 |
| Album
Review |
|
|
Korn first hit the music scene back in 1994 when they released their self
titled debut album which proved to be a big hit in the music scene and
gained Korn a huge fan base that was forever growing. Korn went on and
released many albums throughout the years with their last outstanding
album being 2002's 'Untouchables'. After the release of 'Untouchables'
which reportedly cost the band three million dollars to make, things started
going downhill, they went on and released the really average album 'Take
A Look In The Mirror' shortly after Head left the band claiming he had
found God. Despite this, Korn carried on without a replacement and released
their 'Greatest Hits' album which was far from great missing out most
of the fan's favourite tracks. 2005 saw the release of 'See You On The
Other Side', which was the bands first album release since the departure
of Head, the album went down well but was still lacking in places. Now
Korn are back once again and with yet another member down with David Silveria
taking a long hiatus from the band.
The bands eighth studio album 'Untitled' is left without a name because
Korn have left it up to their fans to call the album what they want, some
people will think this is a good idea and others will think it’s
lazy and signs that Korn are running out of ideas now. Korn previewed
their current single 'Evolution' to their army of myspace fans many months
ago and it went down a storm sounding like a typical Korn song having
the heaviness of earlier Korn material and a catchy chorus like the bands
later material, which has left big hype for the release of the bands eighth
studio album. So does 'Untitled' live up to all the hype and expectations?
'Untitled' opens up with a short introduction that sounds quite freaky,
like it should be on a horror movie as some innocent victim is running
away from a killer, leaving you with no idea of what to expect from the
album. The first main track 'Starting Over' soon kicks in and see's Jonathan
Davis use a mixture of vocal styles, changing whispers to loud aggressive
screams throughout the song, the backing music is extremely heavy with
killer guitar riffs giving the band an industrial like sound. 'Bitch We
Got A Problems' sounds like it would fit in perfectly on Nine Inch Nail's
'With Teeth' album with Jonathan Davis's vocals sounding so similar to
Trent Reznor in places, the guitars are more laid back which gives Fieldy
time to shine on bass which he simply does.
The main single release 'Evolution' is one of the best songs on the album
but sounds oddly out of place on the album just for the reason that it
is totally different sounding than anything else on the album but is the
kind of song the album really needs to bring in a bit of variety and show
how well Korn can mix heaviness and catchiness together. From the start
'Hold On' will remind people slightly of older Korn material from the
spot on old style Korn guitar work and the way the vocals build up fast
into an extremely catchy chorus, Jonathan Davis's vocals cant be faulted
here.
Things take a toned down mellow turn for 'Kiss', which starts off with
some really soft guitar work that you can just about hear, with a violin
coming and going throughout the song adding a nice feel. The song does
build up and becomes heavier as it goes on but once it reaches its heavy
peak it comes straight back down and starts to build up again. Jonathan
Davis's vocals are strong and at their best here.
Things go downhill slightly for 'Do What They Say', the song is a heavily
industrial influenced song that relies heavily on keyboard and synthesizer
noises and isn’t the kind of song you would expect Korn to be doing.
'Ever Be' is another strange sounding song but it does have its good moments
and ends up being quite a catchy song. 'Love And Luxury' features some
strange vocal effects with Jonathan Davis speaking and laughing making
the song sounding ever so freaky. 'Innocent Bystander' starts off like
classic Korn with its strong guitar introduction that is sure to please
the bands fans, the vocals are catchy and the song is easy to get into.
The aggressiveness returns for 'Killing' which starts off with extremely
heavy bass and guitar working side by side, but the rest of the song is
pretty average until it comes to the heavy outro. The album finishes with
'I Will Protect You', which has a wide mixture of sounds, the guitar work
is just breathtaking and the vocals are on top form.
Overall 'Untitled' is an impressive album, it’s the kind of album
that takes a while to get into and you won’t fully appreciate it
until you have listened to it a number of times over as there is so much
going on and most songs sound very different from previous Korn material.
'Untitled' doesn’t see Korn return to form but it see's the band
take a different direction in music. There are a few ‘iffy’
moments but most of the album is simply stunning and you are either going
to love it or hate it and I personally love it.
4/5
Review by Trigger |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Band
Members |
|
|
Jonathan Davis (Vocals)
James Shaffer (Guitar)
Reginald Arvizu (Bass)
David Silveria (Drums) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Track
Listing |
|
|
1. Intro
2. Starting Over
3. Bitch We Got A Problem
4. Evolution
5. Hold On
6. Kiss
7. Do What They Say
8. Ever Be
9. Love and Luxury
10. Innocent Bystander
11. Killing
12. Hushabye
13. I Will Protect You |
|
|
|
|
|
| Band
Related Links |
|
|
| Review
Score Code |
|
|
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
