Fifteen years after co-headlining a Family Values Tour concert at what was then First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Korn and Evanescence return to the Tinley Park venue.
The Korn x Evanescence summer tour comes to what is now Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on Aug. 20 with opening acts Jeris Johnson and Helmet.
“It feels like old and new at the same time in a cool way,” said Amy Lee, Evanescence’s co-founder, lead singer-songwriter and pianist.
“You have nostalgia now mixed with the feeling of going out on tour with Korn. Our last full tour with them was in 2007 so it’s been a while but we have good memories of that time. It’s always a pleasure to watch Korn play live. They’re one of the best live heavy bands out there still.”
Known for songs such as “Got the Life” from the 1998 album “Follow the Leader” and “Falling Away From Me” from 1999’s “Issues,” Korn received Grammy Awards for best short form music video for “Freak on a Leash” and best metal performance for “Here to Stay” from 2002’s “Untouchables.”
Korn, which has sold 40 million albums worldwide since releasing its 1994 self-titled debut, is touring in support of its 14th album, “Requiem,” which was released in February and features “Start the Healing” and “Worst Is on Its Way.”
“We’re looking forward to going on tour this summer and bringing our friends Evanescence out,” Korn lead vocalist Jonathan Davis said in a news release.
“Whenever Amy comes to one of our shows, I always love seeing her on the side of the stage watching the whole set and rocking out. We’re gonna have a great time on this tour, and we can’t wait to see you there.”
Evanescence is touring in support of its fifth album, 2021’s “The Bitter Truth,” which band members primarily wrote and recorded separately from one another in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My natural process has some isolation — me in a cave creating stuff by myself in a studio. Everything shutting down forced me into that space,” said Lee, who was 11 years old when her family moved to Rockford for a year and a half while her father, John Lee, was a disc jockey at 96.7 FM.
“We already had a few songs recorded but there was a lot more to do. We had been planning on going on tour for a little bit and coming back and writing. Suddenly the world was on fire and there was so much that needed to come out. It was a hard time in so many ways.”
“The Bitter Truth” features “Wasted on You,” “The Game Is Over,” “Use My Voice” and “Better Without You.”
“The recording process was different. We really had to think. It was impossible to plan on anything for more than a few weeks out. You just didn’t know what would happen,” said Lee of Nashville, Tennessee.
“It wasn’t like the beginning days. It was like, ‘We need to do what we can when we can and pull it from our hearts.’ It felt like it wasn’t about following the rules or processes we were used to. If we really want this, the only way that’s going to happen is it’s going to take fighting for it.
“I think that sentiment is in the lyrics, the feel and the spirit of the music. There’s a reason for this music, not just for us but there’s a reason to make this music for the world in that time.”
Several of those songs are planned for Evanescence’s set list in the Southland.
“We’re definitely playing a lot of our new album, ‘The Bitter Truth,” Amy Lee said.
“It was 10 years between full albums for us so finally getting to this place and getting really deep and making this album, we are so proud of it and it still feels fresh. It feels good to have so much new music after a long time.”
She cited “The End of the Dream,” which originally appeared on Evanescence’s self-titled 2011 album, as one of her favorites to perform.
“There’s this really cool moment in our show where we created a hybrid of the ‘Synthesis’ version of the song and then go into a rock version of the song. It’s this big epic centerpiece of the show,” Lee said.
Evanescence, which released the albums “Synthesis” in 2017 and “The Open Door” in 2006, received Grammys for best new artist and best hard rock performance for “Bring Me to Life” after releasing its debut album, “Fallen,” in 2003.
“That was such a crazy time. I was 21 so it was all just big. I was only a couple years out of high school so everything was happening really fast but it was very surreal. It was wonderful. There were hard parts of it too, being a very young woman in a hard rock environment and having to fight for my place,” she said.
“‘Bring Me to Life’ was this amazing bright spot in so many ways because we did it. We broke through. Our song was doing what back then qualified as a hit. It was on the radio and on TV and in other countries.
“It gave us this incredible opportunity to go all over the world for the first time and me to get my first passport. I’m not sick of it. That is a highlight on stage as well because the song has grown since then in the way that it sounds when we play it now with this band at this point in our lives and what it means.”
Emma Anzai joined Evanescence as bassist and backing vocalist in May, when former bassist Tim McCord moved to guitar, joining fellow longtime bandmates guitarist Troy McLawhorn and drummer Will Hunt.
“Being in a band for my job is the coolest thing in the world,” Lee said.
“I’m proud of the way that our music has brought hope to people.”
Korn x Evanescence
When: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 20
Where: Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre, 19100 Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park
Tickets: $29-$89
Information: 708-614-1616; livenation.com/
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
