A second single from Korn‘s new album “The Nothing” has arrived, with “Cold”. This song has the band going back to their “heavier” side. It’s a song that has a sort of Life Is Peachy meets The Serenity Of Suffering feel. Based on the two songs released so far, this new Korn album feels like it’s going to be the one that people and fans will be talking about for a long time to come. “The Nothing” will be out in stores on September 13th.
Korn- Cold:
Korn- You’ll Never Find Me:
For a long time now, over 20 years actually, I’ve been a fan of Korn. Their early albums were some of the albums that shaped my teenage years. The lyrics of Jonathan Davis have always stood out. The guy bares his soul for the world and people to feel like they aren’t alone. Since Korn hit the scene, Jonathan has been one of the best frontmen in rock. The delivery of the songs each and every night while on stage is almost like a purge of demons from inside. During the height of Korn, Jonathan was asked to work on the soundtrack for the film Queen Of The Damned. The movie was pretty bad but, the soundtrack was excellent. There were 5 original songs written for the film by Jonathan though, label interference got in the way of releasing the songs on the soundtrack with Jonathan singing on them. Either way, at this point, I started to wonder what a solo Jonathan Davis album might sound like.
Fast forward many years till now, 2018, and we now have the first solo album, Black Labyrinth by Jonathan Davis. This album has been in the works for over 10 year and is pretty much a departure from what Korn is. Everything from the instrumentation, production, musical styles, and some of the lyrical content is different. There are moments on the album that hark back to the new wave/ new romantic era of the 80’s, along with some interesting goth vibes. There is even a bit of an early 90’s alternative sound, more in the realm of a band like Porno For Pyros. Something else that makes Black Labryinth interesting and different are the explorations of different styles from all over the world. The use of certain flutes, percussion, and other instruments, give this album a trippy almost psychedelic sense. The exploration of genres on this record is really cool. As well as the genres I mentioned above, there is a bit of an industrial/electronic vibe going on. Different guests appeared on the album like Wes Borland, Ray Luzier, Miles Mosley and more. There are so many songs that really stand out like “Final Days, “Everyone,” “Basic Needs (which is my favorite song on the record),” Your God,” “The Secret,” “Please Tell Me,” “What You Believe,” and “What It Is.” The entire album is an experience from start to finish. Those songs mentioned are just the ones that have really hit home a bit more for me
Black Labyrinth showcases how talented Davis is as a songwriter. His knack for writing powerful songs both musically and lyrically is astounding. The fact that he’s remained relevant for over 20 years shows the power music has, as well as a loyal fanbase. Never mind the fact that most of these songs were written about 10 years ago, they still hold meaning and fit perfectly today. The last Korn record, The Serenity Of Suffering was a resurgence of creativity in the right path for the band, and by releasing this solo album, it’s allowed Jonathan the chance to really explore all the things he’s wanted to do. I’m very interested to hear both the next Korn album and Jonathan’s solo record. Give Black Labyrinth a chance and I bet you’ll be rather surprised by what you hear.
Jonathan Davis- Black Labyrinth:
Korn is one of the most recognizable bands of the last 25 years. Not only are they cemented in the rock n roll history folklore but they continue to be one of the most consistent and hard working bands out there. One thing they were always keen on was putting out quality music videos. So here are Korn’s top ten videos.
10) Clown:
09) A.D.I.D.A.S.:
08) Got The Life:
07) Black Is The Soul:
06) Here To Stay:
05) Rotting In Vain:
04) Falling Away From Me:
03) Blind:
02) Make Me Bad:
01) Freak On A Leash:
2016 saw the return of Korn and their “signature” sound. The Serenity of Suffering is quite a damn good album. Recently, Korn has been on the road and I’ve had an inkling to want to go see them. So I dreamed up my “Ultimate Set List” for what I’d want to hear, if I could pick the songs.
As usual here are the rules:
Rule 1: What line up of the band would it be
Rule 2: Where would you want to see the show
Rule 3: maximum 25 songs
Lineup: Jonathan, Munky, Head, Fieldy, Ray
Venue: Roxy (Hollywood)
Set List:
01) Falling Away From Me
02) Got The Life
03) Divine
04) Chi
05) Thoughtless
06) Make Me Bad
07) Hollow Life
08) Insane
09) Seed
10) Love & Meth
11) B.B.K.
12) Clown
13) Black Is The Soul
14) Good God
15) Trash
16) Beg For Me
17) Rotting In Vain
18) No Place To Hide
19) Did My Time
20) Freak On A Leash
Encore:
21) Starting Over
22) Blind
23) Ball Tongue
24) Need To
25) Here To Stay
20 plus years as a band and now on your 12th album, where do you go from here? Well, Korn knew exactly what they wanted to do, and they succeeded. The Serenity of Suffering, Korn’s new album is a throwback of sorts to their heavy groove days, but on this album they added a more hooks, to really keep your attention. This album has the feel of Issues and Untouchables, but with a bit more hope. That’s right “hope,” a theme that was always a bit buried in their albums. The 11 songs on this album all fit and flow together, making this one of their most cohesive albums since Issues.
Starting off the album is “Insane,” a very classic sounding song with a great riff and a catchy chorus. This song is a great opener and introduction to the rest of the album. “Rotting In Vain,” is classic Korn at it’s finest, complete with Jonathan Davis bringing back his scat vocals. “Black Is The Soul,” is my favorite song on the album. This is a very Issues era sounding song, with lots of melody, and a bit of a different vocal approach from Jonathan. “The Hating” is a very moody song with a crunchy riff and a heavy breakdown. “A Different World” features Corey Taylor on guest vocals. This song is not bad, but it’s a little underwhelming. I personally expected more from this song. “Take Me” could have been on Untouchables. In fact the main riff seems to be directly ripped off from that album. “Everything Falls Apart” is another classic sounding song. “Die Yet Another Night” is a bit of a mediocre song. The riff is solid, but the song a whole isn’t quite up to par with the rest of the album. “Next In Line” is a great song on this album. It’s full of hooks and catchy, with solid verses and choruses. This is a big throwback song. Closing out the album is “Please Come For Me” a very Untouchables sounding song. The ending riff of this song is a great summation of this album.
The Serenity of Suffering is the album many Korn fans have been waiting for. The production by Nick Raskulinecz is top notch. It’s the best Korn has sounded since Issues. Nick was really able to capture the “Korn” sound. Drummer Ray Luzier finally sounds like he fits in the band. He’s a great drummer, but no other producer has been able to really get him to sound right, other than Nick. Fieldy’s bass actually comes through in a way that thumps like the first couple albums. Munky and Head haven’t sounded this good in a long time. And finally Jonathan Davis sounds great. He tries out new vocal techniques and it really pays off, especially on “Black Is The Soul.” All in all this is a really good album. I personally would like to see them incorporate more of these new songs into their set list, so the fans can really get the full effect.
Overall Rating= B+
Korn- The Serenity of Suffering:
As far back as their first album I’ve been a Korn fan. Over the years I’ve had mixed feelings about the albums they’ve released, being that they haven’t been that good. The last good “Album” they put out (in my opinion) was Issues. I always hoped that they would come back with a new album that lived up to how good their self titled debut and Issues were. Well I can happily say that it seems like Korn has really put in the work to release their first worthy album in a very long time. Based on the two songs they have released from the upcoming The Serenity Of Suffering, Korn is back!!!
A Different World (with Corey Taylor):
Insane:
Rotting In Vain:
Lets travel back to 1999. The peak of the nu-metal genre was riding high and Korn was on top of the mountain. Fresh off their success of their mainstream breakthrough of Follow The Leader, Korn followed that up with a more melodic simplified album, Issues. Issues saw Korn maintaining their signature heaviness while incorporating a slew of guitar hooks, vocal melodies that enhanced the lyrics, a dash of electronics, and production that really made their sound bombastic. Korn was also able to go back to its bare essentials, dropping their hip hop flair and rapping. Working with Brendan O’Brien allowed them to stay on track, and make an album that sonically sounds great and cohesive. Granted all of Korn’s albums have the same themes throughout, Issues was the absolute pinnacle of what became their signature. “Falling Away From Me,” “Trash,” “Beg For Me,” “Make Me Bad,” “Somebody Someone,” “No Way,” and “Dirty,” are absolute standouts on the album. The short interludes in between songs like “Dead,” “4U,”and “It’s Gonna Go Away,” add to the already dark lyric tones, but actually provide a nice bridge to carry on the flow of the album. I can remember buying this album and being absolutely enthralled by it. There was something about this record that really hit home with me. During this time in music, it wasn’t hard to write angry lyrics and such, but to do it with conviction and actually mean it was something Korn did perfectly. Yes, they have repeated the same thing for years, but they really know how to do it.
I’m bringing all this up because Korn are releasing a new album later this year that they promise will be more in the vain of their older efforts like Issues and Untouchables. They released a new song called “Rotting In Vain,” that really does have an old school Korn feel to it. Needless to say I’m actually intrigued to hear it. When I heard the new song, I felt compelled to go back and listen to a few of their albums. Issues was always the one besides their debut that stood out to me as a solid album. It’s quite strange to think that 22 years later, Korn is still releasing music and selling out venues, but they keep doing it and people keep listening. So take a trip down memory lane and listen to Issues.
Korn- Issues:
Korn- Rotting In Vain:
I’ve really been enjoying doing this feature. It makes me go back and listen to bands/albums I haven’t listened to in a long time. Not to mention that it’s quite fun to research what other collaborations certain singers have done. Since I did an album rank of Korn yesterday I thought why not do a guest vocalist feature on Jonathan Davis and share the songs that he guested on.
Sepultura- Lookaway (Roots):
Orgy- Revival (Candyass):
Deadsy- Sleepy Hollow (Deadsy):
Limp Bizkit- Nobody Like You (Significant Other):
Videodrone- Ty Jonathan Down (Videodrone):
Strait Up- Take It Back (Strait Up):
I don’t know why but I’ve been in a mood lately to listen to Korn. Though I’ve mainly just listened to the first album. So I thought I’d rank all their albums since I’ve been on a Korn kick.
See You On The Other Side:
The Path Of Totality:
Take A Look In The Mirror:
Korn III- Remember Who You Are:
The Paradigm Shift:
Untitled:
The Serenity Of Suffering:
Untouchables:
Follow The Leader:
Life Is Peachy:
Issues:
Korn:
AUDIOECLECTICA 