RECORD REVIEW
KORN – KORN
1994, EPIC
Alright, alright. They might be crap now, and the genre they spawned may be long. Dead in commercial terms, but which ever way you slice it, Korn used to be the hound’s hangers.
Blending the crushing heavy metal of Pantera with the groove and hip-hop basshires of Faith No More replete with the ragged, seething vocals of frontman Jonathan Davis over the top of it all, “Korn” is a fantastic record. While its follows-up may have been accused of forced emotion and continual whining about the same old “I’m so unhappy” crap, its too extreme here to be anything but the real deal. From the slow, tense intro of “Blind” onwards the records coils and trashes with anger, intensity and a deep hatred for anybody that ever wronged Davis. Nowhere is this more evident than in the final track “Daddy”. An horrific reaction to the childhood sexual abuse Davis suffered, its disturbing to listen to at first, and then becomes unbearable: the tragic sound of a man screaming “You ruined my life” through chocked tears is something not everyone wishes to experience.
The only problem with the record is that after seven excellent tracks, you may feel the record falls somewhat flat from then until “Daddy” at first listen. However, repeated listening reveals a consistently pummelling album which is essential if you like hearing music.
*****
KORN – KORN
1994, EPIC
Alright, alright. They might be crap now, and the genre they spawned may be long. Dead in commercial terms, but which ever way you slice it, Korn used to be the hound’s hangers.
Blending the crushing heavy metal of Pantera with the groove and hip-hop basshires of Faith No More replete with the ragged, seething vocals of frontman Jonathan Davis over the top of it all, “Korn” is a fantastic record. While its follows-up may have been accused of forced emotion and continual whining about the same old “I’m so unhappy” crap, its too extreme here to be anything but the real deal. From the slow, tense intro of “Blind” onwards the records coils and trashes with anger, intensity and a deep hatred for anybody that ever wronged Davis. Nowhere is this more evident than in the final track “Daddy”. An horrific reaction to the childhood sexual abuse Davis suffered, its disturbing to listen to at first, and then becomes unbearable: the tragic sound of a man screaming “You ruined my life” through chocked tears is something not everyone wishes to experience.
The only problem with the record is that after seven excellent tracks, you may feel the record falls somewhat flat from then until “Daddy” at first listen. However, repeated listening reveals a consistently pummelling album which is essential if you like hearing music.
*****
Author: Gregg Mather
Manchester iJourno group
posted by iJourno at 9:57 am
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