The brainchild of the long standing rock group Korn, the band headlined the show that showed us some of the stronger up and coming heavy metal, while some of the other bands on the bill seemed a bit out of place. The band’s second stage featured four bands, with varying degrees of success. The Los Angeles band Invitro seemed pretty intense, but this reviewer thinks their set was just too early in the day to make an impact. Meanwhile, England’s Twin Method had the right nu-metal uniform (multi-colored dreads, all black) for the Family Values Tour, the 1999 edition that is. Method's music seemed straight out of that era and the band even made the fatal mistake of saying “How you doing, Cleveland” which was received by a chorus of boos.

With Neurosonic unable to perform, the schedules were all moved up by a good half hour or so leaving Trivium to play a normal than earlier slot. In their half-hour set, the band strayed away from the songs that have made them stars in the metal world in favor for older material, mostly from their Ascendancy album.

The crowd did wake up for the recent MyCityBuzz interview subjects, Five Finger Death Punch, who received the most love out of anyone on the second stage. The band blends a new school metal trash, mixed with more crushing rock archetypes that would appeal to metal fans young and old.

On the main stage, Long Beach’s Droid, also recent MCB interviewees, might have been the show stealers in more ways than one. The band laid down a chugging groove during their set, whipping out songs like “The Resurrection” and “No God No Master,” giving the crowd the most entertaining set. The old Pine Knob tradition of people on the lawn throwing chunks of sod and dirt during metal shows was resurrected, as a good 10 to 15-minute fight ensued before venue security shut it down.

With Neurosonic unable to perform, the schedules were all moved up by a good half hour or so leaving Trivium to play a normal than earlier slot. In their half-hour set, the band strayed away from the songs that have made them stars in the metal world in favor for older material, mostly from their Ascendancy album.

The double-headed Mudvayne and Pantera monster Hellyeah performed next, and it was a case of Jekyll and Hyde. The first half of the set was furious and raging, with songs like “Hellyeah” and “Matter of Time,” but the second half was very tepid and with songs like “Alcohaulin’ Ass” and “You Wouldn’t Know,” bringing down their set.

After a less than inspiring set from Flyleaf, Atreyu busted out a few new songs from their upcoming Lead Sails Paper Anchor record. The new material seems to be straying even further from their screamo past, putting them more in-line with mainstream rock contemporaries.

This reviewer is still in amazement with just how far Arkansas band Evanescence has made it in the rock world. Their hour-long set reaffirmed this band is Nickelback with a female lead singer. It was a crowd buzzkiller before Korn hit the stage.

Unlike last year’s hitfest, Korn’s 2007 85-minute set leaned on more of the band’s obscure material and was very satisfying. The band ripped through old tracks such as 1996’s “Good God” (which fell off the set list a good 8 to 9 years ago) and 2002’s “Bottled Up Inside.” The now three piece band with Slipknot’s Joey Jordison filling in on drums gave the old school Korn fans something to cheer about. Korn’s new material of their upcoming Untitled record has drifted away from the nu-metal that made them famous and moves into a darker, goth direction. It's not necessarily bad, just different.

Family Values ’07 does the fans justice with cheap lawn tickets and a quality bill, with fans getting the most bang for their buck so far this summer. Now, if only OzzFest could receive that same sort of praise for their “FreeFest” this year…

The 2007 Family Values Tour continues through the summer, hitting the East Coast next. Click here for all the tour dates.