2007

JAY PHOENIX SAYS:

ITS AN HONOR REVIEWING KORN. WHEN I FIRST HEARD KORN SINGING "FREAK ON A LEASH", I WAS SUDDENLY ADMIRED BY THEM ESPECIALLY JONATHAN DAVIS DUBBING HIM AS MY HERO. TILL THIS DAY "FREAK ON A LEASH" HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE TRACK OF ALL TIME. AMONG THAT, I HAVE COLLECTED ALL OF THEIR STUDIO ALBUMS AND MOST OF THEIR COMPILATION MATERIAL SUCH AS THEIR GREATEST HITS, UNPLUGGED AND LIVE AND RARE MATERIAL."

GOING BACK IN TIME TO 1994, KORN GAVE OUT MASSIVE HARD-HITTING TUNES LIKE "BLIND", "NEED TO", "CLOWN", "FAGET", "PREDICTABLE", "LIES", "HELMET IN THE BUSH", "BALL TONGUE", "FAKE" AND "SHOOTS AND LADDERS" FROM THEIR SELF TITLED DEBUT ALBUM. THE ALBUM GAVE OUT A NEW LINE OF STYLE IN THE MIDDLE 90'S. AMONG THE ROCKING HITS, THERE WAS A LIGHTER SIDE TO KORN WITH THE TRACK "DADDY" WHICH DRIVES A KNIFE THROUGH MY HEART EVERY TIME I HEAR IT BECAUSE WHAT IT REPRESENTS AND BECAUSE OF WHAT IT REPRESENTS, I SHALL NOT TALK ABOUT "DADDY" ANYMORE. MOVING FORWARD.

NEXT FOR KORN WOULD BE "LIFE IS PEACHY", AN ADVANCED FORM OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM. WITH THIS ALBUM, "TWIST" WAS THE SCIT SCAT TRACK THAT BEGAN LETTING FANS SEE JONATHAN DAVIS'S ROOTS BEHIND HIS HARD ROCKING VOICE. DURING THIS ERA, "NO PLACE TO HIDE", " CHI", "SWALLOW", "LOST", GOOD GOD" CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. NO MATTER HOW MUCH KORN HAD ON THEIR PLATE, THEY WOULD DELIVER YET ANOTHER OBSTACLE FOR THE FANS TO TAKE ON.

WHEN "FOLLOW THE LEADER" CAME OUT IN 1998, I WAS ASTONISHED ON HOW MUCH THEY REVOLUTIONIZED THE MEANING OF SOUND AND WORD INTO THIS PROJECT. EVERY SONG TOUCHED MY HEART. A BOMBSHELL, "FOLLOW THE LEADER" WAS AND STILL IS TO THIS VERY DAY. SOME MIGHT CALL THIS THEIR BREAK-THROUGH ALBUM BUT I DON'T. THEIR BREAK-THROUGH WAS WHEN "KORN" HIT THE SHELVES IN 1994.

A YEAR LATER AFTER "FOLLOW THE LEADER", "ISSUES" CAME INTO PLAY FOR THE KORN TROOPERS. THIS ALBUM MARKED A NEW TERRITORY FOR KORN WITH "FALLING AWAY FROM ME", "DEAD BODIES EVERYWHERE", "WAKE UP", "MAKE ME BAD", "COUNTING", "HEY DADDY", "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED", "SOMEBODY SOMEONE" AND "BEG FOR ME." "ISSUES" BECAME A MEMORY WITH MANY DIFFERENT MEANINGS WITHIN ITSELF.

3 YEARS LATER, KORN RELEASED "UNTOUCHABLES", AN ALBUM MARKING THEIR SOUND INDESTRUCTIVE AND POWERFUL LIKE NOTHING BEFORE. SONGS LIKE "THOUGHTLESS", "HERE TO STAY", "ALONE I BREAK", "NO ONE’S THERE", "EMBRACE" AND "HOLLOW LIFE" SHOWED THE PASSION THAT KORN HAS ENDURED OVER THE YEARS SINCE THEIR ARRIVAL MAKING THIS ALBUM ANOTHER SUCCESS.

AFTER "UNTOUCHABLES" RAN ITS RACE TO THE FINISH LINE BECOMING PLATINUM ALONG SIDE THE PREVIOUS ALBUMS, KORN MANAGED TO RELEASE THEIR SELF PRODUCED ALBUM, "TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR." A SET OF SONGS THAT MADE THEM DISTANT TO THEIR ORIGINALITY BUT WITH A TWIST. THEY WANTED TO SHOW MORE OF WHAT THEY CAN CREATE WHICH THEY DID ON THIS ALBUM. TWO THUMBS UP FOR THIS RECORD.

IN 2005, ATTICUS ROSS AND THE MATRIX GUIDED KORN IN A SIMILAR DIRECTION TO KORN'S ORIGINAL SOUND BUT WITH A MORE DIRECT TACTIC. SONGS LIKE "TWISTED TRANSISTOR", "10 OR A 2 WAY", "POLITICS", "LIAR", COMING UNDONE" AND "SOUVENIR" WERE EXAMPLES OF THIS CHANGE. STILL BEING KORN, THERE IS ALWAYS A SUBTLE SIDE TO THIS GROUP WITH "TEARJERKER", "LOVE SONG" AND "THROW ME AWAY" ON THIS ALBUM. STILL WITHIN THIS ALBUM IS GREATNESS, FREEDOM AND LOVE.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN KORN'S CAREER, FANS SOUGHT OUT KORN ON MTV UNPLUGGED DOING ACOUSTIC VERSIONS OF THEIR MATERIAL DATING BACK TO 1994 TO THE RECENT CLASH OF "SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE". THE COMPILATION ALSO INCLUDED A MASH-UP BETWEEN KORN'S "MAKE ME BAD" AND THE CURE'S "IN BETWEEN DAYS" ALONG WITH A DUET WITH AMY LEE FROM EVANESCENCE ON "FREAK ON A LEASH" AND A COVER OF RADIOHEAD'S "CREEP." THIS WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH ACOUSTIC LOVERS, KORN FREAKS, EVANESCENCE ROCKERS, AND CURE GODS.

AFTER THE SUCCESS OF "SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE" AND "MTV UNPLUGGED", KORN RELEASED THEIR RECENT ALBUM, "UNTITLED" ON JULY 31ST, 2007. THIS BRINGS A NEW SLATE TO KORN. A STYLE MIXING THEIR UNDYING NU-METAL SOUND WITH A PROGRESSIVE/INDUSTRIAL STYLE MAKING THIS ALBUM, AN ULTIMATE MAKER OF HARD MUSIC DEFINED BY KORN'S EXTREME CREATIVITY AND PARTNER ATTICUS ROSS'S MUSICAL DIRECTION FOR A SMASHING ASSAULT. BRINGING THIS ALBUM TO ITS PARALLEL, "EVOLUTION", INNOCENT BYSTANDER", "BITCH, WE GOT A PROBLEM", "KILLING" AND "STARTING OVER" WHILE SONGS LIKE "KISS", "LOVE AND LUXURY" AND "HUSHABYE" BRINGS OUT A MORE SOFT BUT SMOOTH ROCKIN' SOUND FROM THE GROUP.

I LIKE TO THANK JONATHAN DAVIS FOR MAKING MUSIC AND BEING HERE FOR PEOPLE THAT NEED HIM. WITHOUT HIM, I WOULDN'T BE WHO I AM TODAY. I LOVE YOU JD. KORN FOREVER!!!