Watch KoRn’s Jonathan Davis join Yoshiki for soaring orchestral performance of ‘Freak On A Leash’

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Watch KoRn’s Jonathan Davis join Yoshiki for soaring orchestral performance of ‘Freak On A Leash’

Yoshiki played piano for the unusual version of the classic nu-metal track

KoRn’s Jonathan Davis has joined Yoshiki on stage for an orchestral rendition of the hit ‘Freak On A Leash’. Check it out below.

  • READ MORE: Korn: “On this record, we have grown emotionally. Music is healing to all of us”

The appearance took place on Thursday night (July 16), at the first of the two shows Yoshiki has scheduled for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

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The shows are part of the ‘Yoshiki Classical’ dates, which sees the Japanese singer take to the stage with a full orchestra and put a unique classical spin on various tracks.

For the first night in Los Angeles, the multi-instrumentalist brought out Jonathan Davis as a special guest, and they delivered an unconditional live version of KoRn’s hit song ‘Freak On A Leash’.

In keeping with the classical feel, Davis delivered more restrained, melancholic vocals than in the original recording, although it did build up in energy as it progressed. During the rendition, Yoshiki played piano alongside the orchestra, and moved over to the drum kit later on.

” width=”696″ height=”392″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/UjJ3Km5SiqI?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1″ frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen=””]

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The second of the two shows was held on Friday night (July 17) at the same venue in Los Angeles.

Thursday’s collaboration with Davis isn’t the first time that Yoshiki has made headlines for his partnerships – in 2024, the leader of X Japan also turned heads when he was selected to compose the official theme song for Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary.

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As for KoRn, the nu-metal band released their first new music in four years in April, ‘Reward The Scars’, which they created for the video game Diablo IV: Lord Of Hatred. They have also shared the gory animated video for the track.

Shortly afterwards, guitarist Munky has said the band have written 40 songs for a new album, while addressing bassist Fieldy’s departure.

Their last studio album, ‘Requiem’, came out in February 2022. In a four-star review, NME said: “It would be a push to call this Korn’s first ‘happy’ album. More accurately, ‘Requiem’ has brought something new to a discography that, until now, has been an exploration of human suffering. It’s led to the band’s most nuanced record to date.”

The band have also announced a headline tour for the UK and Europe for later this year, their first string of shows on these shores in over 10 years, having headlined Download last year. See the full list of dates here, and any remaining tickets can be found here.

  • Related Topics
  • Jonathan Davis
  • Korn
  • Nu-metal

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KoRn’s Jonathan Davis has joined Yoshiki on stage for an orchestral rendition of the hit ‘Freak On A Leash’. Check it out below.

  • READ MORE: Korn: “On this record, we have grown emotionally. Music is healing to all of us”

The appearance took place on Thursday night (July 16), at the first of the two shows Yoshiki has scheduled for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Advertisement

The shows are part of the ‘Yoshiki Classical’ dates, which sees the Japanese singer take to the stage with a full orchestra and put a unique classical spin on various tracks.

For the first night in Los Angeles, the multi-instrumentalist brought out Jonathan Davis as a special guest, and they delivered an unconditional live version of KoRn’s hit song ‘Freak On A Leash’.

In keeping with the classical feel, Davis delivered more restrained, melancholic vocals than in the original recording, although it did build up in energy as it progressed. During the rendition, Yoshiki played piano alongside the orchestra, and moved over to the drum kit later on.

” width=”696″ height=”392″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/UjJ3Km5SiqI?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1″ frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen=””]

Recommended

The second of the two shows was held on Friday night (July 17) at the same venue in Los Angeles.

Thursday’s collaboration with Davis isn’t the first time that Yoshiki has made headlines for his partnerships – in 2024, the leader of X Japan also turned heads when he was selected to compose the official theme song for Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary.

Advertisement

As for KoRn, the nu-metal band released their first new music in four years in April, ‘Reward The Scars’, which they created for the video game Diablo IV: Lord Of Hatred. They have also shared the gory animated video for the track.

Shortly afterwards, guitarist Munky has said the band have written 40 songs for a new album, while addressing bassist Fieldy’s departure.

Their last studio album, ‘Requiem’, came out in February 2022. In a four-star review, NME said: “It would be a push to call this Korn’s first ‘happy’ album. More accurately, ‘Requiem’ has brought something new to a discography that, until now, has been an exploration of human suffering. It’s led to the band’s most nuanced record to date.”

The band have also announced a headline tour for the UK and Europe for later this year, their first string of shows on these shores in over 10 years, having headlined Download last year. See the full list of dates here, and any remaining tickets can be found here.

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2026-08-10 14:55:27

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