Review Summary: Issues starts KoRn's doomed downward spiral into the dark abyss of failure and shame, host to bands like Atreyu and Hinder.
After Follow The Leader's success with songs like Freak on A Leash and Got the Life, KoRn is literally on top of the world with the overwhelming success of their first two albums, while always changing something about their sound. Their self-titled album was strictly nu-metal, while Life Is Peachy focused more on the hip-hop side of their unique and original sound. Follow The Leader tended to pull an Anthrax, which would be the rap-metal sound, but FTL definitely gave off some signs that KoRn's reign at the top was to end, because of the fact that none of the tracks could be taken seriously(listen to the track with Fred Durst in FTL to see what I mean).
Issues was released the following year after FTL in 1999, and if Follow the Leader didn't show signs of KoRn's nearing downward spiral, then Issues definitely starts the spiral down to their lowest point three years afterward with the devastingly horrible Untouchables. In Issues, KoRn decides to leave the rap-metal to Limp Bizkit to go on in their own direction with mixed results.
One problem I have with this album is the fact that the overseer of all five Stone Temple Pilots releases is the producer of this album, otherwise known as the alternative mainstream rock producer, Brendan O' Brien. O' Brien isn't one of the greatest producers ever, and overall, his producing is way too focused on a singer rather than a band's raw musical power. I'm going to use Velvet Revolver's Libertad for an example as to prove my point, if you will. In short, the bass on Libertad is virtually lifeless and O' Brien's production done on the guitars are watered down, while the only thing that O' Brien tends to focus on is a singer's vocal talent and the drumming at times.
O' Brien is only able to get the production on Issues half right. While he does make Fieldy's bass dominant to Munky and Head's guitars, he does not manage to make it spread through the whole album. He did a great job on the production of Fieldy's bass in No Way, but the problems are still the same: the production is highly focused on Jon's vocals and Munky and Head's guitars are extremely watered down, sounding quieter than they really should.
How many times has KoRn used the feeling of hatred and angst in their albums? The answer: many. It's just gotten annoying and tiring, making metal elitists wonder why KoRn is still making albums in the first place. It might have been great in their first two albums because through that angst, Jon managed to show his weakness and opened up that shell of his. But in Issues, Jon just gets pissed instead of opening up, trying to be a tough guy, and the sound of it is nothing but a cacophony. A perfect example of this would be Trash and Counting. Trash tries to pass Jon off as a psychotic person stuck in a straitjacket in solitary confinement, while Counting shows mixed feelings of anger and sadness.
There are also hints of what was to come in Untouchables in Issues, with those being the slipshod lyrics that appear to have been written by KoRn's 13 year old teenage fanboys. Hey Daddy is the shining example of this. While it shows mixed feelings of sorrow and aggression, it takes effect on the lyrics as well. In the chorus, Jon goes from saying "You fucked me up" to "You pick me up when I'm down", showing the nonsense that would later be spread through the sludgefest A.K.A. Untouchables. It even shows more on the lyrics to Wish You Could Be Me, one of the many interludes of this doomed album. It is this reviewer's opinion that Jon decided to just randomly throw some lyrics together, get some turntables, and some hip-hopesque drumming from David Silveria to equal a great song. Why can't KoRn write lyrics about other things rather than about how bad Jon's life is this, or how Jon's life is fucked up that? Is it really that hard for Jon to talk about different stuff other than his life?
Even if Jon's singing was the main focus of O Brien's producing, Jon brings some mixed results to Issues. While he sounds great on the bridge to Falling Away From Me, holding notes of incredible quality, he shows that his vocal ability has been decreasing with Hey Daddy and Beg For Me. Not only has Jon's vocals decreased, David's drumming has gotten more and more laidback, as he simply uses the cymbals more than the skins, and he doesn't even drum most of the time, as in Beg For Me's intro, continually using a drum machine rather than David's raw talent. How do you go from giving some mastery skill drumming in Faget on KoRn's self titled album, to the simplified and child's play drumming in Issues?
The main point is that Issues starts the fall of KoRn, as many attempts are made to stop their spiral to the bottom of the ranks with bands such as Atreyu and Hinder, while failing. Untouchables and Take A Look In The Mirro only increased the speeding spiral and nailing of KoRn's coffin, but KoRn did get some ground in See You On The Other Side and Untitled in my opinion. I recommend that you give this album a pass, but if you're wanting to give it a try, you can, but I wouldn't expect much from this terrible album.
1.5 out of 5
Note: The comments made on this review were made on the original review as it was before I edited.
