Wow...another KoRn review. Not surprising for someone like me. But anyways, I wanted to do a review a Take A Look In The Mirror to share what I think of it. Really, people have been bashing the album for being "Untouchables Part 2", and some actually like it. What I think of it is that both sides make good points. It's definitely surprising enough that I would give TALITM such a high rating, but you must be wondering by now, exactly what would drive me to give this album a 3.5.
First, the positives of this album. Thankfully, KoRn didn't do use the toneless A that they did in Untouchables and didn't repeat a formula as much. That's actually a relief for me, because I actually thought not to expect anything much out of the band in this album, but "Did My Time" changed all of that. As soon as I had heard that song, I was instantly hooked. The guitar intro was just killer; it started soft like "Blind" from their self titled album, but got louder and kept transitioning, as the band fakes me out from when they were actually going to start the song, but returns to the soft guitar intro, keeping me filled with anticipation. In short, the song was a major improvement from the 10-12 tracks of sludge on Untouchables. Strong singing, better drumming, Munky and Head not using the toneless A and giving an excellent intro, while managing to write some better lyrics and stray away from their teenage angst driven songs.
Another positive would have to be the quick transitioning from one track to another. Usually, after one song, it takes about 5 seconds to jump into the next song, while the band doesn't really seem to stop for one second in TALITM(excluding the 4 minutes of nothing after "When Will This End" before jumping into the Metallica cover of "One") . I actually kind of like it; hell, I don't mind if a band jumps straight into another song only after one or two seconds. And finally, the biggest postive and improvement from Untouchables that I've seen: and that would have to be the louder sound and different notes used. It's actually a change for the better here with their new louder sound rather than carrying on from where they left off on when it comes to their sound on Untouchables. Their sound on Untouchables is annoying, especially when it comes to the constant overusage of the Z-flat crunch and the toneless A, with some similar sounds of Fieldy's bass in FTL used in this album.
However, the poor lyrics that were spread like wildfires in California on Untouchables seems to reoccur here in Take A Look In The Mirror. I'm going to use a verse from the album opener, "Right Now" as an example. "I'm feeling cold today, not hurt, just ***ed away, I'm devastated and frustrated, God, I feel so bound. So what, I feel the need, I think it's time to bleed. I'm gonna cut myself, and watch the blood hit the ground." First of all, the last lines in this verse sound too familiar to stuff done in "Here To Stay" from Untouchables, and it seems like KoRn is too focused on teenagers that are emo. It's just sad and pathetic to see that KoRn's overusing the teenage angst like in "Right Now", and it has pissed off the fans who liked KoRn until around FTL or Issues(usually true metal heads).
Another thing I can't stand about this album is that Jon is sounding way too familiar to Corey Taylor from Slipknot on Iowa. Need a reminder? Corey is the guy in Slipknot who keeps SCREAMING!!! And that's the problem I have here with Jon in this album, is that his screaming is uber annoying. It rarely works in cases, like in "Alive" and "Y'all Want A Single"(which I think is absolutely hilarious when it comes to imitating a mainstream rapper like Soulja Boy, Hurricane Chris, Lil Boosie, etc. The chorus says exactly what their mindset might be when it comes to sucking out loud: "Y'all want a single, say *** THAT!" I'm getting off topic here, so back to the point.), but the screaming is just plain annoying in songs like "Here It Comes Again" and "Break Some Off".
In short, I like Take A Look In The Mirror. I believe that it's a great album compared to that of Untouchables. And if I was in a situation where I had to choose between listening to TALITM or Untouchables for the rest of my life, I would choose TALITM without a second thought. Why do I give this a 3.5? Though the review I'm giving might sound like a 3 at the best, I'm giving it a 3.5 because of the fact that I believe that TALITM was a much better album when it comes to that of Untouchables, and because of the fact that I'm hooked to songs like Play Me, Y'all Want A Single, Alive, Did My Time, When Will This End, and the live cover of Metallica's One, along with the postives that I think are truly for the better when it comes to Take A Look In The Mirror.
Pros:
-Not the same sound from Untouchables
-The song transitions
-Some better drumming in certain tracks
-Nas in Play Me
-Munky and Head aren't using the same note over and over again
Cons:
-Stupid lyrics
-Jon's annoying screaming that compares to that of Corey Taylor of Slipknot in Iowa
-Repetitive
-Can get dull at times
-KoRn still hasn't strayed away from the post-grunge teens
Top 5 songs:
1. Did My Time
2. One
3. Play Me
4. Y'all Want A Single
5. Alive
3.5/5
