KORN frontman Jonathan Davis joined Japanese composer, pianist and drummer Yoshiki on stage Thursday night, July 16, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles for a classical reimagining of KORN's 1998 song "Freak On A Leash."
The appearance came during the opening night of "Yoshiki Classical 2026 In Los Angeles," a two-night stand that paired Yoshiki with a full orchestra. The two shows, billed "Scarlet Night" (July 16) and "Violet Night" (July 17), each carried distinct setlists built around Yoshiki's life story, including his return to the stage following a career-threatening third neck surgery.
"Freak On A Leash," originally released on KORN's third album, "Follow The Leader," remains one of the band's most significant songs, written out of Davis's frustration and anger at feeling manipulated — whether by the media, relationships or broader societal pressure. Reworking the song for orchestra and a shared stage with Yoshiki placed one of nu-metal's signature tracks in an unusual classical context, reflecting Yoshiki's long history of pulling collaborators from far outside his own genre.
Yoshiki has built a career around exactly that kind of genre-crossing, working as a composer, pianist, drummer and classical artist whose influence extends across stadiums, concert halls, film, television and fashion. Last month, he headlined the inaugural Global Citizen Live concert in Tokyo, delivering an emotional comeback performance before surprising the crowd with a run of guest artists.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and renowned for its Frank Gehry-designed architecture and acoustics, gave Davis's appearance an unusually grand staging for a song built in KORN's Bakersfield-born nu-metal sound — a one-night pairing that underlined how far both artists' individual reputations now reach beyond their original genres.