Artist of the Week: Korn, When I think of the band Korn, I think of passion. Anybody who has seen them in a live setting over the years would attest to probably the same thing.
Beyond the thick bass lines, heavy hitting drums, and wall of distorted guitars and the iconic growling and screaming of vocalist Jonathan Davis is a discography of lyrical genius. The energy that they put out on stage provides a great show. What they've harnessed so far when pen hits pad of paper, though, is what has separated them over the years from most of their peers from the nu-metal scene from the nineties.
Sometimes, Korn isn't the easiest thing in the world to listen to. Their music doesn't always form this smooth sounding combination that you would normally expect in this world of blues based rock.
Sometimes you are presented with a sound that just makes your head explode with a flurry of noises. That, combined with the majority of their songs' lyrical content, is part of Korn's appeal to their legion of fans worldwide. They create a sound that fits the emotions of their listeners. Anybody who can relate to what they are saying can fit in with this band. It provides an outlet; an atmosphere that is conducive to reality. Imagine that.
Reality isn't all unicorns and rainbows. Reality isn't what Hollywood and the coked out pop music industry want you to see and hear. For many people there are a lot of dark things and emotionally the outlet that Korn, and metal music in general, provides is therapeutic. If you don't get it, you never will, but sometimes to bang your head or clench your teeth and throw your fists in the air and let out a scream from the pit of your stomach is the healthiest way of coping with the not so pleasant parts of this life.
Forty plus years into this experiment called heavy metal and these artists still get a bad wrap from the mainstream media because they don't get it. Korn was no exception as they've been generalized with the same old stereotypes that have followed this genre since Black Sabbath burst onto the scene and created the first metal album. Oh, they're evil. Oh, they're violent. Guess what? This world is full of evil people and violent people. Metal music, and Korn in particular, has a way of bonding people over real world struggles. Saying its okay to be pissed off about this or pissed off about that is healthy and to be honest, there are things that shouldn't be sugarcoated.
It's not always easy to hear or to discuss, but for the "outcasts" of society, this type of music creates a brotherhood between like minded folks that have lived in the real world. It's like the Rush song "Subdivisions", but heavier. Getting that tension and frustration out through music is far healthier than burying your head in the sand. Ignorance is what truly leads to evil and violence, not open discussion about life events.
Korn may not be for everyone. Initially, they didn't do it for me. As the years have gone by, however, and you experience different things and dig deeper into the music and the songs you find things that you relate to. Love them or hate them, they've been bringing their brand of reality to us from Bakersfield, California since 1993. Twenty years later they are still headlining major festivals and carry a fan base that numbers in the millions. With a new album set to be released September 24 of this year, the stage is set for Korn to keep on bringing it for many more years to come.
The following list is my take on Korn's 25 Most Essential tracks. Click on the links to watch their videos. Agree? Disagree? Let me know below in the comment section, and as always, if you enjoy what you just read please take a moment to click the "Subscribe" link at the top of this page. It's free! Thank you.
25 Most Essential Korn Songs
1. Freak on a Leash
2. Got The Life
3. Coming Undone
4. Y'all Want a Single
5. Dead/Falling Away From Me
6. Right Now
7. Twisted Transistor
8. Did My Time
9. Thoughtless
10. Blind
11. Another Brick in the Wall (Parts 1, 2, 3)/Goodbye Cruel World
12. Here to Stay
13. Word Up!
14. Shoots and Ladders
15. Somebody Someone
16. Alone I Break
17. Make Me Bad
18. Clown
19. Trash
20. A.D.I.D.A.S.
21. Twist/Chi
22. Dead Bodies Everywhere
23. My Gift to You
24. Narcissistic Cannibal
25. It's On
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Artist of the Week: Korn
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