Bringing an original expression of raw emotion and vulnerability,
Korn (Immortal, 1994) is a perfect
amalgamation of the grunge movement, funk rock and post-hardcore. Jonathan Davis gets really personal
with the listener defying previous
notions of macho attitudes in mainstream metal. The bassist, Fieldy provides
a new downtuned sound and pairs well with the creatively inclined yet heavy guitars.
Life is Peachy (Immortal, 1996)
is a direct improvement on this sound, doubling down on their abstract approach while simultaneously increasing the level
of heaviness. However they decided to include not only wildly ridiculous lyrics (
Ass Itch and
K@#o%!) but tracks intended
to be almost entirely jokes (
Twist,
Wicked,
Lowrider and
Porno Creep).
Ultimately underneath the filler, we have some
genre-defining and ground-breaking material that has aged incredibly well (
Good God,
A.D.I.D.A.S.,
No Place to Hide,
Swallow,
Lost). Please give this
a listen before any other album of theirs.
Follow the Leader (Immortal, 1998) is a tragic display of mediocrity. At this point Korn seemingly understands their
impact and how original their work has been thus far, leading them into a drug binging lifestyle that gave us this
collection
of songs. The first 3 or 4 tracks give a remarkable first impression but instantly nosedives at the painfully average
Children
of the Korn and so-on. A few peaks in quality contain the Fred Durst feature on
All in the Family
where Jonathan Davis
raps for the first time adding a tangible amount of creativity to this record.
Justin is pleasant, but would have never made
it on an older Korn album.
After quitting drugs and finding god, Jonathan Davis turns it all around on
Issues (Immortal, 1999) which restarts the progressively competitive songwriting Follow the Leader paused so abruptly.
Untouchables (Immortal, 2002) and after achieves a jarring lack of tender care and love, hypothetically giving up on the genre
they created and becoming nothing but a brand name.