In the second half of the '90s, the metal scene was dominated by bands that built a bridge between metal and rap. These bands owe much of their success to Korn, who made this music popular and brought it out from underground. To attend a concert by the band responsible for starting this craze was a memorable experience.

Staind, a protege of Limp Bizkit, did a superb job as the opening act. Their major label debut, "Dysfunction,"achieved gold status in less than a year, and three of its songs became hits. For this reason, "Just Go," "Mudshovel" and "Home" were all well appreciated by the crowd. "Crawl," included on the"Scream 3" soundtrack, was very appealing. For the most part, Staind's songs included heavy parts intensified by slow bridges followed by horrific screaming. Vocalist Aaron Lewis, who has perhaps the best singing voice in heavy metal, looked depressed the entire time to aid the band's gimmick. With Staind's album taking off, he will soon not have much to be depressed about.

Finally, after a plethora of animated clips and crowd footage on a projection screen, Korn came out and opened with "Falling Away From Me," the first single off their most recent album, "Issues." They extended the mellow introduction to allow more tension to build in the crowd,which soon exploded into mosh pit fever.

Like Staind, Korn also exhibited much intensity and screaming. But perhaps because drummer David Silveria was injured and replaced by Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, Korn lacked their usual passion. The initial intensity did not decrease in transition to "It's On," one of the best songs on their mainstream breakthrough album,"Follow the Leader." This album is best known for the hits "Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash," both of which sounded great in concert. The crowd also enjoyed Korn's single, "Make Me Bad."

But what is a Korn concert without songs from their first two albums -their self-titled debut and "Life Is Peachy"? The latter includes"Twist," a collection of gibberish uttered by lead singer Jonathan Davis. From Korn's first album, however, came the dynamic and much anticipated"Blind," a mix of bagpipes and nursery rhymes in "Shoots and Ladders" and the screaming in "Ball Tongue."

At Korn's concert, I saw unusual animation, an emerging star and a well-known band featuring an interim drummer. It was a night of moshing, fun, intensity and mayhem.