While their last album, the dubstep-drenched Path of Totality, felt like a real change in the way Korn did things, The Paradigm Shift finds the nu-metal pioneers once again changing things up on their 11th studio album. Returning to a more traditional sound, the record finds the band pushing the electronics back to a supporting role while putting the guitars up in the spotlight. Most notably, though, is the return of former guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, whose last appearance on a Korn record was a decade ago on Take a Look in the Mirror. The renewed partnership between Head and Munky is one that pays off, but not in the way longtime fans might expect. Rather than making a full-on return to the sort of guttural, shuddering sound the band made famous in the '90s, The Paradigm Shift is a much more driving and direct album…

Taking a cue from the Van Halen playbook, the III in the title of Korn III: Remember Who You Are isn’t a numbering device, it signifies an opening of another phase in Korn’s career. Somehow, the band has bypassed a Korn II altogether in their discography, but it’s commonly acknowledged that the tail-end of the 2000s found the group floundering a bit, going so far as to flirt with the Matrix in an attempt to figure out which direction to go now that they’ve hit middle age. This is where the subtitle comes in: the group has certainly remembered who they are, ditching all the affectations that crippled their muddled 2007 eponymous album and rediscovering their voice. They’ve gone back to the coiled, furious sputter of their debut, but there’s no disguising that Korn is an older band, substituting precision for frenzy without diluting their power…

Just short of a decade into their incredibly successful and influential career, Korn went into Take a Look in the Mirror publicly stating their hopes to record a fresh-sounding album, a seemingly simple task that they somewhat ended up accomplishing. They needed a fresh album - one that differed from their past couple, the similar-sounding Issues (1999) and Untouchables (2002), yet at the same time wouldn't alienate their notoriously fickle nu-metal fan base. Issues and Untouchables had been fine albums, but Korn definitely needed a change - if they wanted to remain relevant, that is. There's a lot of turnover in the metal world because there's always the next big thing (whether it's thrash, grindcore, alt-metal, rap-metal, or whatever), and the rare bands that do last (like, say, Tool)…

After a three-year break that included solo projects and soundtrack work, Korn's re-emergence in the summer of 2002 was met with great anticipation. They delivered Untouchables, an album that shows them building on their previous sound and emphasizing its strengths. The use of melody is more important than ever, allowing Jonathan Davis to utilize his wide palette of vocal tricks. His charismatic voice can now move from a clear-throated wail to a death metal growl with ease, lending the album a manic side that brings to mind King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime-era Faith No More…

Released in the fall of 1999, when Korn were in danger of being overshadowed by such protégés as Limp Bizkit, Issues reaffirms the group's status as alt-metal leaders, illustrating that the true difference between Korn and their imitators is their mastery of sound. Korn are about nothing if not sound. Sure, Jonathan Davis doesn't merely toss off lyrics, but in the end, it doesn't matter since his voice and the various words that float to the surface simply enhance the mood. Similarly, the band doesn't really have any distinguished riffs or hooks - everything each member contributes adds to the overall sound - so, casual listeners can be forgiven if they think the songs sound the same, since not only do the tracks bleed into one other, the individual songs have no discernible high points…

Follow the Leader is the band's most commercially-successful album, being certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.
More than anything, Korn are about sound. They write songs, but those wind up not being nearly as memorable as their lurching metallic hip-hop grind. They have yet to exhaust that sound, and that's why their third album, Follow the Leader, is an effective follow-up to their first two alt-metal landmarks. Not that it offers anything new - it's the same sound, offered in a more focused forum than Life Is Peachy, but not sounding as fresh as Korn. In fact, it begins to wear a little thin toward the end of the album, but guitarists Head Welch and Munky Shaffer find enough tonal variations over the course of the album to keep it interesting, and vocalist Jonathan Davis nearly matches them with his cavalcade of voices…

With their second album, Life Is Peachy, Korn have enhanced their metallic influences, delving deeper into murky sonic textures and grinding, menacing rhythms straight out of underground black metal. Korn add enough elements of alternative rock song structure to make the music accessible to the masses, and their songwriting has continued to improve. Nevertheless, the band's main strength is their raging, visceral sound, which is far more memorable and effective than their songs. The riffs might not always catch hold, but the primal guitars and vocals always hit home.

With little publicity, radio play, or MTV exposure, Korn took their eponymous 1994 debut to platinum status. Like all unexpected successes, it's easier to understand its popularity in retrospect. Although they disdain the "metal" label, there's no question that Korn are among the vanguard of post-grunge alt-metal outfits. Borrowing from Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, Pantera, Helmet, Faith No More, Anthrax, Public Enemy, and N.W.A, Korn developed a testosterone-fueled, ultra-aggressive metal-rap hybrid. They're relentless, both in their musical attack and in lead singer Jonathan Davis' bleak, violent lyrics. Tales of abuse and alienation run rampant throughout the record. It's often disturbing and, to some ears, even offensive, but their music can have a cathartic effect that makes up for their vulgarity and questionable lapses in taste…

A day ahead of the first anniversary of Korn's latest album, "Requiem", the band has released a new five-song EP.
A year ago today, Korn delivered one of the most unique performances of its career - a livestreamed 300-person intimate ceremony and epic performance at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California honoring souls that had passed, especially those lost during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Now, music from that evening is being officially released for the first time as the "Requiem Mass" EP, featuring five highlights from the performance. The EP is available now via Loma Vista Recordings on 2xCD deluxe edition packaged with the original "Requiem" album.

Nearly 30 years into their career as one of the most globally recognized hard rock bands‚ not to mention pioneers of nu metal, proving severe guitar syncopation and high-octane rap-rock are no flash-in-the-pan genre trends—Korn returns with their 14th studio album. Not quite as dark as 2019’s The Nothing, written in the aftermath of the death of frontman Jonathan Davis’ wife, Requiem is a complex meditation on grief. Not softer, exactly, but nine tracks of real profundity: shoegaze-y detours (“Let the Dark Do the Rest”), death-metal sludge (“Hopeless and Beaten”), metallic scraping (“Lost in the Grandeur”), and the thick radio-rock melodicism of “Start the Healing” (featuring a surprisingly positive message: “I can take it all away, the feelings/Break apart the pain and start the healing”). This is not just the veteran release of a consistent band but one that chooses to evolve with each new record.