Limp Bizkit’s last album went double lead. Papa Roach is just a phone call away from staying at the “Surreal Life” house. But Korn – the king of the nu-metal bands that ruled the radio a few years back – is still going strong.

This year’s solid, Matrix-produced “See You on the Other Side” album peaked at No. 3 on the album charts, several clicks higher than previous disc “Take a Look in the Mirror.” And the veteran outfit drew more than 8,000 frantic fans to the Tacoma Dome on Sunday night, roughly the same size as the crowd that turned out for the greatest-hits tour’s Dome stop in 2004. Both facts suggest that Korn has at least a couple of years left on the arena circuit.

Or could it be? Could Korn be the Aerosmith of 2025, thrashing their way through “Right Now” and “Did My Time” well into their 50s as aging fans throw their backs out trying to mosh? Nah.

The current trek is the band’s first as a quartet, launched a year after guitarist Brian “Head” Welch quit to focus on missionary work. But the remaining four – singer Jonathan Davis, guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer, bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu and drummer David Silveria – didn’t seem any worse for the wear. Shaffer even reveled in having the guitar spotlight to himself as he delivered an extended guitar solo, something you don’t hear often at nu-metal concerts, near the middle of the set.

Korn dug deeper into its vaults this time around, skipping a few hits in favor of lesser known material, including openers “It’s On,” “Clown” and “Divine.” Davis’ vocals were drenched in reverb, lending them an eerie quality even if murky sound rendered them unintelligible early in the set.

Curtains fell as one of the best new numbers, “Love Song,” began. This revealed video screens behind the band and four backing musicians – a guitarist, a keyboard player and two percussionists – who wore masks and performed on short platforms that book-ended Silveria.

Korn hit its stride with “Falling Away from Me,” the first hit to make an appearance. The band rocked even harder a couple of songs later on “Here to Stay” as fans pogo danced their approval. Those hits, “Counting on Me” and “Coming Undone,” underscored the formula Korn has exploited so well – beefy, rhythmic riffs, lush melodies and hypnotic, towering choruses.

Davis left the stage briefly later in the set, only to return playing bagpipes, a regular Davis gimmick that got a big response nonetheless. (This reviewer still doesn’t get it.)

It was the beginning of a medley that began with “Shoots & Ladders,” and fans moshed more violently than before as Davis barked lines from children’s nursery rhymes “Ring Around the Rosie” and “The Children’s Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack).” (I really don’t get that. But it’s kinda funny.)

The medley also included snippets of “Make Me Bad,” “Thoughtless” and “A.D.I.D.A.S.”

Korn is brilliant when the band is on top of its game. But when Korn goes bad (insert food-related pun here), the band really goes bad.

To the nursery rhyme thing, add Davis’ scat vocal gimmick, which the masses first heard on hit “Freak on a Leash.” It made the singer sound like a gremlin having a conniption fit during “Liar.” And the band took a pre-encore bow with “Tearjerker,” a song with lyrics so sappy that Scott Stapp would be embarrassed to sing them. (Then again he might not; based on recent headlines, that guy has no shame.)

Korn managed to rebound for an encore that included “Twisted Transistor,” “Hypocrites” and breakthrough hit “Freak on a Leash.”

Davis had kept his stage banter to a minimum, instead allowing creepy, ambient noise to mark the transition between songs. But he took a moment to introduce closing number “Blind,” a track that dates back to the band’s self-titled 1994 debut.

“This song is what started it all for us,” he said. “I think Tacoma knows this song, and I wanna see Tacoma go … crazy.” Fans complied. Twin mosh maelstroms churned through the floor crowd as the final number came to a close.

Sunday’s show was way better than the performance the band mailed in last time it was in town. (For starters, at two hours, it was about twice as long.) But too bad they didn’t play “Open Up,” easily the best song from the new album.

Newcomers 10 Years opened the four-hour gala, followed by Mudvayne, a band that’s been on the rise since 2000. The most memorable part of the latter’s set was when singer Chad Gray prompted fans to pick up a fan in a wheelchair and pass him up to the stage where he watched the rest of the show.

While the band’s sound was satisfyingly primal, choppy riffs and minimal melody lead to some really repetitive-sounding stretches. Still, the band finished strong with the one-two punch of “Happy?” – a radio hit from its latest album “Lost and Found” – and “Dig.”

Korn’s set list

“It’s On,” “Clown,” “Divine,” “Love Song,” “Falling Away From Me,” “Souvenir,” “Here to Stay,” Shaffer’s solo, “Dirty,” “Liar,” “Counting on Me,” “Somebody Someone,” “Throw Me Away,” hits medley, “Coming Undone,” “Got the Life,” “Tearjerker”; (encore) “Twisted Transistor,” “Hypocrites,” “Freak on a Leash,” “Blind”

Ernest Jasmin: 253-274-7389

ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com