band, but the movement never becomes annoying. The mostly enthusiastic crowd is also often seen. Motion-judder is not a serious issue of concern. Colors are lush and stable, never appearing blocky. Low noise does not overwhelming the image either. Lastly, I did not see any serious compression issues to report in this review. To sum it all up, fans of Korn should be very pleased with this solid Blu-ray release courtesy of the folks at Shout Factory. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at the Hollywood Palladium Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. For the record, I opted for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the LPCM 2.0 for the purpose of this review.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track opens up the entire show quite well. The new material where the DJs shine sounds particularly good - the audio is solid and well rounded, never suffering from distortions. Balance is also handled well. Jonathan Davis' vocals never drop, even when the intensity of the music goes up. The crowd is occasionally heard cheering, but it never overwhelms the music.

The LPCM 2.0 lacks the depth and lushness of the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The overall intensity of the sound drops immediately after one switches from the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 to the LPCM 2.0 track. Also, the computer music lacks the edge it has on the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (compare Illuminati and Way Too Far).

Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at the Hollywood Palladium Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews - the interviewees discuss the band's new foray into electro-metal, the prominent dubstep elements in the band's latest album, the early years and the 'old' sound, the concept art for the album, etc. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080i).
  
  1. Jonathan Davis
  2. James 'Munky' Shaffer
  3. Fieldy Arvizu
  4. Ray Luzier
  5. Zachary Baird
  6. Roboto (album artwork artist).

Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at the Hollywood Palladium Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Korn's current affair with electronica should open plenty of new doors for the band. The new sound is very modern but it still has plenty of the old intensity that essentially made Korn what they are today - one of America's premier hardcore/nu metal bands. Korn: The Path of Totality Tour - Live at The Hollywood Palladium gives you the opportunity to see the band perform live material from their latest album as well old hits and a couple of top-notch covers. The presentation is excellent, and I think that the release is also priced right. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.