My Album Project: Korn by Korn (1994, Immortal/Epic Records)

WHY I NEVER GOT AROUND TO LISTENING TO THIS ARTIST/ALBUM

There have been a few periods in my life when I have been compelled by aggressive music. I guess some lingering anger from my relatively happy, suburban childhood would pop out every now and then. As previously documented in this space, my aggressive musical choices were heavy metal, gangsta rap and industrial music. But for those with birthdays in the late 1980s and well into the 1990s, the phenomenon called nu metal is the drug of choice for the angry and distant kid. The mix of heavy beats, monster riffs, and highly emotive lyrics of the genre should have attracted me immediately, but it just didn't. It's as simple as that.

WHAT I KNEW ABOUT THE ALBUM BEFORE THIS PROJECT

It was arguably the record that launched the nu metal movement.
I met many Korn fans while I lived and travelled through South East Asia and Australia between 1999 to 2002. They were mainly surfers and young musicians.
I distinctly remember Mike Clark playing Korn on his car stereo while we drove to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York a few years ago for Matthew Clark's bachelor party weekend. I still think the reasons why we were delayed at the US-Canada border crossing for so long was not because “I am a brown guy” (my guess), or because “there was an arrest warrant out on another Micheal Clark” (the actual reason), but because Mike wouldn't turn down the music as the border guard asked us some questions. I doubt that particular border guard was a fan of nu metal.

AFTER A WEEK OF DIGESTING THIS ALBUM

I have dropped-tuned the bottom E string of my classical guitar to B.
These songs are bigger than life, and the dynamics and riffs of “Divine”, “Ball and Tongue”,“Predictable” and “Fake” had me jumping up and down on subway platforms, in line at the local bakery and while doing my laundry. The lyrics on this record are very upfront with issues such as bullying, depression, homophobia, and abuse, which Jonathan Davis' vocal performance exemplifies in “Helmet in the Bush”, “Need to”, “Clown”, “Phaget”, “Lies”, and in particular “Daddy”, which is very disturbing.
I'm not too sure if it's Ross Robinson's sound production of his record or my digital copy of the recording, but this album sounded a bit off to me. At times, I found David Silveria's drums too upfront in mix for my liking and after awhile, it was all I heard. Conversely, I could not hear the bass at all, which is curious, considering Fieldy's bass playing style plays a big part in Korn's trademark sound.
I now have a better understanding of the allure of nu metal. Korn is an interesting mix of the band's musical influences and it has, through the passage of time, become a very influential record in its own right. But understanding the nuances of nu metal does not mean I necessary want to listen to it on a daily basis.