FaMiLy VaLuEs NeWs






March 30 has been set as the release date for "THE FAMILY VALUES" live album (Epic) and the companion home video (Epic Music Video).
Both the album and video feature one of the heaviest cutting-edge concert line-ups in rock history--KORN, LIMP BIZKIT, ICE CUBE, RAMMSTEIN, ORGY and INCUBUS--and capture all the sonic and visual insanity of the tour. The 27 dates of "THE FAMILY VALUES" trek (September 22-October 31 last year) grossed more than $6.4 million and over 243,000 fans purchased the fan-friendly ticket prices that ranged from $26.00 to $29.50.

According to a Los Angeles Times review, "(it) certainly proved to be one of the rock spectacles of the year."
The hour-plus album and 86-minute video give fans a glimpse into the world of the critically acclaimed tour which was master-minded by KORN, their management company The Firm and Metropolitan Entertainment. Incendiary tracks (most of which were recorded live in New Orleans at the UNO Lake Front Arena on October 18) from each act include:

KORN ("Got The Life," the band's latest "Freak On A Leash" single/video, which is currently #1 on MTV's "Total Request Live" program, and "Shot Liver Medley" made up of bits and pieces from various KORN classics all wrapped into one 10-minute mind-blowing experience)
LIMP BIZKIT ("Cambodia," their current single "Faith," and a version of House of Pain's "Jump Around")
ICE CUBE ("Check Yo Self," "Natural Born Killas," and the N.W.A. classics "Straight Outta Compton/Fuck Tha Police")
RAMMSTEIN ("Du Hast")
ORGY (their explosive cover of New Order's "Blue Monday" and "Gender")
INCUBUS ("New Skin"), who joined the tour when ICE CUBE left to fulfill earlier obligations.
Funky interludes from DJ C-MINUS (whose turntable action kept the show moving between each act).

Fans at the shows were treated to elaborate stage designs for each band; larger-than-life light and laser shows; and pyrotechnics. Upon entering the arena, fans were made to feel like they had just walked into their own personal musical playroom of sorts--with "No Parents Allowed" for the evening.
With flying saucers, flame throwers, a Mt. Rushmore-sized statue of a rap superstar, a bi-level cage filled with radio contest winners, a DJ spinning records in between sets, and five bands that brought it all together on one stage throughout the course of four hours, who could ask for more in a rock 'n' roll spectacular? Critical acclaim for the tour started to pour in as soon as it all started.

As Jim Farber noted in a review of the September 25 event at the Continental Arena in New Jersey in the New York Daily News:
"At the 4-1/2 hour show, a hip-hop DJ held equal ground with a drummer in the set by Limp Bizkit, a keyboardist added dance club beats to the classic metal of Rammstein, and two guitarists translated the needling sound of electronic hip-hop into the manic creations of Korn. Such innovations weren't without precedent. Metal-leaning acts have been nicking sounds from rap since The Beastie Boys' 'Ill Communication' in 1987. But this tour created a bold new profile for hard guitar bands taking cues from the music that replaced them as the soundtrack to masculine aggression. The show drove home the point by featuring between-band sets by DeeJay Punk Roc, who mixed in both purer urban hip-hop beats and dance club effects."

And Steve Morse of the Boston Globe wrote:
"The children of the Korn convened last night (September 23) for the so-called 'Family Values' tour. The name is mockingly satirical. This is more like the 'Family Dysfunction' tour, given the amount of psychic damage imparted to a sold-out crowd of 13,400 fans, who heard Korn rail against abusive parents, Ice Cube rip into the police, and Limp Bizkit launch the deafening chorus of 'Nobody Loves Me.'"
He went on to take note of how KORN... "delivered the goods...by accelerating out of the box with a savage confluence of heavy metal, rap, and primal screaming from singer Jonathan Davis."
"It worked with the kids," said Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm at the conclusion of the tour. "The kids who were there know how great it was and the street buzz is phenomenal. It'll be even bigger next year."

John Scher of Metropolitan Entertainment agreed:
"'THE FAMILY VALUES' tour was not only a great business success, but more importantly, a rousing success with the fans. I think, to a great degree, we accomplished what we set out to: creating a fun, wild evening with a unique atmosphere and incredible music."

"We're creating some rock history with this tour," said JONATHAN of KORN. "From that first show, I had goosebumps upon goosebumps. This is something special happening here. I hope that it becomes annual and it's gonna last." Plans for 1999's version of "THE FAMILY VALUES" are already in the making, with LIMP BIZKIT confirmed to headline (other details TBA).

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